Explore the Agenda
7:00 am Registration & Networking
8:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Balancing External Pressures & Internal Commitments
8:10 am Panel: Evaluating the Top Pressures on Contractors’ Today: From Federal Regulations to Client Goals and Employee Drivers
- Defining the various ways a sustainable agenda can manifest for a contracting organization to ensure maximum resilience despite changing operating environments and competing pressures: How are firms looking to go broader, deeper and faster at any given point to grow as much as possible?
- Tracking evolving U.S. policies, particularly in California and other leading regions, to assess direction of travel for investments, tax incentives, and federal funding
- Identifying strategies to integrate decarbonization efforts into long-term financial planning, even amid regulatory uncertainty and the need to remain agile as sustainability policies and economic landscapes evolve
8:50 am Audience Discussion: Ensuring Social Actions Are a Core Part of Your ESG Transformation
- Understanding how government and client requirements are shaping contractor social commitments
- Examining how companies are integrating social responsibility within broader sustainability initiatives and the impact this is having on their competitive advantage
- Identifying key metrics and frameworks for assessing the long-term success of social initiatives, and ensuring they go beyond regulatory requirements
10:00 am Morning Refreshments & Speed Networking
Track 1
Tackling Jobsite Sustainability
“Ensuring effective emission reporting & reduction in the field”
Enhancing Accountability & Transparency
10:40 am Discover – Embedding Meaningful Sustainability Goals into Project Scopes from Day One
- Making sustainability a standard discussion point in project interviews and early planning phases to align client expectations and contractor execution
- Harnessing industry benchmarks and reports to shape stretching but achievable targets
- Engaging estimators, contractors, and clients to ensure goals are budgeted for and owned by a specific stakeholder at every project stage
11:40 am Discover – Collecting Reliable Emissions Data Across Complex Supply Chains
- Defining the necessary data and identifying the responsible parties trace emissions and environmental impact across multiple tiers of the supply chain
- Leveraging innovative methodologies to streamline data collection and improve accuracy
- Navigating the limitations of diverse suppliers with varying levels of maturity in carbon reporting and sustainability efforts
12:10 pm Develop – Navigating LEED v5 Certification to Achieve Practical & Scalable Green Building Project Success
- Discussing key changes in LEED v5 compared to previous versions and examining prerequisite revisions, stricter requirements, and their impact on project planning
- An overview of synergies with other reporting frameworks that have potential to provide cost-effective implementation efficiencies, like Contractor's Commitment, California regulations, CDP, etc.
- Exploring how to accurately measure and balance embodied and operational carbon
- Understanding the role of carbon credits and how they impact LEED certification
- Sharing strategies for timely certification without compromising cost or quality
- Finding repeatable approaches for companies looking to certify multiple assets
12:40 pm Lunch Break
Carbon Reduction Strategies
1:40 pm Discover – Looking Into MEP Scopes to Unlock Impactful Carbon Reductions
- Understanding the financial and logistical hurdles of integrating lower-carbon MEP solutions and how to navigate them
- Discussing how sustainability strategies like natural ventilation can adapt to new environmental challenges, such as poor air quality from wildfires
- Making prefabrication an inherent part of construction delivery to support long-term sustainability and waste reduction goals: How can GCs take a proactive role in leading prefab discussions rather than waiting for client or specialty contractor direction?
2:10 pm Develop – Overcoming Challenges with Employing Low Carbon Alternatives
- Exploring how contractors can advocate for, and facilitate the adoption of low-carbon materials and alternative solutions on projects
- Understanding how potential tariffs may impact the possibility of lower carbon alternatives
- Exploring how contractors can support smaller, lower carbon suppliers that may lack resources to provide Environmental Product
- Declarations (EPDs)
- Finding ways to continue low-carbon procurement efforts even if government incentives are reduced or removed
2:40 pm Action – Using Scenario Analysis to Identify the Most Efficient Carbon Reduction Alternatives for Your Project
- Exploring the step-by-step framework of building scenario analysis: from defining key variables to stress-testing strategies against regulatory, economic, and technological uncertainty
- Educating clients on low-carbon systems and materials, even when sustainability isn’t a contractual requirement
- Harnessing effective evaluation sessions to move your team beyond low-hanging fruit to trialling more ambitious, innovative technologies and strategies
Track 2
Building Corporate Sustainability Strategy
“Shaping business strategies & priorities”
Strengthening Resilience Into Your Program
10:50 am Discover – Securing Financial & Cultural Commitment to ESG Initiatives to Support Your Net-Zero Transformation
- Evaluating where your company should invest in emission reductions, carbon offsets, and operational changes to get the highest ROI
- Exploring whether costs should be covered at the corporate level, project level, or through an internal carbon charge
- Presenting a robust business case to upper management to secure adequate financial backing
- Shifting the mindset from sustainability as a client-driven cost to an internal investment for long-term success
11:40 am Discover – Crafting Corporate Messaging That Resonates with Customers & Employees Alike
- Positioning sustainability as a competitive advantage for attracting clients, talent, and investment opportunities
- Developing messaging frameworks to connect sustainability commitments with individual employee drivers
- Leveraging cross-functional collaboration to integrate success stories into everyday conversations and promote further support
12:10 pm Develop – Building Internal Investment Programs to Promote & Propel Innovation
- Exploring how large companies are driving industry change by showing financial interest in emerging sustainable technologies
- Addressing common challenges in aligning financial, operational, and environmental priorities within large enterprises to sustain innovative investments
- Exploring cost-effective strategies for fostering innovation within smaller firms
12:40 pm Lunch Break
Climate Regulations & Risks
1:40 pm Discover – Navigating the Impact of CSRD on U.S. Climate Disclosure & Global Reporting Standards
- Understanding the complexity of CSRD’s data requirements and strategies for effective, streamlined compliance
- Mapping out the differences between CSRD, SEC climate disclosure requirements, and emerging state-level regulations in the U.S
- Anticipating how U.S. companies can proactively align with evolving regulations to remain competitive in global markets
2:10 pm Develop – Developing A Climate Risk Mitigation Plan to Translate Vulnerabilities into Resilience
- Adjusting project schedules and construction methods to accommodate extreme weather disruptions
- Implementing heat mitigation strategies for worker safety amid rising temperatures
- Exploring material and design innovations that improve structural resilience against wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding
- Weighing the upfront costs of resilience efforts against longterm savings on insurance and disaster recovery
- Integrating stakeholder feedback to shape actionable risk strategies and stay agile to evolving climate conditions, real time
2:40 pm Action – Adapting to Evolving Climate Change Issues to Strengthen Durability & Reduce Environmental Impact
- Discussing where evolving building codes lag behind climate realities and what companies can do to stay one step ahead of mandated requirements
- Exploring innovative materials and nature-based solutions for climate resilience
- Evaluating the return on investment (ROI) of climate-adaptive strategies, including insurance savings and long-term cost benefits
3:00 pm Afternoon Refreshments
Ensuring Alignment & Consistency
3:30 pm Concrete Innovations: Pathways to Reducing Carbon Footprint
Concrete is the material of choice for the tallest buildings in the world and infrastructure designed to last centuries. These cutting-edge projects must use durable materials that also help reduce carbon footprint. This presentation will provide alternate pathways to meet these challenges by exploring how concretes are evolving to use higher volumes of pozzolans, calcined clay, biochar, and other innovations to enhance a product that is nearly 5,000 years in development.
4:00 pm Client Panel: Creating Consistency in Requirements Across Markets to Drive Transparency, Accountability & Maximize Industry Progress
- Understanding client motivations for ESG Reporting – whether disclosures are a “check-the-box” exercise or a strategic decision-making tool – to align project proposals with client priorities
- Discussing what truly defines net-zero to get greater consistency of expectation across market sectors
- Exploring how clients are ensuring transparency and accountability in sharing real project and material emissions data, not just corporate carbon strategies
4:10 pm Empowering Field Teams to Incorporate Sustainability Initiatives Into Their Day-to-Day to Build a Stronger Jobsite Culture
- The evolution of incorporating sustainability into company culture, similar to the shift in safety culture
- Translating corporate goals into action and creating clear expectations, accountability, and practical implementation strategies for sustainability at the jobsite
- Developing enforcement mechanisms to ensure sustainability expectations are met— whether through incentives, clear job site protocols, or accountability measures at the project level