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On 11th December 2024, RSB members, investors, sustainability professionals, and project developers gathered at the CERN Science Gateway in Geneva, Switzerland, for a dynamic day of discussions, showcases, and networking.
In partnership with Airbus, Amazon, Boeing, Gevo, Inc. and IFF, and guided by the theme of Sustainable Markets: Accelerating Finance for Good, the conference built bridges between sustainable project developers and finance professionals to advance bold, real-world solutions for the bioeconomy.
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Event highlights
- 205 participants registered
- Among these were 66 C-Suite leaders
- 48 sustainability-focused professionals
- And representing 105 RSB Member organisations
- We had 33 speakers
- 42% of speakers were women
- 27% of speakers came from civil society
- 95% of speakers represent international organisations
- The RSB Team was in full attendance
- 28 RSB Team Members attended
- 9 RSB Board Members attended
- 11 RSB Delegates attended
- 2 new RSB initiatives launched
- The RSB Academy was introduced as a new programmatic service
- The RSB Transition Leaders’ Awards announced the inaugural winner
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Session summaries
Sustainability Executive Roundtable
This session brought together key sustainability leaders from diverse organisations within the RSB membership to share their insights on pressing sustainability challenges. The discussion set the event’s tone with a powerful call to action, addressing critical issues and exploring innovative solutions to drive the sustainable bioeconomy forward.
Speakers addressed themes such as regenerative agriculture, sustainable aviation, and inclusive corporate practices. Key insights included the necessity for cross-sector collaboration, the role of regulations in accelerating progress, and the balance between sustainability and economic pragmatism. The discussion emphasised the importance of innovation, transparency, and capacity building in advancing a just transition.
Speakers:
- Reza Azmi – Executive Director, Wild Asia
- Renee Henze – Chief Sustainability Officer, IFF
- Julie Kitcher – Chief Sustainability Officer, Airbus
- Andreas Marschner – Vice President of Worldwide Operations Sustainability, Amazon
- Brian Moran – Chief Sustainability Officer, Boeing
- Thomas Vellacott – Executive Director, WWF Switzerland
- Rachel Wanyoike – Managing Director, Solidaridad Eastern and Southern Africa
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Sustainable Finance Unlocked: Navigating the Bioeconomy with Credible Standards
In this session, experts delved into how collaboration between the finance sector and robust sustainability frameworks, such as those provided by RSB, could underpin thorough and coherent sustainability assessments. Panellists addressed the increasing need for financial institutions to ensure the sustainability of their investments and loans, particularly within the bio-based and circular economy, amidst escalating regulations and stakeholder scrutiny.
The speakers underscored the value of collaboration between the finance and sustainability sectors to ensure investments align with bio-based and circular economy goals, and raised challenges such as policy harmonisation, scaling infrastructure, and balancing costs. The showcase section highlighted innovators using RSB certification to drive sustainability impacts and reduce risks.
Speakers:
- Freya Burton – Chief Sustainability Officer, LanzaTech
- Neville Hargreaves –VP Waste to Fuels, Velocys
- Jan-Hendrik Petersen – Managing Director, 360 Asset Finance GmbH
- Dan Lieberman –Global Sustainability Strategy & External Affairs Lead, Nuseed
- Tim Thomson – Chief Financial Officer, Charm Industrial
- Theye Veen – Co-founder & Chief Commercial Officer, SkyNRG
- Ulrike Ziegler – President, IMPACT on Sustainable Aviation
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Policy Pathways to a Sustainable Bioeconomy
This session explored policy frameworks supporting the bioeconomy, highlighting the importance of harmonised standards, regional alignment, and sustainable investment strategies. Discussions included Brazil’s focus on the socio-bioeconomy during its G20 presidency, ASEAN’s work on taxonomy development, and RSB’s landscape-level studies.
Speakers stressed the need for collaborative approaches, policy certainty, and integrating natural capital into economic decision-making to drive the energy transition. The discussion highlighted the importance of a landscape approach to bioeconomy development by engaging policymakers, financial institutions, and innovators early on to foster coherent and sustainable growth – with a case study showcasing the success from RSB’s latest partnership with Boeing.
Speakers:
- Aung Soe Moe – Senior Officer (Air Transport), ASEAN Secretariat
- Arianna Baldo – Programme Director, RSB
- Gerard Ostheimer – Manager, Clean Energy Ministerial Biofuture Campaign
- Giorgio Parolini – Aviation Decarbonisation Lead, World Economic Forum (WEF)
- Valentina Vecchio – Senior Manager for Business & Policy Integration, Boeing
- Nancy Young – Chief Sustainability Officer, Gevo, Inc.
- Simon Zadek – Co-CEO, Nature Finance
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Unlocking Brand Power for Sustainable Bioeconomy Growth
This session examined how brands can leverage their purchasing power to demonstrate long-term commitment to the market, driving sustainability and supporting the growth of the sustainable bioeconomy. By adopting a holistic perspective and fostering cross-sector collaboration, the discussion unlocked the full potential of the bioeconomy to address global challenges and create a more sustainable future.
Speakers shared insights into how corporate influence can drive consumer engagement, promote responsible practices, and meet market expectations for transparency and credibility, while addressing challenges such as greenwashing and achieving authenticity. Then to close the session, case studies from World Energy and Deloitte provided recommendations for brands that focused on applying innovative storytelling, robust metrics, and partnerships to build trust and amplify impact.
Speakers:
- Gill Alker – Book & Claim Manager, RSB
- Jackie Brew – Senior Manager (Aviation) – Center for Green Market Activation
- Julia Fidler – Fuel & Materials Decarbonization Lead, Microsoft
- Lars Lundquist – Senior R&D Expert, Nestle
- Adam Klauber – VP Sustainability and Digital Supply Chain, World Energy
- Anna Nefedova – Global ESG Reporting Lead, Deloitte
- Clément Therrillion – Sustainability Lead, Salesforce
- Jess Zeuner – Senior Program Officer, WWF
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Empowering People for a Sustainable Bioeconomy
In the final session, RSB introduced the RSB Academy Programme, a new educational initiative dedicated to capacity building for a sustainable bioeconomy. This was accompanied by the launch of eleven e-learning courses on RSB sustainability certification. The RSB Academy Programme is a new programmatic service that aims to equip the current and future workforce with the practical skills and knowledge required to contribute to a sustainable future. It offers individuals and organisations a blended learning experience, combining virtual and in-person courses, to provide accessible and seamless learning experiences.
In closing, a demo video was screened to attendees – providing a glimpse of the first set of courses on RSB sustainability certification, which will be hosted on the RSB Academy Programme’s learning platform.
Speakers:
- Brian Moran – Chief Sustainability Officer, Boeing
- Arianna Baldo – Programme Director, RSB
- Smriti Paul – RSB Academy Manager, RSB
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RSB Transition Leaders’ Awards
The day concluded with the announcement of the winners of the first-ever RSB Transition Leaders’ Awards – a new RSB initiative that recognises leaders who have developed products, services, or processes that have the ambition, purpose and resilience to address the multiple threats our planet faces: from the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution.
The trophy for the Transition Leaders’ Awards was given out to two organisations after the RSB member voting period resulted in a tie between Solidaridad East and Central Africa and Topsoe. You can find out more about both of these and the other incredible organisations that entered here.
And what’s even more exciting is that our shortlist was entered as RSB’s official nomination for next year’s prestigious EarthShot Prize.
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Once again, we would like to thank our RSB Annual Conference 2024 sponsors, for their generous support of our flagship event – Airbus, Amazon, The Boeing Company, Gevo Inc. and IFF – without whom this even would not be possible. In addition, we are truly indebted to the support from our membership community and stakeholders who continue shape RSB by driving sector transformation from within their own organisations.
We hope you’ll join us for the RSB Annual Conference in 2025!
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