Sustainability Virtual Summit 2021

09.00 Welcome from the Chair

In this opening address Steve will give an overview of MRS’s net zero pledge and how the Sustainability Council is supporting small agencies to be greener.

Stephen Phillips, CEO, Zappi

& Chair, MRS Sustainability Council

09.15 Making a lasting impact

• Assessing the impact the insight sector can have on driving sustainability
• How can research agencies use their data, insight and skills to influence businesses, consumers and policy makers?
• Examining the benefits of signing up to a sustainability pledge in terms of attracting talent, developing a sustainable brand and appealing to clients
• How best to partner with clients to address their sustainability challenges?
• Supporting methodologies that close the say /do gap and produce reliable outputs

Louise McLaren, Board Director, Truth Consulting & founding member, Insight Climate Collective

In conversation with…

Dr Nick Baker, Global Chief Research Officer, Savanta & founding member, Insight Climate Collective

Stephen Phillips, CEO, Zappi & Chair, MRS Sustainability Council

09.45 Panel: Reaching net zero

Reaching net zero in the UK is going to require transformation across all sectors of the economy, and all aspects of people’s lives. A new social contract between citizens, corporations and the state is evolving.

The Net Zero Diaries project is working with a panel of engaged citizens and consumers, alongside a representative group, to understand how attitude and behaviour change flow horizontally between peers, modelling collaborative working and combining behavioural insights with deliberation.

Join partners from the Net Zero Diaries project as they discuss what net zero living actually means in 2021. Hear how this new way of working is contributing to their distinct organisational goals, and their wider ambitions to contribute meaningfully to achieving a just transition to Net Zero.

Chaired by:

Lucy Farrow, Associate Partner, BritainThinks

Panellists:

Dani Jordan, Head of Campaign Insights, WWF-UK

Charlotte Mountjoy, Head of Brand and Marketing Insight, Ovo Energy

Rebecca Willis, Professor in Energy and Climate Governance, Lancaster University

10.15 How Ipsos is responding to the sustainability imperative

• Balancing operational effectiveness with sustainability ambitions
• Decarbonisation – next steps after the quick wins
• How is Ipsos proving leadership on sustainability?

Ben Page, CEO, Ipsos MORI

1045 Break

11.15 What matters today? 

Join Richard Cope and Sarah McDonald as they discuss the research challenges and findings from their recent exploration of the current sustainability product claims and consumer landscapes to answer what matters to consumers today? 

Hear how the research has given GSK insight into how to better engage with - and communicate to - consumers on sustainability and entrenched the view that consumers’ needs for convenience and immediacy cannot be sacrificed on the part of sustainable qualities.

Richard Cope, Senior Trends Consultant, Mintel

In conversation with…

Sarah McDonald, VP of Sustainability, GSK

11.45 Building public engagement in climate change and health

The Wellcome Trust view the public as critical in placing the connection between climate change and negative health impacts into the spotlight, putting pressure on governments and businesses to make change. To support this, Wellcome undertook a multi country ethnographic project to establish people’s language and perceptions around climate change, health, and the relationship between the two.

Hear how the research will be used to inform understanding on how to motivate public action in science, identify areas where further research should be conducted and feed into Wellcome’s climate and health strategy. 

Dr Heidi Hasbrouck, Director of Ethnography at Ipsos MORI

Ethan Greenwood, Insight Specialist, Wellcome Trust

12.15 Hidden stories of sustainability

Respondents often find it hard to talk about sustainability. As a result, many research reports on the topic produce predictable results that are difficult for brands to act on. So Irrational Agency and Vodafone used a new approach called narrative research, to help respondents open up and reveal their true feelings and beliefs about the environment and their own green (and sometimes not-so-green) behaviour.

Hear exclusive findings from the research which explores the detail behind 12,000 consumer's sustainability narratives and uncovers six big unconscious consumer narratives.

Leigh Caldwell, Partner, Irrational Agency

Senior representative, Vodafone

12.45 Lunch

14.50 Break

15.20 Using AI accelerated learning to Identify emotionally resonant narratives around sustainability

NBC Universal & Sky needed to understand what mattered to their audiences and importantly empower other brands to connect and speak meaningfully about these issues. Working in partnership they set out to map the complexities of emotionally compelling narratives around sustainability and develop a clear understanding of the key drivers for different audiences. Sourcing content from over 100 different places, discover.ai’s combination of machine learning and human expertise created an agile approach to a topic rich in complexity.

Foivos Dousos, Associate Director, Discover.ai

David Evans, Senior Director, Global Partnerships, NBC Universal & Sky

15.50 Delivering sustainability innovation in petcare: differentiating sustainability tribes and journeys

 Mars Petcare is committed to democratising sustainability and delivering products with serious sustainability credentials - without excessively impacting price or quality. Trials of several innovations are in progress. This one-on-one conversation between Mars and Streetbees founder, Tugce Bulut, will cover the issues that Mars has been striving to understand and which lay the foundations of their sustainability strategy, including:

• Identifying consumers’ knowledge gaps and speaking in their language
• Identifying sustainability topics that resonate with consumers to ensure prioritisation of areas that really matter
• Determine the extent to which consumers are adopting sustainability in their lives - to derive inspiration as well as find gaps

Tugce Bulut, Founder & CEO, Streetbees

In conversation with…

Clotilde Daronnat, Sustainability & Portfolio Insights Manager, Mars Petcare

16.20 Closing comment from the Chair

16.30 End of conference