Sustainable Materials London Conference Update
We would like to thank everyone who attended and contributed to our Sustainable Materials London Conference that was held on Wednesday 23rd November at the WeWork building in Waterloo. This was the first face to face large scale event Eurofins | BLC has hosted since 2020 and it was a huge success because of the contributions of everyone who attended.
Delegates were treated to a panoramic view of London and the Thames whilst hearing from a variety of expert speakers on a range of diverse sustainability topics for brands and suppliers in the textile, softlines and leather space.
Andrew Hudson, Managing Director of Eurofins | BLC welcomed delegates to the event before handing over to the host for the afternoon Georgina Mawer, Head of Technical at Eurofins | BLC. Georgina first introduced Peter Hughes, Head of Sustainable Business Development at Eurofins | BLC. Peter set the scene by discussing the context within which the event was being held, including the current economic, environmental and social outlook. Peter provided an overview of how organisations can prioritise sustainability activity for their business.
Delegates next heard from Steven Van Praet, Partner at Futureproofed on the importance of considering carbon emission in business activity and how this underpins all sustainability activity. Georgina then introduced Jenny Holloway, CEO and Founder of Fashion Enter who gave a highly engaging insight into the experience of a UK based manufacturer who has the welfare of employees and stakeholders built into the fabric of the business.
Next, we heard from Owen Lauder, Sales Manager at Esri UK on how data and geographical location can be used to understand and manage risks within a supply chain. Owen’s presentation sparked considerable debate on how information can be better used to manage sourcing decisions.
Before the networking break, delegates heard an inspiring and impassioned presentation from Una Jones; CEO of the Sustainable Fibre Alliance who formally invited delegates to join the new Rangeland Stewardship Council, an initiative designed to link brands who use natural fibres in their products with the herder communities that produce them, to foster greater environmental and social protection standards.
Plenty of lively conversations took place over coffee with a delicious selection of treats provided by the excellent hosts from the WeWork venue, while delegates continued to enjoy a view of London from the 16th floor overlooking London Bridge.
Following the break Georgina introduced Floris Schiks, Lead Commercial Team and Partnerships from Ecochain Technologies. Floris provided valuable insight into Life Cycler Assessment, a process for understanding product impact with growing importance. Next, Stephanie Downs, CEO and Founder at Uncaged provided the delegates with a fascinating insight into the experience of a start up organisation looking to create a new material with a minimal environmental and social footprint and delegates were invited by Stephanie to inspect samples of her reimagined next generation material.
Daniel Murray, Managing Director at Clean Chain provided the final presentation of the afternoon with an engaging and informative discussion on how to best approach the use of certifications to measure and understand the sustainability credentials of products. With the sun setting over London, Andrew provided some closing remarks, reflecting on the diverse range of important topics that the speakers had covered on the day and he encouraged ongoing conversations in these developing areas.
"I truly enjoyed the Eurofins | BLC conference it was great to meet the Eurofins | BLC team but the content of the conference itself was brilliant. Practical information with great visuals, delivered by professionals actively involved and defining sustainability. Each speaker came from different parts of the industry and parts of the world which allowed for a good coverage of topics. The talks covered a range of issues which were all relevant and generally this felt like a key conference for any business wanting to claim better standards", said Solene Fabios, Senior Designer from All Saints.
"We had the most amazing informative day. The wide range of speakers was really beneficial as it meant there was something for everyone, no matter where they were on their sustainability journey. We were able to recognise where we as a business sat, where we needed to be and what the next steps in our journey should be. As always with Eurofins | BLC the day was very well put together with a professional yet friendly atmosphere", said Samantha Henson, Quality Assurance from Fairfax and Favor.
The Eurofins | BLC team wishes to thank our speakers and delegates who made the afternoon such a success and if you were unable to attend, we very much welcome you to join us for our next event, details to be announced soon.
24 November 2022