Why sustainability events like Sustainability Live Net Zero 2026 matter

For sustainability leaders, time is always the limiting factor. Targets move, regulations tighten, board expectations rise, and internal teams rely on clear direction.

With that pressure, taking one or two days out of the business to attend a sustainability event can feel indulgent. Yet the organisations that consistently make progress tend to do something simple: they put themselves in the room where other leaders are wrestling with the same issues.

Sustainability Live: Net Zero 2026 is one of those rooms. It brings together people who are trying to solve real operational challenges – not to admire the theory of sustainability, but to work out what can actually be delivered inside complex businesses.

As sponsors this year, our goal is not simply visibility. It is conversation. The value comes from what happens when practitioners stop talking in abstract terms and share what they are genuinely struggling with.

So why should attendance at events like this earn a place on your busy agenda, and what can leaders expect to take away if they approach it with a commercial mindset?

1. A clearer view of what others are actually doing – not what they say they are doing

Sustainability can often feel crowded with ambition but thin on detail. Public commitments tend to be high‑level, but the operational decisions behind them are where progress is made. Events cut through that gap.

At Sustainability Live, conversations often start with questions that rarely make it into formal presentations:

How did you get your finance team comfortable with the investment case?
What data did you use to make the choice?
Where did the business push back?
What would you do differently?

For leaders, these practical exchanges matter more than polished case studies. They surface real constraints and show where the bar is currently set across sectors. This helps teams adjust expectations, sequence actions more confidently, and avoid unnecessary reinvention.

2. A more realistic picture of what “good” looks like today

No business has solved sustainability. Even the leaders in the space are still balancing trade‑offs. Events help cut through inflated ambition by showing what “good enough for now” can look like.

This is particularly true on the Innovation Stage, where our team will be delivering a 20‑minute talk. The emphasis is on pragmatic progress: using data to decide where to focus, building internal alignment, and avoiding the trap of collecting more metrics than the business can act on.

Our view is simple: sustainability programmes succeed when they stay tightly connected to commercial decision‑making. Anything that helps clarify priorities, simplify reporting, or build internal confidence has direct business value.

Seeing how other organisations define “good” helps leaders calibrate their own programmes and avoid over‑engineered approaches that slow momentum.

3. A chance to test ideas in a low‑risk environment

Internal conversations about sustainability can become constrained by existing structures and politics. Events create a temporary space where those constraints fall away. You can test the clarity of your sustainability narrative. You can sense‑check the logic behind your roadmap. You can ask direct questions without triggering an internal project or creating expectation.

This informal pressure‑testing often yields sharper thinking than any workshop.

It is also where we see the most commercial value being created. Small adjustments in direction – choosing the right KPI, simplifying a data model, or reframing an initiative so it resonates with the board – often have disproportionate impact on performance and internal traction.

4. Exposure to technology that genuinely solves operational problems

The sustainability technology market has become crowded, and many solutions feel similar on the surface. Events help leaders cut through that noise quickly. When you can see a solution in action and talk to the teams who use it, it becomes far easier to judge whether it solves a real problem or simply adds another layer of reporting.

For us, this is particularly important because our focus is not selling software. It is helping organisations make clearer decisions using the data they already hold. When we exhibit at events, we expect people to challenge us. We welcome it. Leaders should leave not with a list of tools but with a sharper understanding of what problems technology should be solving inside their organisation.

5. Stronger internal alignment when you return

The most underestimated value of attending events is the internal impact afterwards. Bringing back clear, evidence‑based messages helps focus teams and reassure stakeholders who are uncertain about direction.

Sustainability Live tends to spotlight practical themes that translate well inside businesses:

The importance of sequencing: not everything needs to be solved at once.
The need for reliable data that supports decisions rather than overwhelming them.
The role of culture and communication in sustaining momentum.
The value of credible, achievable shorter‑term wins.

These themes reinforce what many sustainability teams already know, but struggle to communicate in crowded internal environments.

6. Why Ikano Insight is attending

We attend because sustainability is increasingly a data problem. Not an abstract data problem, but a practical one:

Which metrics matter?
Where is the risk?
Which actions move the needle?
How do we keep reporting credible without slowing delivery?

Our work helps organisations answer these questions with confidence. Exhibiting and speaking at events like Sustainability Live gives us the chance to hear from practitioners first‑hand – where they feel stuck, what they are being asked for, and how decisions are currently made.

We expect to share, but we also expect to learn. Good events work both ways.

Final thought

For sustainability leaders, the question is not whether events are worth attending. The question is whether they help you make better decisions faster. When you choose the right ones, and approach them with clarity, they do.

Sustainability Live: Net Zero 2026 offers exactly that: practical insight, honest discussion, and a realistic view of what progress looks like across industries. If you are responsible for shaping or executing your organisation’s sustainability strategy, it earns its place on the calendar.

If you can’t attend…

Why not book a chat with our ESG data experts?

See a demo of Unravel Carbon,
including its agentic AI applications,
and find out more on the questions you have.

Book your demo here

Written by Innes Christison

Senior Sustainability Business Analyst

With experience as a Head of Sustainability and supply chain expert, Innes has helped brands including Tesco, KFC and Wowcher turn sustainability strategies into enablers for growth.

Expert in carbon passporting, measuring and managing carbon across the full supply chain, Innes now works with businesses across all sectors to simplify, streamline and optimise their entire ESG reporting requirements.

You can follow Innes on LinkedIn here.

1. A clearer view of what others are actually doing – not what they say they are doing

2. A more realistic picture of what “good” looks like today

3. A chance to test ideas in a low‑risk environment

4. Exposure to technology that genuinely solves operational problems

5. Stronger internal alignment when you return

6. Why Ikano Insight is attending

Final thought

If you can’t attend…

Why not book a chat with our ESG data experts?

See a demo of Unravel Carbon, including its agentic AI applications, and find out more on the questions you have.

Written by Innes Christison

Senior Sustainability Business Analyst

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