Business leaders to meet in Belfast for All-Ireland Sustainability Summit

Business leaders and officials from across the Island of Ireland will be gathering at the ICC Belfast, 9 June, for the first All-Ireland Sustainability Summit. The event aims to raise the profile of the wider sustainability agenda and help companies create positive change within their own organisations. Danielle McCormick, owner and lead consultant at Triterra, co-organiser of the Summit, commented: “There has been a huge shift in businesses adopting more sustainable practices over the past couple of years and feel that this has really come in to play across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in more recent months. “Research from HSBC has revealed that 78% of UK businesses expect sales to grow over the next year as a result of an increased focus on sustainability, with the main reasons cited including improving operational efficiency (26%), meet regulatory requirements (26%) and to gain a reputational advantage (24%).” The All-Ireland Sustainability Summit looks to provide assistance to all sectors with a mix of presentations, panel discussions, case studies and networking opportunities. Jacqueline Gibson, lead sponsor from International Synergies NI, stated: “We want to enable organisations to move towards more sustainable business models that stand the test of time, ensuring that increased profit, and positive impacts for people and the planet are met in equal measure.” Julia Corkey, chief executive of ICC Belfast, the venue sponsor, said: “We are seeing more and more of our association and corporate clients beginning to embrace the green agenda, and keen to introduce sustainability measures into their events and conferences. We have also committed to a Green Tourism journey, having achieved our green meetings accolade in January this year.”