RILA in conference partnership with Sustainable Brands

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is merging its sustainability-focused conference with Sustainable Brands.



Beginning in 2017, the two will produce a single conference together than includes a retail-specific program track, in addition to Sustainable Brands’ usual program, which covers sustainability-led brand innovation across multiple consumer-facing industries.



“Over the last nine years, RILA’s sustainability program has evolved into an outcomes-oriented offering that provides retailers with the resources they need to excel at incorporating sustainability across their businesses,” said RILA president Sandy Kennedy. “We are proud of where the program is today and we look forward to partnering with Sustainable Brands to take our event to the next level. In addition to the retail specific content that retailers value, the new conference format will expose retailers to the leading sustainability practices employed by other major industries.



RILA will continue to provide separate networking events for retailers throughout the year to maintain its established community of sustainability professionals. This will include a member-only meeting at U.S.-based Sustainable Brands event, as well as the usual member meetings throughout the year.



This valuable new partnership with Sustainable Brands will also allow RILA to direct its energy toward growing its offerings for environmental compliance, energy, and responsible sourcing executives in retail – critical communities it has built over the last 10 years.



For environmental compliance executives, RILA will continue to host two annual meetings and other gatherings, as well as building its efforts to reform the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Center for Retail Compliance (CRC), a key pillar for news and tools.



For energy executives, RILA will host regional educational workshops and two annual meetings alongside Edison Electric Institute (EEI)’s National Accounts Meetings, and engage DOE, Deloitte, IMT, MIT, and other partners to grow its energy programming.



And for its newest community of responsible sourcing executives, RILA will host members-only meetings alongside the ELEVATE Leadership Series and Intertek Ethical Sourcing Forum conferences, and build partnerships with government agencies and other key stakeholders.



“While RILA’s resources devoted to retail’s sustainability, environmental compliance, energy, and responsible sourcing needs are growing, this partnership will allow us to direct those resources in even more targeted and valuable ways,” said Adam Siegel, RILA’s senior VP for research, innovation, and sustainability.