Meeting Overview
This fall, SB Corporate Members will gather in Cartersville, Georgia, to explore how we can cultivate the business leadership required for a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable economy. Shaw Industries will host Members over two half-days at their Create Center—a stimulating environment designed to foster collaboration, cross-pollination of ideas and greater engagement—located just outside of Atlanta.
At this meeting, we'll explore the essential role that transformational leadership plays on the path to becoming a sustainable brand. We will look at leadership examples from the bottom-up and inside-out. Member companies will discuss how they are enabling employees, activating the C-suite, and leading within their industry.
Together, we’ll tackle some provocative questions and hear varied perspectives from within our community. We will also explore embodying leadership on a personal level, each of us shaping concrete tactics that we can use to activate our ideas more effectively within our business.
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What You Will Learn
- Learn about the sustainable design and realization of Shaw Industries' Create Centre
- Hear how transformational leadership can manifest from different angles within the business
- Invite your peers to weigh in on leadership struggles you may be facing
- Learn tactics for overcoming resistance to change within the business
Agenda
Tuesday, September 10
11:00 am | Shuttles depart airport for meeting venue in Cartersville, GA
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm | Lunch
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm | Welcome & Introductions
Susan Farris, Vice President of Sustainability & Corporate Communications at Shaw Industries
Darren Beck, Vice President, Corporate Member Network, Sustainable Brands
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm | Transformational Leadership and the Sustainability Journey
Sustainable Brands
As a community, we’ll examine where our member cohort places themselves along the sustainability journey through assessment on the SB Brand Transformation RoadmapSM. The SB team will highlight the pivotal points along a brand’s sustainability journey where leadership can play a crucial role. We’ll discuss some of the common leadership challenges that members in the room may be facing, and we’ll present examples of brand approaches to overcoming those challenges.
2:30 pm - 4:50 pm | Case Studies from Member Companies
Case studies are structured as 20-minute presentations followed by a 20-minute in-depth Q&A with colleagues in the room. These case studies will examine the different ways that organizations have approached sustainability leadership.
Community Discussion: Active Leadership from the C-Suite
What does true C-suite leadership on sustainability look like today? What does recent news from the Business Roundtable mean for the shift we're all trying to create, and how can we lean in to this example of transformational leadership?
Shaw Industries: Supporting Change-Makers Inside the Business
Shifting a business to a fully sustainable model requires creative and unique approaches, and it’s important to support people throughout the business who approach sustainability with a fresh mindset. Learn about a creative approach that one brand is taking to drive new leadership behaviors and organizational change to succeed in the future.
Stanley Black & Decker: Leading Within an Industry
Blazing a new trail within your industry is not an easy journey to make. How did this business decide to take the first step, how did they bring stakeholders on board and what were the challenges they faced and benefits they realized after making the leap?
4:50 pm - 5:10 pm | Weave a Better Life with re:loom
As transformational leaders, we have the power to reach out and lift up other organizations that are inspiring change. Shaw's partner, re:loom, employs and empowers homeless and low-income individuals through weaving beautifully-designed products out of recycled materials. Work with your fellow members to reduce waste and contribute to a circular model by creating something truly transformational.
Following the meeting, shuttles will take us from the meeting venue directly to Barnsley Resort, the hotel that we recommend our members book with. Dinner will be hosted at the hotel. See below for more details on booking your stay at Barnsley Resort.
6:30 pm | Dinner at Barnsley Resort
Gather with fellow members for a relaxed dinner to close out our first day of discussion.
Wednesday, September 11
7:30 am | Shuttle departs Barnsley for meeting venue in Cartersville, GA
8:00 am - 8:30 am | Light Breakfast
8:30 am - 11:30 am | Transformational Leadership Workshop
Leith Sharp, Director, Executive Education for Sustainability Leadership, Harvard University
As a dynamic change leader with over 20 years of practice, research and teaching experience, Leith utilizes highly innovative models to inspire radical change within companies.
This workshop will provide you with a window into the Harvard Executive Education for Sustainability Program—a selective, week-long program offered once a year that teaches leaders how to drive sustainability into the core of their business while reducing friction, increasing flow, and improving organizational performance, agility and innovation.
Dive into a workshop that will help you to explore how you can nurture transformational leadership to advance a specific idea within your own business.
11:30 am - 12:00 pm | Closing Comments
Darren Beck, Vice President, Corporate Member Network, Sustainable Brands
12:00 pm | Lunch to-go
12:15 pm | Shuttles depart Cartersville meeting venue for airport (arrival at 1:30pm)
Who should attend:
This meeting is exclusive to the SB Corporate Member Network.
Sustainable Brands Corporate Members are industry leaders who are united in search of the answer to one key question – How can their brand prosper while leading the way to a better future?
In addition to gathering in person at annual SB Conferences and other SB events, private* member meetings provide an opportunity for members to connect face-to-face in an intimate, small group environment, sharing challenges, solutions and best practices to successfully drive market-leading better brands.
This meeting focuses on the theme of transformational leadership. The meeting is open to all representatives from member companies, especially those with an interest in building their own leadership skills and capturing stories of leadership in the sustainability space. We recommend that our members extend this meeting invitation to colleagues within the business; for example, those who may be less familiar with corporate sustainability.
Former member meeting attendees include: VP ESG Strategy; Marketing Director; Chief Sustainability Officer; Communications Manager; Sustainability Manager; Director Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategy; Finance Director; Chief Brand Officer; VP Brand Strategy; Senior Manager, CSR.
All SB Corporate Member Meetings operate under the Chatham House Rule.
Meeting Details
Hotel
We recommend members stay at Barnsley Resort with the group discounted rate, starting at $243/night. Please note that dinner will also be taking place at Barnsley Resort. Please note that rooms available at Barnsley Resort cannot be guaranteed after August 30 and shuttle transportation can only be guaranteed for those staying at Barnsley Resort.
To book, contact Barnsley directly at 877.773.2447 and let them know you are with the Sustainable Brands/Shaw group.
Meeting Venue
Shaw Industries - Shaw Contract/Patcraft Create Centre
230 Douthit Ferry Rd, Cartersville, GA 30120
Transportation
Shaw Industries will be providing a free shuttle to and from this event from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). Reserve your seat on the shuttle in your member meeting registration using the form on the right-hand side of this page.
Please note that shuttle requests cannot be guaranteed after September 2.
The shuttles will leave the airport at 11 am on Tuesday, September 10 for incoming flights and arrive at the airport at 1:30 pm on September 11 for outgoing departures. During the meeting, transportation will also be provided between the meeting venue and the main conference hotel, Barnsley Resort.
If you reserve a seat on the airport shuttles when you register for this meeting, we will be in touch with further details and to obtain your flight information.
If the free shuttles are not an option due to your travel timing, the Atlanta airport offers a range of rental car and rideshare options that you can arrange:
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Ground Transportation
Attire
Business casual
