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Congress GoForward

Move into the future

A platform that brings together leading Slovenian and international experts in the field of sustainable business from various industries.

Ljubljana, 12 February 2025
Kazina Palace, Academy of Music

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The GoForward Congress is designed to help individuals and companies overcome the challenges of thinking about sustainability and develop new perspectives and business opportunities. We understand that reporting and measurement are challenging and that this challenge lies ahead, but we want to shift the focus from compliance to the creation of strategic benefits, where regulatory requirements become a good tool rather than a goal. The focus will be on building business models and breakthrough technologies where sustainability is not just an idea, but the basic building block of a successful business.

CO-CREATE THE PROGRAMME

GoForward is designed to help individuals and companies overcome sustainability challenges and develop new perspectives and business opportunities.

We invite you to co-design the programme.

It's not just a Congress - it's an experience

Together for progress

Top lecturers and experts

A group of renowned national and international speakers will present their views, knowledge and experience. They will give participants an insight into current trends and challenges in their respective fields.

A varied and interactive programme

The event includes interactive lectures, experiential presentations and demonstrations of concrete solutions. The programme encourages active participation of participants, which improves the use-value of knowledge.

Meetings with visiting experts

The event offers the opportunity for 1:1 meetings with visiting experts, allowing direct contact with leading figures in the industry. Participants can make valuable business connections for the future.

Atmosphere and accompanying programme

With lively debates and an artistic programme, the event will create a stimulating atmosphere for learning, networking and exchanging ideas. More than 250 participants and over 10 partners will provide a rich environment for interaction.

GoForward is our collective FORWARD

About the GoForward Congress

Join the GoForward Sustainability Congress, where we go beyond traditional approaches and focus on what businesses really need to be competitive and resilient in the long term. Instead of asking “how do we do business sustainably?”, we seek answers to “how do we turn sustainable practices into tools for long-term success?”

From today to tomorrow

A shift in thinking.

From compliance to strategies

Congress is shifting the focus from compliance to the creation of strategic benefits, where regulatory requirements become a good tool rather than a goal.

From theory to practice

Interactive discussions on concrete challenges, opportunities and solutions await you.

From environmental impact to successful models

The focus is on building business models and breakthrough technologies where sustainability is not just an idea, but the basic building block of a successful business.

From established frameworks to the future

We are not staying with the status quo – we are exploring what is needed to overcome today’s limitations and build a future based on innovation and critical thinking.

Sponsors and partners
of the Go Forward Congress

Program

program

our common FORWARD
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  • Breakthrough Stage


  • Opening greetings by hosts Tina Štrukelj and Lucija Sajevec

  • The 21st century requires a radical shift in the way we think. To thrive in this era of unimaginable change, we need to challenge traditional ideas and embrace a new way of looking at the world. In Dr Thomas Funke's keynote speech, we will explore this shift. We will explore the essential competences for rethinking the future of work, leadership and life. We will look at the key skills and the mental and emotional attitudes that will enable individuals and organisations to succeed. To think differently, we need to be different.

  • Alice Schmidt will use examples from her work around the world to explain why it is important to look at the bigger picture before focusing on specific sustainability solutions. She will highlight the business case for ambitious investments in economic and social sustainability, to avoid the risks of greenwashing, and share new insights on how to manage the complexity of stakeholders in different value chains.
    Where
    Glavni oder (strateški del)

  • Ladeja Godina Košir will provide insights into the transformation process from traditional linear value chains to circular value systems. The role of "transition brokers" in managing complexity will be outlined, demonstrating the concrete value and impact of bringing stakeholders together for shared success. The presentation will be an introduction to the dialogue with Alice.

  • Alice and Ladeja will include concrete examples from practice that will shed light on the key breakthrough points that turned seemingly impossible ideas and visions into breakthrough business stories. The discussion will also focus on the strategic aspect of strengthening competitiveness and resilience while operating within planetary boundaries.

  • Sustainability reports compliant with mandatory standards allow us to be transparent and comparable. But reports are not an end in themselves, they are just a tool. This interactive discussion will explore how ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) can go beyond regulatory requirements and become a strategic tool to improve business models. The discussion will highlight how sustainability reporting enables the identification of key opportunities, improves efficiency and creates added value for companies seeking to compete in the long term.

  • People are the key to moving towards sustainability. Our attitudes, our thinking, our (co-)actions. We have an impact on all of these. But the really big changes and shifts are usually only made possible by technology. In this dynamic panel, we will highlight which pioneering technologies, available today, can - if implemented in time - move us towards a more sustainable tomorrow.

  • GHG reduction measures will not be sufficient to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 (or even earlier). Technologies to remove emissions from the atmosphere will also need to be deployed. The CSRD already foresees that companies must also report on their activities in this area. But are these removals actually happening or possible and how can companies use them to achieve their decarbonisation targets? In this dynamic panel, we will shed light on an additional option on the path to sustainable business.

  • The discussion will be moderated by Vanesa Čanji, other participants are being confirmed and will be announced at a later date. This dynamic discussion will highlight the importance of critical thinking in addressing sustainability challenges, looking back at lessons and findings so far. We will discuss how to move beyond the limitations of past approaches and build more effective links between stakeholders to enable progress. The focus will be on finding solutions together that foster collaboration and concrete sustainable shifts for the future.

  • The lecture is based on the One World One FamilY project presented at COP28, where Sasha spent a year with 11 indigenous peoples around the world. Their wisdoms on connection with nature, intergenerational solidarity and respect for the circle of life offer inspiring solutions to today's sustainability challenges. The lecture will shed light on how their practices can transform our approach to sustainability and guide us back to a more harmonious way of living.

  • Accountability is not just about responding to current challenges, but about being able to provide a current response to all future challenges.

  • And how to move forward?

  • Expert Stage


  • How companies can effectively address the challenges of calculating their carbon footprint so that the calculations provide useful information and tools for setting meaningful and achievable decarbonisation targets. The debate will also address the boundary between the accuracy of the calculations and their practical applicability for business and target setting.

  • The panel will present the legislative arrangements for CBAM (Border Carbon Adaptation Mechanism) and key details such as timing and scope. Representatives from the Customs Administration will share first-hand experience and shed light on the administrative requirements and challenges for businesses in the EU. The discussion will highlight adjustments in supply chains and strategic aspects of cost control and reputation enhancement.

  • The panel will address key aspects of the usefulness of life cycle assessment (LCA) and the integration of LCA into the broader concept of product and process sustainability assessment methodology, which also includes life cycle costing (LCC) and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA). We will discuss the possibilities of using LCA in companies, its interconnectivity with other methodologies (such as. GHG Protocol or RED III Directive), highlight the challenges and benefits of applying LCA in companies and the challenges of addressing the end of life cycle. Due to the increasing demand for sustainability declarations and the introduction of digital passports in companies' value chains, we will highlight how companies can effectively implement the LCA methodology and obtain sustainability certifications (e.g. EDP, PEF and ISO 14067-1), and as a result, increase the competitive value of their products and services.

  • The panel will explore how to transform taxonomy obligations into opportunities to obtain favourable financial resources, reduce long-term costs and increase legitimacy in the market. The debate will highlight a proactive approach that enables strategic investments and a transformation of mindsets - from "bureaucratic obstacles" to drivers for progress.


Slovenian and international

Speakers

Leading experts
FORWARD is our common FORWARD, so we invite you to co-shape the programme

Co-design the Congress programme

Your professional dilemmas

Share your dilemmas

There are many professional dilemmas, challenges and problems in the field of sustainability in companies, so we invite you to let us know which challenges you would like us to discuss using the form below. At the Congress, guest experts will address your dilemma and shed light on it from several angles. This will give you more than one idea for a solution.

Your SOLUTIONS

Present the solution

There are already many good solutions in the field of sustainable business, which we would like to bring to the attention of the wider public at our congress. If you have a solution that you have successfully implemented at least once, we invite you to present it to our participants.