Day One 

Monday November 16th 

 

Opening Keynote Speaker 

 

Session One: Making the Business Case for Integrating Resilience from the Outset 

 

Better methodologies, common frameworks, and stronger cross sector collaboration is needed to help organizations make a robust business cases for investing in resilience from the outset. 

 

This panel will discuss: 

 

• How to monetize, standardize, and communicate the value of embedding resilience from the outset 

• Ways to integrate sustainability metrics into the business case 

• How sustainability can become cost-neutral or cost-saving, particularly through the lens of reduced operating expenditure and long term risk 

• Financial and non-financial drivers behind the business case and how to manage these 

• Methods for demonstrating the value to internal decision makers (CFOs and General Counsels) as well as external stakeholders 

 

Session Two: Integrating Nature in Infrastructure Project Design 

 

Nature can be a valuable asset in infrastructure planning and design, enabling organisations to embed climate resilience, reduce-project capital expenditure (CapEx) and achieve positive outcomes for the community. 

 

This session will explore how to harness nature-based solutions (NbS) to secure financial, local government and community support. 

 

• Outlining how to use nature as a functional tool to embed climate resilience into infrastructure planning and design 

  • Understanding and navigating engineering challenges 

  • Integrating nature into existing climate-resilience solutions 

  • Using nature to achieve improved water quality and security and managing the risks associated with technical uncertainties 

  • Managing the implications of NbS for project timelines and budgets 

• Exploring smart approaches to data in design 

  • Using digital twins to help to understand nature 

• Overcoming the challenges of scaling NbS and developing collaborations to accelerate the pace of implementation 

 

Session Three: Streamlining Infrastructure Permitting and Consenting 

 

North America has seen an increase in regulations designed to streamline permitting and consenting processes for infrastructure delivery. 

 

This session will help you understand the key changes, new approaches and how your business needs to adapt. 

 

• The Building Canada Act - What it Means for Infrastructure Permitting and Consenting   

• Understanding the implications of the changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for consenting and approvals, and what they mean for business 

• Assessing the digital adoption of EIA 

• Exploring ways to collaborate effectively with partners to overcome permitting and regulatory hurdles 

 

 

Day Two 

Tuesday November 17th  

 

Session Four: Financing the Development of Resilient Infrastructure 

 

This panel will provide insights into key investment drivers and priorities for the finance and insurance sector, and how to embed resilience and environmental improvements as part of the risk and investment equation. 

 

• Unlocking private finance to supercharge infrastructure delivery 

  • Project examples of how blended public and private finance can help to deliver long-term infrastructure projects 

  • Exploring how strategic co-investment and collaborative approaches can deliver real economic and environmental impact, and build confidence in the supply chain 

• Navigating the investment landscape in light of political and regulatory changes: 

  • Understanding how, and from where, is infrastructure development being financed? 

  • Leveraging state, province and city level priorities to meet infrastructure demand 

• Securing investment and demonstrating RoI for "hard to finance" projects 

  • Outlining the critical role of the insurance sector in the resiliency debate 

  • Approaches to secure community support, avoid delays and minimize operating costs through effective resource management 

  • Creating mechanisms that enable effective risk-sharing and RoI 

  • Exploring how nature can be leveraged as a tool to reduce-project CapEx 

 

Session Five: Driving Climate Action and Embedding Resilience at the Local Level 

 

Cities across North America are driving climate action. While changes may occur at other levels of government, mayors are continuing to implement projects at the local level to embed resilience into cities and achieve positive community outcomes. 

 

This session will discuss how mayors in North America are leading on climate initiatives and what support they need to continue. 

 

• Highlighting what it takes to get sustainability initiatives funded and underway at the local level 

  • Evaluating the role of public-private partnerships, municipal bonds and local text levies 

• Sharing best practice of initiatives across cities 

• Understanding differing community priorities of communities 

 

 

Day Three 

Wednesday November 18th  

 

Session Six: Navigating Evolving Regulation and Policy and the Impact on Infrastructure Delivery 

 

As the regulatory and policy landscape continues to rapidly evolve, it’s crucial to understand the impact on infrastructure delivery. 

 

This panel will discuss: 

 

• The key environmental, economic and regulatory policy drivers Influencing the North American market  

• State and provincial approaches to infrastructure resilience and where they differ ​

 

Session Seven: Future of Environmental Compliance and Resilience: Market Drivers, Client Demand and the AI Opportunity 

 

This session will present Environment Analyst’s latest data and intelligence on the state and future forecasts of the environmental & sustainability consulting market, and bring together industry leaders to discuss: 

 

• How to prepare for the future of environmental compliance 

• Approaches to deliver programs efficiently, on time and on budget 

• Understanding the state of the market, what buyers are investing in and how they’re using environmental and sustainability consulting services 

• Examining the opportunities to embed AI within infrastructure design and delivery to deliver value 

 

Session Eight: Early Career Perspective: Developing a Future-Ready Workforce 

 

With the rise of AI systems, the role of graduates and early career professionals is under question. This session will see members of Environment Analyst’s North American Early Careers Advisory Board explore the pathways to becoming future leaders and how to leverage AI to facilitate this progression. 

 

• The evolving role of graduates and AI in the workplace 

• Leveraging AI for career progression 

• Understanding how students can harness AI to become work-ready 

• Navigating the digital and soft skills needed to become a future leader