Supported by Tesco, Forum for the Future ran a series of 'Ahead of the agenda' seminars during 2008 and 2009. These seminars examined emerging trends in sustainability that are likely to be crucial to the retail sector in coming years.

“Living on the Edge: Can the Suburbs make a comeback?” - focused on the sustainability challenges facing the suburbs of the future. The panel consisted of Lord Richard Rogers - one of the world’s foremost living architects; Sir Peter Hall - the internationally renowned expert on urban planning; Chris Leslie – Director of the New Local Government Network; and David North - Community and Government Director for Tesco. A summary report is available here.

“Consumer Power: Can we shop our way to sustainability?” - explored the challenges of sustainable consumption. The panel consisted of Lord Adair Turner - the former Director-General of the CBI and the Chair of the Government's new Committee on Climate Change; Roger Levett – the leading sustainable development consultant; Lucy Siegle – the journalist, author and broadcaster; and Lucy Neville-Rolfe, CMG - Executive Director (Corporate and Legal Affairs) Tesco Plc. A summary report is available here.

“Greening the post-crunch consumer” – which took place in July 2009, examined the possible impacts of the current economic downturn on long-term consumption patterns. The panel comprised Joel Levy – Managing Director, Penn, Schoen and Berland, EMEA, the marketing research and consulting firm; David North – Community and Government Director, Tesco; Jessica Sansom – Head of Sustainability, Innocent Drinks; and Andy Hobsbawm – Co-founder of award-winning public service Green Thing (Dothegreenthing.com) and European Chairman of Agency.Com. A summary report is available here.

For further information about the Ahead of the Agenda seminar series, please contact Dan Crossley.