Leading with inclusion: a blueprint for success

For organisations with leaders championing inclusive environments, tangible benefits emerge across financial performance, innovation, decision-making, employee engagement and brand reputation. Even as diversity, equity and inclusion agendas are thrust into the political spotlight, their transformative impact in maximising human potential remains undeniable. Leaders who create inclusive workplaces that encourage intergenerational and cultural collaboration benefit from increased employee engagement, loyalty and productivity. Organisations with diverse workforces are better equipped to connect with broader customer bases, enabling them to expand their market share and strengthen customer loyalty. Leaders who are able to effectively curate these environments take themselves one step closer to achieving inclusive growth.

Attendee Insight:

Explore how industry leaders curate diverse and inclusive cultures within their organisations and how this is leveraged to foster employee empowerment. 

Redefining downstream: turning legacy assets into green hubs

A growing number of refineries and petrochemical producers are exploring ways to transform their operations to remain profitable, meet emerging policy demands and enable low-carbon production. This shift presents an opportunity to repurpose existing assets and align with long-term market expectations, but it also comes with significant financial, technological and logistical challenges. Retrofitting ageing refineries to produce biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and e-fuels – alongside the deployment of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) – is emerging as a key pathway to long-term competitiveness. Meanwhile, petrochemical facilities are advancing chemical recycling, bio-based chemicals and CO₂-derived feedstocks as part of broader decarbonisation strategies. Early adopters have shown that industrial collaboration, advanced processing technologies and scalable infrastructure are key to making this realignment viable. However, success will depend on regional policy support, investment certainty and long-term demand for low-carbon fuels and sustainable chemicals. Whether on a large scale or for only a select few facilities, the global energy industry must adopt a forward-thinking, solutions-driven approach to unlock change.

Attendee insights:

Explore the realities of turning traditional refining and petrochemical assets into low-carbon operations, and assess what makes these transitions successful   

Hydrogen’s commercial horizon: progressive strategies to mature the market

Reframing the energy narrative for a secure, low carbon global energy future with commercially viable hydrogen requires pragmatic solutions that address cost competitiveness, demand creation and infrastructure development. Fostering international collaboration and technological innovation is also critical to bridge the gap between current market conditions and future sustainability goals. Key to success is the development of robust political strategies that establish clear, long-term commitments to hydrogen development while providing certainty across the hydrogen value chain; including cross-border collaboration and knowledge sharing to unlock efficiency gains, set international standards, and facilitate global hydrogen trade. The interconnected economic, technological, and policy challenges standing in the way of a mature hydrogen market require an integrated approach where solutions go hand in hand with realistic market expectations.    

Attendee insights: 

Explore how varied national strategies and policy frameworks are shaping global hydrogen markets. Learn what will drive investment to build a robust, transparent low-carbon hydrogen ecosystem, and gain insight into the commercial realities facing the hydrogen sector.  

The new energy landscape: leadership in emerging economies

Emerging economies are home to 56% of the world’s population, yet lower incomes, limited educational opportunities and other related factors have led to economic disparity, hampering progress across these regions. In 2023, the UAE launched ALTÉRRA – the world’s largest private climate investment fund, backed by BlackRock, Brookfield Asset Management and TPG – catalysing investment in emerging economies. It is vital that our industry works to maintain this direction of travel, especially when one considers that the World Economic Forum expects 85% of new energy demand to come from outside the developed world (which only generates 18% of global power). By encouraging fresh investment and accelerating infrastructure development in emerging economies, we have an opportunity to create a lasting and inclusive impact globally, to drive humanity’s next era of progress.

Attendee insights:

Hear from the visionary leaders who are bringing together communities and unifying perspectives as they bring emerging economies to the forefront of the world’s energy conversation.

Decarbonisation policy crossroads: should governments fund producers or mandate consumers?

In 2025, the rollback of US Inflation Reduction Act incentives through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has reignited global debate on the long-term viability of subsidy-led decarbonisation. While early-stage support played a critical role in scaling low-carbon technologies, the fiscal and political sustainability of such models is under renewed scrutiny. Meanwhile, Europe and China are advancing demand-side mechanisms, such as at-the-pump obligations, green procurement mandates, and carbon intensity thresholds aimed at embedding decarbonisation in market rules rather than public budgets.

Debate positions:

• Pro-subsidy:
  Public funding is essential for early-stage deployment and investor confidence. Without stable subsidies, breakthrough tech like DAC, SAF, and industrial hydrogen face serious bankability hurdles.
• Pro-demand obligation:
  Long-term reliance on subsidies is unsustainable and politically fragile, as shown by the OBBBA. Mandating demand through policy ensures cost-sharing, reduces burden on taxpayers, and builds industrial resilience.

Attendee insights:

This debate unpacks the evolving global policy playbook: is future momentum best sustained through direct subsidies to derisk supply, or through regulation that forces market demand and shifts cost to end-users and industry? With public funds tightening and geopolitical competition rising, speakers will assess which mechanisms are delivering real industrial transformation.

Industrial competitiveness: balancing energy security, sustainability and affordability

Europe’s Clean Industrial Deal marks a pivotal shift in aligning climate ambition with industrial competitiveness, aiming to decarbonise the economy while strengthening strategic sectors such as steel, chemicals, and clean tech. With a target of a 90% emissions reduction by 2040, the Deal prioritises investment in low-carbon manufacturing, energy infrastructure, and circular economy solutions, while keeping affordability and reliable power at the core of the transition. The proposed €480 billion annual investment seeks to modernise grids, drive innovation, and lower production costs through reforms in procurement and resource efficiency. Although initiated in the EU, the Deal offers a blueprint for the Global South and other regions balancing sustainability with industrial resilience. Its global implications - from clean product standards to tightening emissions expectations- signal a future where businesses and industries must move beyond viewing climate ambition as a trade-off to competitiveness, harnessing all energy sources, technologies, and innovations to thrive.

Attendee Insights:

Explore how Europe's industrial strategy is influencing global trade, investment, and energy priorities, and learn how operators are adapting to balance cost, carbon, and competitiveness in an evolving policy landscape.