CSO Forum: Shaping Industries of the Future

Business leaders today are under intense strain. Economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension and technological disruption demand short‑term focus, even as climate, nature and inequality risks become impossible to ignore. Awareness is high; the room to act feels narrow.

For leaders intent on shaping a resilient future, the challenge is clear: drive meaningful change in a disrupted landscape while the path ahead remains uncertain.

This year's CSO Forum will be held in collaboration between CISL and Stanford University. As two globally leading Institutions working at the nexus of knowledge and practice, the Forum will bring together leaders from across industries to strengthen ecosystem leadership amid accelerating regulatory, technological, and systemic change.

The Fora will be held in Stanford on 27-28 April to align thinking and travel planning with San Francisco Climate Week, and in Cambridge UK on 18-19 June to align with London Climate Action Week.

Spaces for this year's Fora are limited, and early-registration is encouraged.

    Register here

    What you can expect from the CSO Forum

    The sessions provide a platform for leaders to form insights, and develop frameworks and partnerships to deliver action at scale. Delegates are invited to expand their influence and build collaborations that help reshape the rules of the game to align their organisation strategy and market forces with planetary boundaries and value-creation.

    The session will bring together leading experts on topics that are essential to those leading sustainability and strategy within their organisations, focused on:

    • Societal implications of AI: Critical discussions on where the power sits, who is responsible and the impact on CSOs and sustainability outcomes.
    • Geopolitics, power and leadership: Insights on the changing landscape for geopolitics in 2026, exploring the impact on business and the implications for sustainability.
    • Capital deployment: Examining how business can displace BAU by securing investor support and making the case for capital deployment.
    • Innovation showcase: An opportunity to engage with disruptive innovators reshaping the landscape for sustainable business.
    • CSO clinics: Small group sessions designed to support delegates to defend priorities, influence organisational strategy, and re-anchor sustainability in the business reality.
    • The future of the CSO: In today's rapidly changing landscape, we conclude with the future capabilities required of CSOs to deliver market-wide transition.

    Hear insight from 2025's event

    2025's forum was framed around CISL’s Competing in the Age of Disruption report, which set out a pathway for the private sector to proactively react to the geopolitical context. The day focused on the key priorities outlined within it to accelerate market-wide transition. Within this framing, we sat with CSOs from leading global brands to ask: Why is business action on sustainability essential to create and protect value? Hear some of the responses provided below.

    Carly Santer, Strategic Advisor, Pharma and Healthcare System Sustainability, Bayer

    Thabisile Phumo, Executive VP, Stakeholder Realtions, Sibayne-Stillwater

    Glyn Richards, Group Director of Sustainability, Bupa

    Dame Jo da Silva, Global Director of Sustainable Development, Arup

    Register here

    Submit your details below to register for the event. The team will review your registration prior to confirming. If your registration is accepted, you can confirm your spot through the University of Cambridge payment portal by making your payment.

    Register here

    We are an impact-led institute within the University of Cambridge that activates leadership globally to transform economies for people, nature and climate. Through our global network and hubs in Cambridge, Cape Town and Brussels, we work with leaders and innovators across business, finance and government to accelerate action for a sustainable future.
    Trusted since 1988 for our rigour and pioneering commitment to learning and collaboration, we create safe spaces to challenge and support those with the power to act.

    From its founding in California in the late 19th century until today, Stanford has been infused with the American West’s spirit of openness and possibility. We believe strongly in the mission of higher education – to create and share knowledge and to prepare students to be curious, to think critically, and to contribute to the world.With world-class scholars and seven schools located together on a single campus, Stanford offers academic excellence across the broadest array of disciplines. It also is an engine of innovation, blending theory and practice to move ideas and discoveries from labs and classrooms out into the world. We strive to foster a culture of expansive inquiry, fresh thinking, searching discussion, and freedom of thought – preparing students for leadership and engaged citizenship in the world.