We hope you have had a good summer break and are raring to go for what will be a defining six months for this agenda. Copenhagen and the first shoots of recovery (dare we say it) could really galvanise things - but it might not all be good news, so we must prepare for everything. There are also more prosaic duties around CRC compliance and other "must-do" work. The bar has been raised and many are still not prepared!

Our speakers for September bring variety and experience - please come loaded with searching questions, and please, no questions about the embedded carbon in plastic bags. Let's think bigger! So, here's a summary of our speakers and what they will be covering:

John Elkington, Founder & Director, Volans & Sustainability

1. What can corporations learn from social entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs generally – do corporations need to be more radical in their thinking and are there limitations here – how do they work with start-ups on this agenda
2. How do companies reach a point of embracing sustainability – what are the key milestones, what are the main hurdles and how do you jump them?

Jat Sahota, Head of Corporate Responsibility & Public Affairs, Sainsbury’s

1. Taking the example of Sainsbury’s adoption of a policy to sell only fair-trade bananas – how do you introduce such step changes into a business so governed by margins – any interesting feedback or unexpected results. Could you have done it now?
2. What planned use of sustainable technologies being deployed at stores and sites do you have planned – any for total roll out? Other technologies you are really excited by?
3. How has the recession affected consumers’ inclination to choose the environmentally sustainable option? Any unexpected results?
4. How do you establish leadership and gain momentum for the environmental sustainability agenda internally?

Peter Bonfield, CEO, BRE

1. How are companies failing in understanding their sustainability obligations around their built environment
2. How can companies lead – and how should they work with their landlords?

Di Booth, Head of Environmental Policy, Network Rail

1. How do you compel your operators to increase their sustainability goals? What is their appetite for improvement?
2. In your CSR report environmental sustainability comes third to social targets and it is difficult to find reference to it in your mission or vision of the future – can you tell the audience if there is still a battle to make the organisation use this agenda to its advantage – “Trains are better for the environment than cars, lorries, buses or aeroplanes” as it says on your site
3. How do you respond to claims about the high speed rail network having a higher CO2 impact over the next 60 years than air travel as an alternative system of long distance travel in the UK? Do you feel the UK government has a coherent, integrated, low carbon transport strategy? If not, where are the problems?
4. How do you establish leadership and gain momentum for the environmental sustainability agenda internally?