GreenroomVoice joins the first European Outdoor Week with a fresh take on industry dialogue.
by Cira Riedel / GreenroomVoice
When GreenroomVoice first created the Sustainability Hub in 2010, the idea was simple: give sustainability a dedicated home on the trade show floor. A place where the outdoor industry could slow down, look up from the booth negotiations, and actually talk about the things that matter most.
Fifteen years later, that idea has taken root in a new location. This May, the Sustainability Hub moves from Munich to Riva del Garda, Italy, finding its new home at the ORBDAYS & OUTDOOR, part of the first ever European Outdoor Week, running 17–19 May.
Where the industry meets to move forward
The move to Riva is not just a change of scenery. The ORBDAYS & OUTDOOR is fundamentally a retailer show and that makes it one of the most important places the Sustainability Hub could be right now.
Retailers occupy a unique and increasingly complex position in the sustainability story. They are the ones standing in front of customers every day, fielding questions about materials, supply chains, certifications, and claims. They decide which brands and products get shelf space. In doing so, they shape what the industry produces and how it communicates. That is real leverage. And with new EU legislation on human rights due diligence and the Empowering Consumers Directive raising the bar for everyone in the chain, sustainability is no longer something retailers can leave to the brands they stock. It has become part of their own business responsibility.
The Sustainability Hub in Riva is designed with this in mind. It is a space where retailers can get informed, ask hard questions, connect with the organisations doing the most credible work, and leave with something practical, not just inspiration, but clarity.
A new format for a new chapter
For the first time, the Sustainability Hub is introducing a series of daily Round Table Workshops: open, interactive sessions running each day, each dedicated to one of the defining challenges facing the industry right now. The three daily themes reflect the breadth of what sustainability actually demands of the outdoor sector:
- 17 May — Biodiversity and the Empowering Consumer Directive
- 18 May — The Societal Transition
- 19 May — Climate and Nature
The format is intentional. Small groups, open questions, real exchange. A place where collective intelligence gets to do what it does best: generate ideas, surface tensions, and find paths forward that no single voice could map alone.
The workshop tables are led by some of the most credible organisations working at the intersection of outdoor and sustainability and several sessions are designed specifically with retailers in mind, including Fair Wear‘s deep dive into human rights due diligence and what it means for buying decisions, and SUSTON‘s practical guide to communicating sustainability credibly under the new EU Empowering Consumers Directive.
Daily Guided Sustainability Tours
Alongside the workshop tables, the Hub runs a daily Guided Sustainability Tour every morning at 11.00, which is a curated walk through the exhibitors and stories that make up the Hub.
Speakers from the areas of circular solutions, responsible materials, biodiversity, climate solutions, and social impact join the tours each day, offering fresh perspectives and direct access to the people behind the work.
A good way to orient yourself, make new connections, and get inspired before the day unfolds.
No registration required — just show up at Hall D-A01 at 11.00 am.
Why it matters
The outdoor industry runs on nature. It depends on wild places, healthy ecosystems, and communities that are treated fairly throughout a long and complex supply chain.
The Sustainability Hub exists to make that visible and to give everyone at the show, from brands and retailers to NGOs, media, and academia, a space to engage with it seriously.
Retailers have always been part of the conversation. In Riva, they are at the centre of it.
Smaller format. Stronger focus. Same mission.
Find the full programme and more information at greenroomvoice.com
WORKSHOP SESSION PROGRAMME
17 May — Biodiversity & the Empowering Consumer Directive
| Orario | Sessione | Ospite |
|---|---|---|
| 14.00–15.00 | From Concept to Certified: Navigating the Green Shape Standard | Green Shape Association |
| 15.00–16.00 | Net Zero in Practice: The Path to 2050 and Beyond | myclimate |
| 16.00–17.00 | How can we Support Nature, so Nature Supports our Business | GreenroomVoice |
18 May — The Societal Transition
| Orario | Sessione | Ospite |
|---|---|---|
| 10.00–11.00 | Opening Up The Outdoors: Insights on barriers to accessing the outdoors for racialised communities | OUTO |
| 12.00–13.00 | From Concept to Certified: Navigating the Green Shape Standard | Green Shape Association |
| 13.00–14.00 | How to empower consumers for the green transition? | SUSTON |
| 14.00–15.00 | Is nature a stakeholder in your business? | EOCA |
| 15.00–16.00 | Retailers’ Leverage in Human Rights Due Diligence | Fair Wear |
19 May — Climate and Nature
| Orario | Sessione | Ospite |
|---|---|---|
| 10.00–11.00 | Net Zero in Practice: The Path to 2050 and Beyond | myclimate |
| 14.00–15.00 | How can we Support Nature, so Nature Supports our Business | GreenroomVoice |
