Sustainability in Sports Conference 2026

SUSTAINABILITY IN SPORTS
CONFERENCE

As part of our vision:

Leading sustainable tennis, Nordea open is launching
Sustainability in Sports Conference 2026.

As part of our vision:

Leading sustainable tennis.
Nordea open is launching:
Sustainability in Sports Conference 2026.

TIME TO INSPIRE

Together we can take on the challenges of the future.

Our ambition is to establish an annual platform that brings together decision-makers from sports and business to explore both the challenges and the opportunities within sustainability – and above all, to inspire and highlight impactful best practices.

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM - MONDAY JULY 13

More speakers and highlights will be revealed as we get closer to the event.

The programme is continuously refined, and the organiser reserves the right to make changes to speakers, sessions or timings to deliver the best possible experience.

Sustainability and sports – The way forward

Josh Rudd is Sustainability Manager at the ATP Tour, which oversees more than 60 tournaments across nearly 30 countries and engages over 5.5 million fans annually. In his role, Josh leads the development and delivery of sustainability under ATP Serves, focusing on environmental action across the tour to reduce the sport’s footprint.

He works with tournaments, players, and partners to embed sustainable practices across the season, including supporting innovative tools like the ATP Carbon Tracker, a first‑of‑its‑kind app enabling players to track and mitigate travel emissions.

With a background in high‑performance sport working directly with Olympic swimmers, Josh previously led environmental and inclusion initiatives at Aquatics GB and served on World Aquatics’ Sustainability Advisory Group, contributing to global sustainability strategies and awareness campaigns for aquatic sports.

With over 15 years in the Sports Marketing and Commercial industry across rugby and then latterly golf, Maria’s focus shifted to Corporate Social Responsibility in the world of sport in 2021, developing the European Tour group and Ryder Cup Europe’s Golf for Good and Green Drive strategies.

Golf for Good is a Tour-wide initiative that focuses on programmes tackling social challenges within the golf industry including health, G4D, participation & education outreach within local communities, while Green Drive is the Tour’s environmental impact programme. Maria has steered the Tour to become the first professional golf Tour to join the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework with a commitment of net zero by 2040 as well as the Sports for Nature Framework; and in 2024, the Green Drive won the Middle East Sports Industry Awards (SPIA) for Excellence in Sustainability, as well as the Sports Positive Transformation Award for embedding sustainability endeavours within the business.

Pierre is the F1 & Sport Sustainability Lead at the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), where he oversees the development and delivery of environmental strategies across global motor sport.

He brings over 7 years of experience in sustainability, including previous work at Procter & Gamble on large-scale environmental and product lifecycle initiatives in the FMCG sector.

At the FIA, Pierre supports major championships like Formula 1, WRC, Formula E, and WEC, focusing on carbon reduction, sustainable event operations, and circular economy. He plays a key role in advancing the FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme, driving the adoption of renewable energy, sustainable fuels, low-carbon logistics, and biodiversity protection across motor sport.

Collaboration and partnerships as driver for sustainable change in sports.

Cecilia Perlind is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of SES – Sponsrings & Eventsverige, Sweden’s leading industry organization for sponsorship and events. Cecilia brings deep expertise in communication, sponsorship, and event strategy.

Her extensive experience as a long‐standing board member of SES has given her a strong understanding of the organization’s mission and the needs of its more than 230 member companies. She has also played a key role in elevating the industry’s most impactful projects through her many years of involvement in Gyllene Hjulet, Sweden’s premier awards competition for sponsorship and event excellence.

Katie Neck is the Founder of the award-winning Sustained Futures, committed to closing the Future Skills gap, inclusively. A typhoon at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix showed her first-hand how climate risk was already disrupting elite sport. She spent six seasons at McLaren F1 in AI, ML and Technology partnerships, launching its first sustainability agenda and leading partnerships with Goldman Sachs, Google, Deloitte and Unilever, before advising senior leaders on data-driven sustainability strategies across the Rugby World Cup and Ryder Cup. She founded Sustained Futures in 2023 on the conviction that the long-term thinking defining elite sport is exactly what every industry needs to navigate climate change and the AI transition. Its 1+1 model upskills organisations from the boardroom to the classroom, funding a free certification for a young person aged 15 to 25 for every corporate seat sold. Clients include Barclays, PIF, Arsenal FC, Adobe, Dyson, SailGP and the United Nations.

Helena Mueller leads Grant Thornton Sweden’s sustainability advisory services and has more than 25 years of experience driving both strategic and operational sustainability initiatives across all industries, in Sweden and abroad. She has extensive expertise in sustainable sports and has, for more than 15 years, been a driving force in the Nordics and globally for increased quantification and valuation of external effects and impact reporting.

Over the past two years, Helena and team supported the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) in developing an impact model for the league and its partners. Helena is a highly regarded speaker and moderator.

Equality and inclusion in Sports

Melissa Pine is the Vice President of WTA 125 Operations, she oversees more than 50 tournaments worldwide and plays a key role in shaping the future for Womens tennis.

Working also with the WTA Foundation she is dedicated to creating a world where girls and women can thrive. The Foundation mobilizes the global tennis community to advance women’s health, expand access to education and leadership opportunities, and support equality worldwide. Its initiatives include the Women Change the Game campaign and the Global Women’s Health Fund, which work to close critical gaps in women’s health, nutrition, and opportunity.

Martin Åkerman serves on the boards of the Swedish Sports Confederation and the Swedish Football Association, and is President of the Skåne Football Association. With a background as a commercial lawyer and many years of experience in education, he works at the intersection of law, leadership and societal development.

His work is driven by a commitment to social sustainability – strengthening inclusion, advancing gender equality, and opening doors for more children and young people, particularly in underserved communities, to take part in sport.

VENUE

The Congress Hall

The conference takes place at the top of the congress building, offering panoramic views over the sea and the Centre Court.

WHY WE DO THIS

Nordea Open has long been about more than tennis.

With the conference, we want to take the next step – from individual initiatives to collective impact.

We believe in sharing knowledge and creating platforms where the power of sport can contribute to a more sustainable society.