2026 Regional Connect (Chicago)

Saman Baghestani, CEO, S3 Markets

For most organizations, Scope 3 emissions represent the largest and least controllable share of their climate footprint, particularly in Tier 2–N supply chains where visibility, leverage, and low-carbon alternatives are limited. Procurement teams are on the front lines of this challenge, yet traditional tools like supplier engagement, data requests, and preferred vendor programs are often slow, resource-intensive, and insufficient for hard-to-abate materials such as steel, cement, and chemicals.

At the same time, producers of low-carbon materials struggle to scale because they lack consistent demand signals and revenue certainty. Market-based instruments like Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) are emerging as a way to bridge this gap by allowing buyers to support low-carbon production even when physical supply chains cannot yet fully shift. As standards bodies increasingly explore guidance for these tools, procurement leaders need practical, credible frameworks for using them responsibly. This topic is especially timely for the SPLC community, which is focused on actionable, regionally grounded procurement strategies that can drive real supply-chain decarbonization today.

Sarah Chartier, Founder, Yoop Consulting, LLC

Sustainable procurement can take on many different forms. One effective method to engage in building a resilient, local and sustainable supply chain is through exploring contracting with local suppliers. In this workshop, participants will explore successful methods to build a local purchasing strategy including identifying local suppliers, obtaining buy-in from key purchasing leaders and methodology to integrate local purchasing practices into the supply chain. Sustainability and procurement professionals will walk away with a deeper understanding of the value of local purchasing and practical next steps to bring back to their organization.

Arka Pandit, Lead, Product & Solutions Sustainability, Dematic (KION Group)

Sustainable procurement teams are increasingly expected to support product-level carbon disclosures and Scope 3 reporting—often before supplier data systems are fully mature. In reality, procurement leaders must make decisions based on incomplete, inconsistent, or non-comparable supplier information while still ensuring that disclosures are credible and defensible.

This session explores a practical approach to calibrating supplier carbon data when perfect information is not available. Drawing from real-world implementation in complex product environments, the discussion will address how procurement, engineering, and reporting teams can classify supplier inputs, determine when secondary or proxy data is appropriate, and document assumptions transparently. As regulatory scrutiny and assurance expectations increase, regional procurement leaders need tools that balance progress with defensibility. This session offers a structured, experience-based way to navigate that tension.

Brett Gardner, Director of Sustainability, IA (Interior Architects) 

What does it look like when both services and goods providers align around the same sustainable procurement goals? In this session, IA will share how its ESG journey is shaping more responsible, transparent, and actionable procurement approaches across the value chain.

Through real-world examples, the session will explore how design services, material specifications, and product decisions can work together to reduce Scope 3 emissions while also advancing climate, equity, and ethical sourcing standards. Attendees will gain insight into how organizations are responding to evolving RFP requirements, engaging suppliers in science-based targets, and leveraging tools like EcoVadis and CDP to drive measurable progress. This conversation brings together two complementary perspectives, services and goods, to demonstrate how integrated approaches can better support clients in meeting their sustainability goals and embedding sustainable procurement practices into everyday decision-making.