- link Copy URL - [ Share on X ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=At Annual Meeting 2026, Cascale Launches Member-Led Effort To Shape Its Next Decade https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/1320551?absolute=1&via=3blnews "Share on X") - [ Share on linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/1320551?absolute=1 "Share on Linkedin") - [ Share on facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/1320551?absolute=1 "Share on Facebook") - [ email Share via email ](mailto:?subject=At Annual Meeting 2026, Cascale Launches Member-Led Effort To Shape Its Next Decade&body=ESG News from Cascale https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/1320551?absolute=1 "Share via email") [Responsible Production & the Circular Economy](/categories/responsible-production-circular-economy) # At Annual Meeting 2026, Cascale Launches Member-Led Effort To Shape Its Next Decade ##### In her first Annual Meeting as CEO, Ying McGuire casts Cascale as the "passage" for industry collective action — and commits to turning the sector's shared measurement into action. Sep 15, 2026 8:15 AM ET Campaign: [Cascale Events](/news/campaign/cascale-events) ![Cascale Annual Meeting Opening Address by Ying McGuire](https://3blcdn.com/styles/carousel_2x/s3/2026-09/Opening-Address-Ying-McGuire-Cascale-Annual-Meeting-2026-1024x683_1789472612.jpg "Cascale Annual Meeting Opening Address by Ying McGuire") Cascale Annual Meeting Opening Address by Ying McGuire ATHENS, Greece, September 15, 2026 /3BL/ - Cascale, the global nonprofit industry alliance uniting more than 300 members across the consumer goods industry, today opened its 2026 Annual Meeting in Athens, where chief executive officer Ying McGuire used her first Annual Meeting address to launch a member-led process to set the alliance's direction for the next decade. Rather than present a finished strategy, McGuire invited members to help build an industry system map that will lead to Cascale's 10-year vision, 2030 strategy, and 2027 priorities — work that will be drawn directly from the membership over the days ahead and finalized in December. "Athens is not where I unveil Cascale's next strategy," said McGuire. "Athens is where we start drawing it together. I want you to look at that strategy in December and say: I can see my fingerprints on it. Because Cascale does not belong to the CEO. It belongs to this community." ## **Key Takeaways** - McGuire opened her first Annual Meeting as CEO by launching a member-led process to shape an industry system map leading to Cascale's 10-year vision, 2030 strategy, and 2027 priorities, to be finalized in December. - The approach follows a 90-day listening effort spanning roughly 150 conversations across the value chain, after which she committed to sharpening Cascale's value proposition, clarifying roles across a fragmented industry landscape, and bringing manufacturers to the table as partners. - She positioned Cascale's role as the "passage" for collective action — the shared system brands, retailers, manufacturers, investors, NGOs, and policymakers move through together — rather than a body that dictates the route. - She framed the alliance's next chapter as turning measurement into action: "A thermometer can tell us we have a fever. It cannot cure us." - Members joining in Athens and online will shape the strategy directly through a systems-mapping exercise feeding Cascale's 2030 strategy and 2027 priorities. ## **A Strategy Shaped By Members** McGuire framed her opening as the start of a shared agenda. In her first months as CEO, she met every member of the Cascale team and spoke with nearly 150 organizations across the value chain, asking what is working, what is getting in the way, and what members would change. The answers were consistent: members value Cascale's convening power and the shared infrastructure built over fifteen years, and they want a sharper value proposition, clearer roles across a fragmented field of initiatives, and manufacturers treated as partners rather than measured from a distance. That input now feeds a systems-mapping exercise, led by systems thinkers over the course of the meeting, in which members in Athens and online are asked to identify where the system is working, where it is stuck, and which levers matter most. The output will shape Cascale's 2030 strategy and 2027 priorities directly. ## **Cascale as the “Passage” for Collective Action** Drawing on the collective engineering effort behind the Panama Canal, McGuire offered a metaphor in the passage itself. "That is the role I believe Cascale can play," she said. "Not the ship. Not the captain. The passage." Every vessel flies its own flag and sets its own destination, she noted, yet all depend on the same shared system to get through. For Cascale, that means being the place where the industry can make the system visible, see where it is stuck, identify the levers that matter most, and build a way through together — convening brands, retailers, manufacturers, investors, NGOs, service providers, policymakers, and academia around the frameworks and shared intelligence the industry relies on. McGuire was explicit that this includes clarity about where Cascale leads, where it convenes and partners, and where it steps back. ## **From Measurement to Action** McGuire pointed to the scale of the shared system the industry has built over fifteen years of Higg Index frameworks, stewarded by Cascale and deployed to members and stakeholders through the Worldly platform. This data covers hundreds of millions of metric tons of carbon emissions, trillions of liters of water, and the working lives of millions of people across the global supply chain. "That is not just a database," she said. "That is an enormous responsibility." She was candid that measurement alone is not enough. "[A thermometer can tell us we have a fever. It cannot cure us](https://lnk.to/sourceofgood-yingmcguire)," she said. "Our next chapter is about turning measurement into treatment — insight into investment, action, and measurable results." She recast the investment members make in Cascale not as a cost to minimize but as shared infrastructure no single company should have to build alone — strengthening common frameworks, reducing duplication, and accelerating outcomes no company could reach by itself. Closing, McGuire returned to a recent member question about who in the industry would raise a flag to guide it. Her answer: the flag is carried by everyone in the system. "We raise it together." This is the ambition she asked members to rally around: turning the largest shared sustainability and risk-management intelligence in the industry into its most powerful engine for collective action — data into decisions, investment into solutions, and ambition into measurable progress, for a resilient supply chain, a thriving industry, a livable planet, and decent work for the people whose hands make this industry possible. The [2026 Cascale Annual Meeting](https://cascale.org/events-trainings/events/annual-meeting-2026/register/) is proudly supported by lead sponsor **Worldly**; co-chaired by **VF Corporation** and **TAL Apparel Limited**; additional sponsors include **Nike Inc., Target Corporation, Epic Group, Better Cotton, Fair Wear Foundation, European Cotton Alliance, GSCS International, HQTS, Inspectorio, Lenzing, Solidaridad, ZDHC,** and many more. **Media Contact:** Forster Communications, --- **ABOUT CASCALE** [Cascale](http://www.cascale.org/) is the global nonprofit industry alliance where consumer goods organizations turn shared sustainability ambitions into measurable progress at scale to combat climate change and support decent work for all. We unite 300 Corporate and Affiliate members in pre-competitive collaboration, turning shared measurement and collective action into reduced risk, stronger credibility, and long-term resilience. Our work is anchored by Cascale's stewardship of the Higg Index frameworks (accessed through the Worldly technology platform), along with the Better Buying and Sustainable Furnishings Council tools. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/cascale/mycompany/) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/cascale_org/) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNoRK_m1YP7IasgahjMeN-Q/) [![Cascale logo](/sites/default/files/2024-02/logo_Cascale.png)](/profiles/cascale) ### More from Cascale ###### [Cascale Explores Sustainable Finance Enablers at Climate Bonds Initiative Connect Hong Kong](/news/cascale-explores-sustainable-finance-enablers-climate-bonds-initiative-connect-hong-kong) Sep 14, 2026 12:00 AM ET ###### [Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece to Address Consumer Goods Leaders at Cascale Annual Meeting](/news/deputy-minister-foreign-affairs-greece-address-consumer-goods-leaders-cascale-annual-meeting) Sep 11, 2026 3:00 AM ET ###### [Fashion Summit HK 2026 Showcases AI’s Role in Sustainable Fashion](/news/fashion-summit-hk-2026-showcases-ais-role-sustainable-fashion) Sep 10, 2026 11:40 AM ET ###### [Cascale Attends Preview in Seoul 2026: Korean Apparel Manufacturing](/news/cascale-attends-preview-seoul-2026-korean-apparel-manufacturing) Sep 4, 2026 9:00 AM ET ###### [How Do Consumer Goods Companies Prepare for Evolving EU Sustainability Regulations?](/news/how-do-consumer-goods-companies-prepare-evolving-eu-sustainability-regulations) Sep 3, 2026 3:05 PM ET ###### [Cascale Case Study: Gokaldas Exports](/news/cascale-case-study-gokaldas-exports) Sep 2, 2026 11:15 AM ET ###### [H&M Group, Cascale Among ‘Source of Good’ Season 5 Highlights ](/news/hm-group-cascale-among-source-good-season-5-highlights) Sep 2, 2026 9:00 AM ET ###### [Why Should My Company Join Cascale, and What’s Coming Next?](/news/why-should-my-company-join-cascale-and-whats-coming-next) Aug 25, 2026 12:45 PM ET