The Friday Plenary Session at the 21st Triennial Conference will bring the conservation community together for a focused examination of sustainability in conservation, viewed through the lenses of practice, governance, ethics, and institutional strategy. Developed jointly by ICOM-CC and its Working Groups, the session will feature a panel discussion anchored in the results of the Preventive Conservation Working Group’s global survey on Sustainability in Conservation led by David Cohen and Natalija Ćosić.

The survey explores how conservation professionals understand and integrate sustainability across four domains aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): environmental sustainability; social and cultural sustainability; ethical and collaborative practice; and institutional and governance frameworks. Its structure combines reflection prompts with scale-based statements, designed to surface patterns in daily practice, perceived gaps, and opportunities for further research or policy alignment. By framing questions in relation to SDG targets, the survey seeks to positions conservation work within the broader global agenda for sustainable development.