IADC HSE & Sustainability Europe 2026 Conference & Exhibition

Call for Challenges (Deadline: 9 February 2026)

The conference program committee for the 2026 IADC HSE and Sustainability Europe Conference & Exhibition would like to continue with the Call for Challenges approach to securing topics and speakers for the upcoming conference.

Instead of the traditional Call for Abstracts, the conference program committee asks our members to identify a problem or challenge you are facing related to HSE, security or sustainability within your companies that need a solution. The committee members will then seek to find relevant speakers or panelists who may have creative solutions to these challenges.

Members of the conference program committee will select issues to be vetted during the two-day conference, providing maximum take-home value for attendees. Once the problems/challenges have been collected, the committee members will meet to select the problems that will be put forward for the conference agenda. The deadline for submissions is 9 February 2026.

Please observe that acceptance of a challenge by the program committee does not necessarily equate to a speaking slot. You may of course propose speakers or panelists – maybe from within your own organization – that the program committee also find appealing, and who therefore will be invited for a session.

What are the Sustainability or HSE challenges you sit with in your organization that you cannot find solutions to?

While you are free to come forward with any challenge that you consider important, a number of categories have been suggested as listed below. However, please note that these categories are merely suggestions. With the submissions in hand, we may see themes that we had not thought of beforehand.

Suggested possible categories for challenges could be:

Technology

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and possibilities in HSE & Sustainability
• Learning from other industries
• Innovative tools, equipment, and developments that enhance safety
• Technology and applications that significantly reduce incidents
• Remote operations and automation

Safety

• Developing meaningful leading indicators
• Safety campaigns and focus areas
• Incident trends and new safeguards
• Emergency preparedness and response strategies
• Strengthening safety leadership at all levels
• Tackling persistent incident types (e.g., dropped objects, hand injuries)
• Combating complacency among leaders and crews

Security

• Physical and operational security challenges
• Cybersecurity and information protection
• Drone Threats. Managing risks from unauthorized aerial surveillance or sabotage
• Supply chain security. Protecting critical materials and equipment from geopolitical disruptions.

People

• Attracting and retaining the next generation of talent
• Human factors and human performance
• Managing safety impacts of high turnover and inexperienced crews
• Addressing weight restrictions and avoiding discrimination
• Effective control and integration of client and third-party personnel

Health

• Occupational Health
• Mental health and wellbeing in remote environments
• Managing heat stress and other climate-related health risks
• Pandemic Preparedness. Are we ready for the next global health crisis?

Sustainability

• Navigating the energy transition and its operational impact
• Sustainability reporting and adapting to evolving regulations
• Environmental challenges and innovative solutions
• Emerging sustainability trends shaping the industry
• Understanding and managing the cost of carbon
• Building a sustainable culture in drilling operations (quick wins, crew engagement)
• Achieving more with less: sustainability on a tight budget
• Circular economy in Drilling
• Biodiversity
• Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

And very likely several others that you may identify.

Please formulate your challenge and share it with us. We will organize the next IADC HSE & Sustainability Europe Conference & Exhibition around those challenges. As you formulate the challenge, please identify the Problem or Challenge, any Complications

An example of a challenge (in the first category above) could be the following (offered by Valaris):

Problem/Challenge

Despite great efforts over many years, we are seeing that the number of fatalities in the industry is going up post Covid. This is apparently a trend across the industry. There have been several suggestions as to why this may be so, including the fact that many accidents and incidents involve new and inexperienced crew. How do we as an industry address this, and how do we develop new talent to be safe and competent as quickly as possible?

Complication

The general reduction in skills and experience within the industry may reflect:

1. Recruitment is becoming much more challenging, either due to people having left the industry that do not want to return, or younger generations that do not see it as an ethical career choice, or one with longevity.
2. We are now routinely dealing with more short-service employees, clearly impacting team competency and stretching our supervisors.

Suggested Speaker(s)

Please suggest speakers that you believe could help address the proposed challenge. The speakers may come from within your own organization or be external.

We will engage with experts and various companies and organizations that could provide a solution or an idea about a possible solution. Please note that we cannot accommodate all challenges and allow us the discretion to select the challenges we find most relevant. We look forward to your participation as we take this novel approach to setting a relevant and timely conference agenda.

Please send all challenges by 9 February 2026 using the form on the website.