2011 Emerging Conference Agenda
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Karen Solomon
Co-Founder, CEO Opportunity Green |
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Chris Ursitti
Founder Los Angeles Center Studios |
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Jennifer Schwab
Chief Sustainability Officer & Co-Founder Sierra Club Green Home |
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Boise Thomas
Actor, Host Discovery Network, Planet Green |
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Peter Shumlin
Governor, State of Vermont State of Vermont |
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Simran Sethi
Award-Winning Journalist |
On a global level, as we move off our addiction to oil, huge money is going to be made. This new economy has the potential to make the industrial revolution and the tech boom of the past look small. Governor Peter Shumlin believes that Vermont is uniquely situated to get a piece of this economic opportunity.
Beautiful Earth Group, President and CEO, Lex Heslin will introduce Gov. Shumlin. The 2011 Green Governor of the Year Award will be presented on behalf of Beautiful Earth and Opportunity Green.
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Ben Packard
VP, Global Responsibility Starbucks |
Starbucks has won several accolades for its environmental initiatives and its environmental efforts have not gone unnoticed. Ever since the popular coffee giant brewed the first cup of Starbucks coffee for retail customers in 1971, it has attracted die-hard fans right along with die-hard critics. What began as a single store in Seattle grew to more than 16,000 stores worldwide, causing some to wonder if Starbucks and the environment were at odds, or if the company cared for Planet Earth as much as they cared for its quickly growing stock. As the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world, the company has succeeded in building an empire on a pile of beans. And while the beans have always been ethically sourced, there are other areas where Starbucks had to do some major green tweaking. But tweak they did, and these days Starbucks and the environment go hand in hand — or recycled cup in hand.
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Manuel Sattig
Communications Manager Project i The BMW Group |
The BMW Group has been named the most sustainable auto manufacturer in the world in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the seventh year running. With project i, the BMW Group is providing answers in a holistic manner to the mobility challenges of the future. In addition to purpose-built premium vehicles with electric drive, the company is also offering intelligent mobility services. Manuel has a unique insight into BMW’s international ecological and social sustainability efforts throughout the value chain, with its comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
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Yves Behar
Founder, Chief Designer fuseproject |
Yves Béhar said that sustainability will change product design, but the challenge for companies is pursuing green in a way that changes the customer experience.
Yves Béhar is a designer, entrepreneur, and sustainability advocate and has had a hand in designing an amazing range of products, many of which you may know or own. From the stylish Roomba like Mint to the Le Cube TV receiver, the One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop, Slingbox, Jawbone ICON, Herman Miller Leaf Lamp, and Swarovski Amplify, the list goes on and on. In his work, Béhar respects society's need for a sustainable future and also takes on projects that create a better future for all.
Integrated reporting starts with traditional financial reporting, but it also includes the positive and negative impacts an organization has on people and the environment. Each year, our corporate sustainability program has a goal: to inform our stakeholders of our performance with a clear and concise report.
View the 2010 Opportunity Green Conference Sustainability Report
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Andrea Robinson
Founder and Director ARC Sustainability |
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Natacha Arnaud Battandier
Sustainability Director Opportunity Green |
The GAMECHANGERS and CULTURAL ICONS, who are accelerating solutions to the world's most pressing issues are showcased in this timely panel. With environmental sustainability at the heart of innovation and change, these experts bring vision, wisdom and multidisciplinary approaches to activating and harnessing global engagement in the movement of business for good.
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Moderator: Sherry Simpson-Dean Executive Strategist Opportunity Green |
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Don Cheadle
Actor & U.N. Goodwill Ambassador United Nations Environmental Program |
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Jeremy Heimans
Co-Founder & CEO Purpose |
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Leslie Cordes
Senior Advisor United Nations Foundation |
Partnerships, Scaling up - The power of green drives Dell's sustainable packaging strategy and new award-winning Ecovative Design is at the hub of a pilot for mushroom based packaging. Harvesting and using this organic material is being praised in the media and its story is one you will hear much about at Opportunity Green.
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Oliver Campbell
Director Procurement Dell |
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Gavin McIntyre
Co-Founder and Chief Scientist Ecovative Design |
Interconnected: Accelerating Green Product Innovation and New Business Models
(Location: Main Stage)
Green product and service innovation continue to evolve as trends shifting the very foundation of business practices and models. We'll hear from leading companies developing transparent methodologies, tools and strategies driving a new generation of products and services that address environmental, social and economic imperatives. This panel will explore cases that highlight behavior shifts and market responses for companies that unite creativity, functionality and profitability to respond to the changing societal values and environmental pressure
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Moderator: Tim Fernholz Business Editor GOOD |
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Ian Yolles Chief Sustainability Officer RecycleBank |
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Andrew Williamson, PhD Director Physic Ventures |
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Annie Lescroart Senior Manager, Sustainability Communications eBay Green Team |
Mobility Visionaries Discuss Immediate Entrepreneurial Opportunities in the Future of Transportation
(Location: Beaudry Theater)
Due to the exorbitantly high capital costs of the associated infrastructure and consumers inherent fear of change, the long-term potential for what many people assumed would be the answer to personal transport, such as urban light-rail and hi-speed rail is far from certain. The realistic future of personal transportation in the United States is going to be considerably focused on using the existing infrastructure far more efficiently and providing layers of transportation options to users. Creating exciting and compelling solutions, developed around existing infrastructure, may be our most effective way forward.
This panel will focus on solutions that are far less capital intensive, are gaining traction and inspiring a new generation of forward thinking entrepreneurs. Service based models that provide consumers access to under-utilized assets, perhaps via rental rather than ownership, are low cost and have faster adoption potential. Variations of point to point, instant access vehicles, peer to peer rental vehicles, the convergence of ridesharing and taxi services, bike sharing and other technology enabled modes are some of the fastest emerging ideas that may make the most economic and environmental sense over the next decade.
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Moderator: David Muyres Agent of Transportation Change OnGoing Transportation, Hunt Green & NewNorth Center for Design & Business |
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Andrea White-Kjoss President and COO Bikestation |
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Dan Sturges Founder IntraGo |
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Jessica Scorpio Co-Founder Getaround |
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Chris Paine Writer / Director Who Killed the Electric Car? |
WORKSHOP: Biomimicry: Emulating Nature’s Genius: USGBC GBCI CMP LEED & AIA Accredited Workshop
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
How can the natural world's 3.85 billion years of systematic refinement inform today's design challenges? This 45 minute overview provides a primer on the philosophy of Biomimicry and its power as a design tool. Attendees will learn to define and identify Biomimicry, recognize the difference between well-adapted and mal-adapted design, navigate the process milestones of the Biomimicry Design Spiral, and use Life’s Principles as a guiding measure for design success.
This overview is a primer on the philosophy of Biomimicry and its power as a design tool. This session is designed to inspire you to further investigate how to apply this tool to your own design challenges.
Workshop participants receive 1 USGBC GBCI CMP credit and 1 AIA CEU for the Biomimicry class. Limited Space Availability - First come, first served.
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Aron Bosworth, LEED AP O+M, BD+C Sustainability Advisor Brightworks |
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WORKSHOP: Your Brand and your CR: They Belong Together
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
Your corporate responsibility efforts should amplify your brand, and your brand should accelerate your CR efforts. So why keep them apart? By integrating CR into your brand promise and infusing CR communications with your most powerful brand attributes, you move both of these critical business priorities further, faster. You sharpen your organization’s collective focus and give your entire tribe—employees, shareholders and external stakeholders—something to rally around and charge forward with. This workshop will show you how.
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Betsy Henning Principal and Co-founder AHA! |
“The New Art of Collaboration”
(Location: Main Stage)
As the role of sustainability in business continues to transform, so has the role of NGOs and socially conscious organizations. What once was monetary support and a stamp of approval has transitioned to NGOs influencing how businesses operate in order to have much larger scale impact. This panel discusses the importance of collaboration and best practices on partnering with NGOs. In addition, it will also examine the role of a new form of organization- the social enterprise.
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Moderator: Tom Kostigen Journalist |
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Tensie Whelan President Rainforest Alliance |
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Lewis Fix VP Brand Management Domtar |
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Sue Igoe SVP RecycleBank |
Getting Buy-in for New Energy Technology: Drivers for Accelerating the Adoption Curve
(Location: Beaudry)
Join a round table of experts from PG&E, Bloomberg and more, as they debate and discuss new utility business models, customer education, and strategies for partnerships that will allow scalability in this dynamic market.
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Moderator: Micah Kotch Director of Operations NYC Accelerator for a Clean & Renewable Economy |
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Steven Kline VP, Chief Sustainability Officer PG&E Corporation |
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Rohit Aggarwala Environmental Advisor Bloomberg Philanthropies |
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Sandra Itkoff Vice President of Strategy BYD America |
WORKSHOP: Using Pattern Breaking for Business Innovation
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
Creative Strategies is an in depth workshop on how you can leverage your creativity to access new ways of design thinking for your business and your sustainability goals. Participants will experience first hand the principles of Pattern Breaking and how to use these tools and strategies to spark innovation in their own organization. Note: it involves chocolate! Frido is a practicing design consultant and conducts creativity workshops for corporations and executive learning institutions. Limited space availability (first come, first served).
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Fridolin Beisert Associate Professor Art Center College of Design |
WORKSHOP: Opportunities in Mobile Landscape: Apps, Data and Sustainability
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
Mobile devices are becoming an increasingly important vehicle for our daily communications, decisions and entertainment, so this workshop will focus on understanding and activating the potential in green apps and the developing trends in mobile apps for businesses. In this interactive workshop, we'll look at how several apps are empowering the sustainability-focused consumer to make better decisions and become more aware of their environmental footprint, and illustrate for participants the behind-the-scenes process of creating a brand new mobile app. Major topics include: design, user experience, utility, sustainability quotient, and monetization. Limited space availability (first come, first served).
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Trevor Roald Manager Product Experience Quickmobile |
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Brian Mullins CEO & Founder daqri |
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Susan Hunt Stevens Founder & CEO Practically Green |
Rapid Growth: The Business of Organics, Food Systems and Sustainable Agriculture
(Location: Main Stage)
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Moderator: William Acevedo Partner Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean, LLP |
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Mary Sue Milliken Co-Chef/Owner & Top Chef Master Border Grill Restaurants |
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Peter Van Stolk CEO Spud.com |
Alternative Finance Models for Green Tech Startups
(Location: Beaudry Theater)
Alternative finance models for green start-ups: Traditional angel and VC funds have provided start-up capital for many green start-ups to date, but new types of funds have emerged in recent years that have different criteria and approaches. In this discussion, hear how double-bottom line funds, government-backed economic development vehicles, philanthropies, and other alternative investors make decisions and how they differ — or not — from "single bottom line" funds, and what entrepreneurs need to do to attract their attention.
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Moderator: Rohit Aggarwala Environmental Advisor Bloomberg Philanthropies |
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Dave Graham Partner GreenStart |
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Bryan Martel Managing Director Environmental Capital Group |
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Sarah Ham Associate DBL Investors |
WORKSHOP: Beyond the Peanut - Using Lifecycle Analysis to Create Goals & Strategies for Design
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
Limited Space Availability - First come, first served. While Lifecycle Analysis [LCA] provides critical metrics for evaluating manufacturing and distribution systems, it can also be used to establish equally critical sustainability benchmarks for design. Moving on from last year's 'How-to' lifecycle workshop,' groups of participants will use LCA information to set sustainability goals for a blue-sky peanut enterprise. They will design strategies for meeting those goals, and will create a sustainable system.
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Heidrun Mumper-Drumm Director of Sustainability Initiatives Art Center College of Design |
WORKSHOP: Design Thinking, Creative Skills for Innovation Workshop
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
The pursuit of innovation requires skills and mindsets that can be taught and fostered, but rarely are, even in creative organizations. Analytical thinking only takes you so far. You need to take bold leaps to come up with breakthrough ideas.
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Maureen Carroll, Ph.D. Co-Founder Lime Design Associates |
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Melissa Pelochino Key Facilitator, Dean of Academics Lime Design Associates |
This Eco-all-star panel includes green movers and shakers representing artists and both large corporations and small business within the music and electronics industry; people who are really making a ‘green’ difference inside and outside of their organizations.
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Sisanie Reategui
DJ 102.7 KIIS FM |
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Kevin Lyman
President & Founder Vans Warped Tour |
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Sean Foreman
Musical Artist 3OH!3 |
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Kathleen Strouse
Executive Director, Digital Business Support Universal Music Group |
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Eric Johnson
Corporate Sustainability Sony Electronics |
The annual Opportunity Green Celebrity Eco-Maverick Award celebrates a member of the entertainment industry who passionately strives to drive environmental efforts. Given to a well-respected celebrity deemed to have used their prominence to promote environmental and sustainable development issues in the US and throughout world. The award honors film/television personalities, musicians and productions that convey environmental messages in the most creative and influential ways.
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Adrian Grenier
Actor, Filmmaker & Cofounder SHFT.com |
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Peter Glatzer
Producer & Co-Founder SHFT.com |
Immediately following Thursday's closing keynote, join us as speakers, sponsors, media/bloggers and attendees unite at the Opportunity Green Post Conference Evening Party. Network and connect at this spectacularly green event.
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Gary Toebben
President & CEO Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce |
Gary L. Toebben oversees the workings of the Chamber, ensuring that the organization champions initiatives contributing to the economic prosperity and quality of life of the businesses and citizens of Los Angeles. Toebben has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) and is currently a member of the ACCE Board of Trustees.
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Sheeraz Haji
CEO Cleantech Group |
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David Crane
President & CEO NRG Energy |
Bringing water back to life is the story of the HydroPack™ and a joint demonstration project in Western Kenya conducted in January 2011 by HTI and Kenya Water for Health Organization (KWAHO). Using Forward Osmosis and a membrane proprietary to HTI, the HydroPack™almost magically changes contaminated water into a healthy, nutritious drink ideal for emergency relief situations. Eastman cellulose triacetate is a key part of the membrane.
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Gaylon White
Director, Design Programs Eastman Innovation Lab |
THINK Exhibit: An Exploration into making the world work better. The public opening of THINK at Lincoln Center, was a first-of-its-kind interactive experience that SYPartners co-created with and for IBM to celebrate the company's centennial. This case study explores the idea of progress, looking at new approaches to today's most pressing global challenges – from securing our food supply, to managing increasing traffic, to developing more personalized medicine – and showing how people are making the world work better.
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Susana Rodriguez de Tembleque
Executive Creative Director SYPartners |
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Nicolas Maitret
Principal SYPartners |
This panel showcases top finalists from the OG25 - the best and brightest entrepreneurial initiatives in clean technology, transportation, infrastructure, social innovation, water management, food systems, community development and more.The Sustainable Face of Affluence 2011 - Dwell Strategy & Market Research
(Location: Main Stage)
For ten years Dwell Media has tracked the modern affluent consumer in order to better understand the "why" not just the "what" behind their purchasing habits. This year the NFA Study revealed even more interesting drivers behind this group of 8.2 million heads of household who plan to spend a record $540 billion in 2012. Michela will give the Opportunity Green attendees a look at this study as it pertains to "green" and "sustainable" living...what products they buy, which brands they trust and how eager they are to live a more sustainable life.
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Michela O'Connor Abrams President Dwell Media LLC |
“Shifting Tides – The Future of Southern California Water in the Face of Unpredictable Supply, Population Growth, and Climate Change.”
(Location: )
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Moderator: David Nahai President David Nahai Consulting Services |
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Tamin Pechet CEO Banyan Water |
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Glen Macdonald UC Presidential Chair and Director UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability |
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William Wescott Ph.D. VP, Innovation - Americas Veolia Environnement North America |
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Gray Davis Governor of California (Ret) State of California |
WORKSHOP: Supply Chain Management: Trends, Opportunities and Challenges
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
An interactive workshop will focus on Supply Chain Management and what the new trends and challenges are for today’s firms in regards of the supply chain. Limited Space Availability - First come, first served.
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Oliver Campbell Director Procurement Dell |
“Building a Sustainable Operation: Corporate Responsibility Strategies for Business Success.”
(Location: Main Stage)
Global businesses are rife with complexities, and the choices about where to focus corporate responsibility efforts always includes challenging tradeoffs. This panel of experts will explore how their companies optimize sustainability strategies to enhance the core business, generating powerful stories that create real bottom-line value.
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Moderator: Betsy Henning Principal and Co-founder AHA! |
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Kathy Gerwig VP, Environmental Stewardship Officer Kaiser Permanente |
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Elizabeth Barry Chief Sustainability Officer Marsh & McLennan Companies |
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Brad Sparks Director, Global Green Initiative KPMG |
Intelligent Building Redefines 'Smart' - Challenges, Myths and Successes
(Location: Beaudry Theater)
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Moderator: Jennifer Schwab Chief Sustainability Officer & Co-Founder Sierra Club Green Home |
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Cindy Ortega Sr. VP, Energy / Environment MGM Resorts International |
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Nicholas Rumanes Sustainable Development Specialist Gensler |
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Brooks Perlin CFO ECO Supply |
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Robert Cull Executive Project Director Cedars-Sinai Medical Center |
WORKSHOP 1 - Intro to Life Cycle Analysis: Hosted by UCLA Extension, Certificate in Global Sustainability Program
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
In this hands-on, interactive workshop, on Life Cycle Analysis will provide a valuable tool and framework for your business. LCA is a key tool for design, supply chain management, and even making personal consumer decisions. Get an introduction to the scope, challenges and possibilities in applying life cycle assessment to decision making processes.
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Nurit Katz Sustainability Coordinator UCLA |
WORKSHOP: 2 - Shifting Gears, Driving Fuel Efficiency
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
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Hector Madariaga Director of Environmental Affairs Southern California Gas Company |
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Mark Lujan Eco Driving Project Manager Southern California Gas Company |
MIT Management Review - SUSTAINABILITY IS NOT A FAD - Or How Sustainability has Become Integrated into the Strategic Agendas of Today's Leading Companies
(Location: Main Stage)
David Kiron is the Executive Editor of Sloan Management Review at MIT. Previously he was a senior researcher at Harvard Business School and a research associate at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University. Kiron holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Rochester and a BA from Oberlin College.
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Moderator: David Kiron Executive Editor MIT Sloan Management Review |
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Lee Turlington VP Global Product Patagonia |
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Bill Morrissey VP - Environmental Sustainability The Clorox Company |
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Todd Flora Manager, Corporate Citizenship IBM |
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
(Location: Beaudry Theater)
The Cradle to Cradle CertifiedCM program is a multi-attribute eco-label that assesses a product’s safety to humans and the environment and design for future life cycles. The program provides guidelines to help businesses implement the Cradle to Cradle framework, which focuses on using safe materials that can be disassembled and recycled as technical nutrients or composted as biological nutrients.
This Cradle to Cradle panel showcase design principles at work in the personal care category . It will provide a deep dive into what C2C means for the personal care category from material chemistry expert Jay Bolus and practitioners from Aveda and the award-winning Be Green.
With so much emphasis on minimising ecological and social impacts, the C2C approach is considered a novel approach as it enables companies to create positive impacts. It also allows personal care companies to expand their sustainability horizons, covering a number of environmental and social facets.
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Moderator: Ariel Schwartz Assistant Editor Fast Company |
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Jay Bolus VP, Technical Operation McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry |
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Chuck Bennett, Ph.D VP, Earth & Community Care Aveda |
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Ron Blitzer CEO & CoFounder Be Green Packaging |
WORKSHOP: Guerilla Marketing
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
Its imperative that all brands have an arsenal of tactics available to them to create the biggest marketing conversion for their efforts.
Attendees would learn at least 5 things they can start doing right now in their marketing programs to gain brand ambassadors and increase their market share without feeling the resentment that comes with many green marketing campaigns. Most importantly, attendees would learn how to carry out these tactics with limited resources (time, people and budget).
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Daniel Schutzsmith Founder Mark & Phil |
WORKSHOP: Getting out of your Comfort Zone - Rethinking Innovation
(Location: Beaudry 2nd Floor Commissary)
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Irwin Miller Principal, Director of Retail Studio Gensler |
