An increase in consumer awareness, corporate engagement and regulatory action has led more companies to set ambitious goals to reduce and reimagine their use of plastics and packaging. This deep-dive, four-hour tutorial, featuring speakers from leading brands, packaging companies and NGOs, will help companies turn aspiration into action, setting meaningful and achievable packaging goals — and laying out a roadmap to actually reach these targets. The tutorial will examine the key considerations for companies to set goals around plastics and packaging including incorporating recycled materials, understanding recyclability, navigating regional contexts and setting ambitious yet achievable timelines.

Agenda: 

8:30-8:45 a.m. — Welcome and context-setting

8:45-9:35 a.m. — Part 1: Setting goals for plastics and packaging 

9:35-10:25 a.m. —  Part 2: Shifting packaging to align with goals 

10:25-10:40 a.m. — Break 

10:40-10:50 a.m. —  Reusable packaging spark talk

10:50-11:40 a.m. — Part 3: Packaging beyond plastics, exploring systemic implications

11:40-12 p.m. — Closing 

Executing a successful sustainable event requires thoughtful planning and coordination. Waste Management is proud to once again help develop and manage the zero waste program at all three GreenBiz conferences in partnership with TerraCycle, Copia and more. Please join us for a behind-the-scenes tour and panel discussion with the key stakeholders involved in the zero waste program, who will pull back the curtain to show you how to manage a zero waste stadium, event or conference.

The upcoming circular economy is as real as it is unavoidable. With a 9% circular world today, companies are not only curious about their current circular performance, but also ask themselves how to set meaningful targets and how to measure success through their circular strategies. This session dives into how the Circular Transition Indicators, a framework developed by 26 global companies, can help your company to measure and calculate circular performance, as well as how associated risk and opportunities can be identified, acted on and monitored. We invite you to join us and explore how your company can capitalize on the opportunities held by the 91% improvement space out there.

There’s been a growing buzz around chemical recycling, and the promise of transformational technologies that can close gaps in the current recycling system. More brands, retailers, cities and waste management firms are looking to chemical recycling as a quick fix to stop plastics pollution and cycle valuable materials back into the value chain. However, the technologies are not available at scale, the terminology and applications are not widely understood and the market is just beginning to emerge. This session will begin to break down the chemical recycling landscape in the context of circularity, considering systemic implications, appropriate applications and its role within a company’s overall portfolio of circular economy solutions.

It’s become well known that about a third of the world’s food  — worth roughly $1 trillion annually — is never eaten. And while you may be thinking about far-off farms and factories as the source of that waste, nearly 85 percent of food in the United States is wasted and lost at consumer-facing businesses and homes. But a growing number of foodservice operators are finding that curbing food waste simultaneously can keep edible food out of landfills and keep money in their pockets. In alignment with Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which focuses on cutting food waste and loss in half by 2030, restaurants save on average $7 in operating costs on average for every $1 they invested in reducing kitchen food waste, according to recent analysis. So what will it take for your campus to take a bite out of its food waste problem? From procurement strategy, data collection and menu planning to shifting kitchen and "eater" culture, food rescue and composting, this solutions-oriented breakout will help you get started on cutting down on campus food waste. 

Moving from linear to circular systems will require companies to not only work up and down their value chains, but also with competitors. And we all know that’s easier said than done. From reinventing the single-use fiber cup to scaling the supply chain for ocean-bound plastics, early movers have already started down the path to overcoming competitive concerns and navigating legal considerations to leverage their collective scale and purchasing-power and influence their industries. This breakout will teach you how to establish and engage in meaningful pre-competitive environments to accelerate action on circularity.

With the uptick in NGO calls to action and consumer pressure against single-use plastics, more packaging companies, brands and retailers are making bold commitments to rethink their material use for a circular economy. But some businesses seeking to reduce the plastics footprint of their products have set goals and signed pacts without consideration for the systemic impacts, including science-based targets and other sustainability goals. This can lead to conflicting priorities and ineffective action. This breakout will help your company align climate commitments with sustainability goals and circular aspirations, and navigate the trade-offs of each. We'll explore how to assess existing and planned sustainability targets, and consider holistic impacts across these metrics before taking counterproductive action.

Hear from Copia Founder & CEO, Komal Ahmad, about the company's efforts to solve "the world's dumbest problem," and the link between food waste and hunger. Komal will also share results of the GreenBiz 20 conference food donation program.