This half-day tutorial will provide the basics of the circular economy, from theory to action, from guiding principles to case studies spanning products, business models and system-level innovations. Much of the work in the circular economy to date has centered on deep analysis of the broader economic opportunity. This session will help translate the theory into practical opportunities for colleagues working in various functions within an organization and value chain.

Farmers and ranchers around the world are experimenting with new techniques that pull carbon from the atmosphere and store it in soil. These regenerative agriculture practices can boost farmers’ bottom line by improving soil health and, if scaled up, could draw down gigatons of carbon dioxide annually. Meet the food companies and farmers who are working on the first regenerative products and learn about a sector that has the potential for dramatic growth.

As more companies set ambitious energy and climate targets, there’s a need for policymakers to send clear market signals that will inspire the private sector to take big, collective steps forward. What role should businesses play in influencing clean-energy policy? How can companies advance new markets and technologies, all while addressing their SDG commitments? This session will explore the growing body of organizations emerging to help unify voices from corporations, the power of private sector to inspire change, the reputational opportunities and risks and how to navigate the tough issues, such as setting an internal policy agenda and getting C-suite buy-in.

Imagine creating a team where each member is fully engaged, motivated, excited about working with you and taking full responsibility for team success. Such high-performance teams are marked by mining clarity, a deep level of trust among team members and a willingness to support each other’s success. This one-hour session -- which is a glimpse of our three-day highly experiential workshop -- will briefly introduce a picture of what is required to succeed in working with others, the interferences that sabotage the best of intentions and efforts, and the mindset essential to be a high-performing team and team member.

Blockchain, artificial intelligence and wireless sensors are poised to become the foundation of the new suite of services needed to power circular supply chains. For example, the notion of a digital ID that would capture product information such as its location or material composition may prove fundamental as companies transition to PaaS models. Product information is also critical to both original equipment manufacturers and recyclers as companies put in place reverse logistics systems. But these systems needn’t stop at physical products. Digitally collecting information about things like the state of farmland my enhance our ability to calculate carbon offsets and a host of other applications that make digital solutions appealing for both natural and manufactured products.

This session will take a broader look at the opportunity to digitize supply chains in a way that enhances circularity, reduces resource use and positions a whole new view of the resources at our disposal.

Think electric planes and other flying vehicles are decades off? Think again. Batteries are on the cusp of being powerful enough to propel a small plane for a short hop — say, from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles. Other flying vehicles, like electric vertical take-off and landing, are being built and piloted in remote regions such as the Mojave Desert. Electric aviation is coming, and this session will explain what transportation professionals need to know about it.

The linear food system is ripe for disruption. Between vast amounts of water and land used for food, deforestation caused by clearing land for crops, and heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers, waste free, regenerative and circular alternatives have a lot to offer. In a circular world, food production will improve rather than degrade the environment. Circular food systems are beginning to address this with the goal of protecting biodiversity and human health. For example, regenerative agriculture uses farming practices like intercropping and no tilling to enrich and regenerate the soil. Food companies are turning the byproducts of food production into the primary ingredients of new delicious products. And materials innovators are working to reduce waste created by the packaging our food is served in. This session will explore the potential for a circuar food system, and feature promising solutions being brought to market in the food industry. 

There’s a lot of talk right now about the “emerging” carbon economy, but in some sectors the carbon economy is well underway. This session will introduce you to the first-mover firms that are selling and using carbon-negative textiles and advanced materials made from greenhouse gases. Speakers will explain the environmental benefits of the new materials and the potential end uses, including in clothing, packaging and furniture.

Reducing the billions of dollars of food waste lost every year is a priority for every step in the food and ag supply chain. Not only will it help ensure adequate food for a growing population, but there is money to be made. Internet of things (IoT) devices such as sensors on products, distribution points, trucks and trains have helped gather data that can be used to reduce and even eliminate waste. IoT analytics are advancing quickly, with new technologies designed to bring improvements to food processing, packaging, distribution and retail. This session will review some of the new IoT technologies and how companies are using them.

We must deploy technologies that suck carbon from the air if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change. Doing so would create a huge new industry: one recent study estimated that products worth an estimated $5 trillion could be manufactured from CO2. This discussion will survey the ecosystem of opportunities in chemicals, materials and infrastructure that will emerge from the growth of this new sector.

Natural gas is becoming the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. energy sector. This session takes a realistic — but urgent — look at addressing those emissions, and at market-ready solutions for these hard-to-reach emission sources, including renewable thermal energy technologies, where and how to use renewable natural gas, and how to decarbonize industry, including the steel and concrete sectors.

As plastics take over our sees and overflow our landfills, we need a completely new approach to this material.  We can’t continue to use plastic in the way that we have, but eliminating it altogether makes no sense either. The vision of a New Plastic Economy includes tenets such as eliminating all unnecessary plastic packaging, reducing single use packaging, ensuring all plastic packaging can be reusable, recyclable or compostable – not just in theory but in practice, and keeping hazardous chemicals out. This session will explore what achieving a New Plastic Economy looks like in practice and how companies and organizations are partnering to make it a reality. 

In collaboration with the North American Council for Freight Efficiency and as part of their Run on Less Regional demonstration, a panel of trucking experts will explore the state of electric trucks.  Regional haul described as trucks that stay in an area with a 300-mile radius and those with dedicated routes will be early adopters of Class 8 electric HD tractors.  The conditions are ripe for this to accelerate the growth of electric trucks in North America goods movement.

Over one billion people on the planet do not have access to electricity. However, enabling access to renewable energy for globally underserved communities on the frontlines of climate change could rapidly realize regenerative progress for these communities and for the world. This is a massive opportunity to create a new paradigm for international development. Join our conversation to talk about the Global Goals, clean energy, gender empowerment, reversing climate change and creating a mutually beneficial relationship between humans and the planet.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up — participation is first-come, first-served.

You’ve probably heard of Project Drawdown's 100 solutions to reverse global warming. Still curious about how we transform insights about solutions into real, systems change? Join Amanda Joy Ravenhill — co-founder of Project Drawdown and executive director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI) — for a conversation about key leverage points for systems change, ranging from blue carbon to transit equity, and how to get involved with BFI's new project, the Co-Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up — participation is first-come, first-served.

INVITE ONLY

This roundtable lunch is open exclusively to GreenBiz’s Clean Energy Equity Showcase honorees, representatives from 10 organizations across the country that are dedicated to making clean energy accessible to all. All honorees are invited to lunch with Danny Kennedy, entrepreneur, thought leader and CEO at New Energy Nexus, the global network of clean energy incubators, accelerators and funds. Kennedy has a long track record of supporting and launching innovative startups, with a deep knowledge of the collaborations and finance available to help organizations thrive. Invitations will be extended beforehand.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up  – participation is first-come, first-served.

Although energy efficiency is rightly becoming top-of-mind for businesses across the country, some companies are still operating with the paradigm of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This session will look at proactive facility optimization programs that help companies achieve emissions reductions and OpEx cost cuts, while also eliminating risk. Redaptive’s Joel Ullman will explore topics including energy efficiency retrofits, “future-proofing” against the risk of inefficient/failed equipment, non-CapEx financing models, and what it all means for the future of businesses and the planet.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up  – participation is first-come, first-served.

Early-generation wind, solar, and battery storage systems are already reaching the end of their useful lives, leaving us with the possibility of millions of metric tons of waste heading to landfills over the next 20 years. However, there are ways we can collect, process and reintroduce these materials back into supply-chains at current or even higher values. Further, it’s imperative that we design next-generation renewable systems for up-gradeability, perpetual useful life and built-in circularity. Join us to discuss how we can address these renewable energy production material end-of-life challenges at our roundtable.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up — participation is first-come, first-served.

According to Project Drawdown, regenerative agriculture has the potential to remove more than 20 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2050 — equivalent to suspending all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions for 3 years. But how do we know the carbon will stay in soils? And what's the best way to keep it there? Dive into the science behind the soil with filmmaker, faculty member and regenerative ag expert Peter Byck.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up – participation is first-come, first-served. 

Description: Wondering what’s going on behind the breathless headlines about carbon removal and its massive market potential? A leading carbon removal expert is here to answer your questions about the policies, technologies and companies that are shaping efforts to capture, utilize and store atmospheric carbon. We will demystify the tech enabling this movement, identify new policy levers and generally explain what your company should know about the emerging carbon economy.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up – participation is first-come, first-served. 

Description: The climate is changing, extreme weather events are increasing, sea levels are rising, and forests are struggling. It’s costing economies, affecting public health, and disrupting nature. It is not news that these effects disproportionately impact individuals in historically marginalized communities, particularly low-income people of color. In addition, communities with the highest tree canopy needs — aka those with the lowest urban tree cover — also tend to be those that have the highest unemployment. Come learn how American Forests is working on “Tree Equity” to drive climate action, support climate justice and create green jobs.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up – participation is first-come, first-served. 

Blockchain can be a tool to enhance trust, transparency and collaboration in supply chains, energy grids and financial markets — and companies are already embedding it within their operations. Experts will show you real applications in place with businesses today and detail how you can bring the power of blockchain to your own use cases. Hear directly from the people putting these solutions into place. Not a product pitch – real, actionable information straight from the source. 

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up – participation is first-come, first-served. 

From CDP to SBTi, from RE100 to EV100, companies are entering and steering through a complex web of ways to codify their renewable energy and climate commitments. However, renewables and reporting don’t have to be intimidating. Join us to explore the opportunities and discuss how to avoid common pitfalls.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up – participation is first-come, first-served. 

Microgrids are integral in protecting against the consequences of climate change — and they can even help address the causes. If you’re wondering how microgrids can help meet customer needs while also meeting sustainability goals, we’ll be exploring the necessary attributes and requirements for a microgrid. Together, we’ll discuss the best way to procure, implement and operationalize microgrids to be able to provide resilient, long-duration power during grid outages.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up – participation is first-come, first-served.

Cleantech companies seek to leverage the power of technology in order to profitably solve the world's energy problems. But the path to commercialization is riddled with barriers that sometimes prove insurmountable to overcome. Join us to learn more about how national labs support innovators, discuss the various roles corporations can play along the path to market for bold entrepreneurs, and optimize these engagements to ensure they’re mutually beneficial.

About Roundtable Lunches: Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants. All roundtable lunches do not have advanced sign-up – participation is first-come, first-served.

In this session attendees will learn what it takes to plan, build and operate high demand charging infrastructure that will not only create cleaner, livable cities, but is scalable, sustainable and profitable. Join technology innovators as they discuss how e-mobility models are changing the way we move within cities, and the practical realities of creating a new economy around this effort – built on a foundation of open-standards, powered by renewable energy sources, dynamically optimized and reinforced by the grid – and paving the way for the imminent electric transportation wave.

Many of the materials traditionally used across industries find their way to landfills. But innovations in materials are enabling us to make products that don’t have this end in sight. Across industries, material science has become a real hotspot for circularity. Some materials have inherently circular characteristics, whether because they biodegrade easily or can be recovered and reused or recycled. Innovations span from the disassembly of electronics for precious metals, to the use of innovative fabrics like banana leaves in apparel, to ensuring chemicals are made from products that biodegrade easily and harmlessly. What will it take to utilize these new materials at scale? Speakers from across industries provide insights.

Hear from clean energy leader Google and software company VMWare about selecting where, when and what renewables to meet energy needs and goals. This discussion will include lessons learned from over a decade in clean energy procurement to help you develop a goal and identify and pursue assets to achieve your objectives.

You can’t get to 100 percent clean energy without including everyone. This session will look at finance opportunities, innovations and markets to ensure that the clean economy will work for residents in all communities. From public-private partnerships to leveraging new financial structures, our experts look at the latest financial innovations that promote inclusivity.

Do you want to push your company to work on carbon removal projects, but aren’t sure how to get colleagues behind the idea? In this interactive session, you’ll actively brainstorm approaches to communicating the urgent need for carbon removal and the benefits it can bring. Join two leading strategists as they use their Thinking Wrong methodology to help you generate bold and innovative new ideas to amplify your company’s climate impact.

The next generation of blazing fast wireless broadband networks, called 5G, is being rolled out this year and will soon start connecting cities, vehicles, street infrastructure and the cloud. Autonomous vehicles, also now emerging, will need super-fast connections to create safer environments for riders and pedestrians. Street and road infrastructure sensors connected to 5G can reduce congestion and make transportation more efficient. This session will explain how 5G could fundamentally change how transportation networks operate.

Circular business models may be a better use of resources, but how do they impact the bottom line?  McKinsey has estimated that in Europe alone, the circular economy to generate net economic benefit of €1.8 trillion by 2030.  This comes from developing new opportunities such as Product as a Service (PaaS), switching to recycled and biodegradeable materials, recovering and repairing parts or materials to reduce total input costs, switching to organic rather than chemical inputs, etc.   This session will go under the hood on how several companies calculated the business advantages of shifting to a circular model and the cost saving, business growth and other results their efforts have produced.

If you're a renter of office, retail or industrial space, you may not know a lot about the carbon intensity of your facilities. But that doesn't mean you can't do anything to decarbonize them. This session highlights the tools, contracts and technologies tenants are using to work with property managers to power their operations more cleanly and efficiently.

Thanks to corporate investments, a slew of new forestry projects will help remove significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere in the coming decade. For many innovative companies, making a direct investment in a forestry project can be one of the most effective ways of offsetting emissions. To help navigate these projects’ social, economic and scientific complexities, companies are partnering with top environmental organizations. In this session, key players behind from both sides of the partnerships will discuss how they are working together to protect and restore forests, including planting millions of trees.

There's a massive deposit of untapped lithium brines under the Salton Sea near California's southern border, which could be used to make lithium-ion batteries that power cell phones, laptops and, increasingly, electric cars. A rise in domestic lithium-ion battery production could lead to a local innovation hub, green energy jobs and needed development in the region. Power companies, battery makers, policymakers, automakers and tech startups are currently investigating how to unlock this potential.

Microgrids have grown into a multibillion-dollar market, providing users flexible and reliable energy. Yet many companies that may be interested in building these projects have trouble making the finances pencil. This session covers companies that have pursued microgrids, and how and why it made sense for their operations. 

Deep decarbonization targets are growing, as states, utilities and companies aim to reach 100% clean energy. Achieving these targets will require a massive mobilization of capital and the deployment of both existing and new technologies. Our experts discuss how corporations are helping finance the clean energy revolution through instruments like bonds, corporate venture capital funds and direct equity investments.

The world’s farms and forests have the potential to draw down billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but monitoring the progress of land-based sequestration projects can be challenging. Hear from the technologists behind the new software tools that are making it possible to track, in real-time, the carbon being removed by even hard-to-monitor locations such as remote forests and large farms. If you’re using land-based offsets to reduce emissions, or thinking about doing so, this session will explain how the new tools can increase confidence in your investment.

Product take-back programs are commonplace at retailers keen to have customers walk their used printers and sweaters back into the store. Manufacturers commonly offer mail-in programs, and even cosmetics brands have begun accepting empty packaging for discounts on the next purchase. But all this is very old fashioned, and oftentimes the path of used items is not circular, or even sustainable. Digitizing take-back and reverse logistics — including the tracking of goods, maintaining an inventory of materials, managing pick-up and optimizing end-markets has huge potential to accelerate circularity. This session will examine efforts to modernize take-back back and reverse logistics and forge stronger links in a circular supply chain.