Offsets can help companies reduce their carbon footprints and drive much-needed investment to projects that lower emissions or draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But not all offsets are created equal. Before investing, it’s critical to understand the pros and cons of different kinds of projects and how to build a portfolio of offsets that delivers impact and reliability. In this session, leaders with extensive experience of evaluating offsets will demystify key concepts, such as additionality and “avoided” versus “removed” emissions, and explain the roles played by offset developers, brokers and verifiers. 

To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must build a new carbon economy: an ecosystem of companies, capital and policies that work together to remove billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere every year. That economy is now taking shape. In this session, one of the founders of the Circular Carbon Network (CCN), the organization that has assembled the sector’s definitive dataset, will present an overview of key trends: Who is investing, where those funds are going and which areas are poised for the biggest growth?

As we enter the electric vehicle revolution globally, it has become clear that owning, charging and driving an EV has stark differences from driving an internal combustion engine vehicle. The driver's experience with an EV will rely on software, more than hardware. Learn about how in-vehicle integration, apps and industry partnerships will help pave the way for both consumer adoption and business fleet integration.

Fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides can generate dramatic increases in yields — and increases in greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of pollution. A new generation of crops and agricultural inputs help avoid this trade-off. Plant breeders and biotechnologists have created  varieties that require fewer inputs. And entrepreneurs have launched startups selling fertilizers based on microbes rather than chemicals. This session will explore how these and other new agricultural technologies may help feed a growing global population without doing further damage to the environment.

Inventor and MacArthur Genius fellow Saul Griffith has done the math: America is able to bend the emissions curve, address climate change and create millions of jobs. All we need to do is electrify everything. In conversation, Griffith will talk about his findings and how we don't need to throw out our cars and appliances. We just need to make sure that our next one runs off electricity. After all, the first rule when you're in a hole: Stop digging. 

What design attributes must be considered and prioritized when developing circular products?

When prioritizing the circularity of products, businesses face a daunting task: They must balance design, product performance, health and safety, regulatory compliance and cost, to name a few of the countless considerations — and frequent barriers. With an ever increasing demand to deliver products to market with speed, effectively evaluating and prioritizing these attributes is a critical yet challenging hurtle. This panel will help attendees learn how to weigh these considerations, select better materials and design more circular products. Evaluating design principles, this session will help designers and non-designers alike assess the resources and best practices to effectively make circular products at scale.

The coronavirus pandemic shuttered restaurants, closed school cafeterias and generated hardship that lengthened lines at food banks in cities across the country. Businesses and communities are now building back. But what would it look like if those cities returned not to normal, but something better than normal? In this session, you’ll hear from officials, policymakers and organizers who are building urban food systems that are sustainable, nutritious and inclusive. Their projects present an inspiring future for their communities — and for cities everywhere.

What are the circular economy opportunities for the solar industry, and what will it take to bring these strategies to scale? 

When we talk about energy in the context of the circular economy, the discussion typically centers on generation. A circular economy must be renewably powered, decreasing our reliance on polluting and finite resources. There’s another opportunity, however, to apply circular economy principles to the industry itself: from materials selection and design to end-of-life management. As more panels, turbines and other energy assets are brought online, there is a growing emphasis on the long-term impact that today’s design decisions will have once these assets are decommissioned. And this attention isn’t just coming from developers; renewable energy buyers are changing their expectations as well.

Join this breakout panel to hear the latest on applying circular economy principles to the solar industry.

Millions of people dine out in cafeterias, universities, schools and restaurants every day, making these operations an ideal target for reducing food-related greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge for dining professionals is how to do so while meeting customer expectations on cost, taste and nutrition. Over the past couple of years, hospitals, universities and other institutions have begun to take up this challenge. In this session, you will hear from the leaders and members of the Cool Food Pledge, a multi-stakeholder initiative led by the World Resources Institute that helps organizations serve more climate friendly meals, while also delighting consumers with delicious food choices.

The coronavirus pandemic is bringing to life previously abstract threats. Supply chains are straining under changing patterns of consumer demand and producers are struggling to keep their workforces safe. These are immediate challenges but not new issues. As the pandemic evolves, long-standing questions about the resiliency and sustainability of our food system are getting more attention. Join this session to hear a panel of experts explain how to leverage lessons from the pandemic to boost sustainability efforts, and to share experiences on how your sector of the food industry is coping.

Renewable energy procurement often involves long-term relationships between offtakers, suppliers and local communities. This session considers why renewable contracts are an ideal opportunity for offtakers to assert their preference and influence developers to commit to higher standards — from diversity and inclusion to end-of-life considerations for renewable assets.

The electric truck and bus market is growing rapidly, with dozens of medium and heavy duty vehicle models available by the end of the year. But it'll still take broad partnerships and collaboration to accelerate the transition of trucks and buses to zero emissions. This session will use CALSTART's Global Drive to Zero program as a framework for looking at how to accelerate the adoption of zero emission commercial vehicles. 

Investing in farming practices that draw down carbon dioxide is an exciting new option for companies interested in using offsets to reduce their carbon footprints. In this session, you'll be introduced to what we do and don't know about the potential of these offsets. Leading experts will explain how soils store carbon, why soil sequestration delivers much more than carbon reductions and what your company needs to consider before investing in this rapidly growing segment of the offsets market.

What solutions and best practices can help to tackle plastic packaging in pursuit of more circular outcomes?

In the world of packaging and sustainability, plastics continue to be a hot button issue. The need to eliminate plastic waste and address the environmental degradation it has caused is clear; but solutions vary from company to company, state to state and industry to industry. Companies are committing to PCR content goals, designing for recyclability and investing in recycling infrastructure, exploring material innovations and piloting innovations like advanced recycling and reusable packaging, among other solutions on the growing list of strategies to address the environmental and social implications of business as usual. Join this session to learn how diverse stakeholders are building comprehensive and cross-cutting strategies to tackle plastic packaging, and how you can drive change within your own packaging supply chain.

The need for carbon dioxide removal is clear, but there are many different strategies for growing the technologies, practices and organizations involved. As the sector gathers momentum, it’s critical that the transition is driven by more than just economics. Carbon removal that incorporates equity and justice considerations can lead to more successful outcomes if leaders make smart decisions about which projects get funded, where the projects are based and how local businesses and communities are engaged. In this session, carbon removal experts will unpack these issues and provide practical advice for organizations that want to ensure that removal projects contribute to a more equitable future.

How can businesses make energy strategy decisions that support underserved communities, too? Hear about new options that make it possible for your company to make clean energy procurement decisions that also uplift the communities in which you operate and procure energy.

What role will tech-enabled tracking solutions play in building a circular future?

From QR codes and blockchain to Circular ID and the IoT, future-forward tracking devices hold the promise of simplified reverse logistics, frictionless user experience, and efficient management of reclaimed materials. Is the wide-spread adoption of these innovations the key to an effective circular economy? What untapped value will these technologies unlock and what innovations will they enable?  Join this session as we explore what a connected future might look like and how we can effectively leverage connection technologies today.

What impact is your company having on the environment, communities and public health? The interconnected nature of food businesses makes such an assessment daunting. Enter True Cost Accounting (TCA), a road-tested and practical method for conducting holistic impact evaluations. Come to this session for insights from leaders who have used TCA in their businesses.

VERGE Accelerate is a series of fast-pitch competitions featuring leading startups advancing the clean economy. Today’s session highlights five entrepreneurs building solutions related to transportation. Hear expert reactions to each pitch and then cast your vote to help determine the winner, who will get to pitch in the main stage finals on Friday, October 30.

Market-based incentives play an important role in accelerating transportation decarbonization for organizations in many industries across the country. In this session, we will discuss current and planned low carbon fuel incentive programs, how to leverage the incentives these programs provide, and key insights surrounding emerging markets and technologies.

While California is starting to meet its clean energy goals, its emissions from transportation have been rising thanks to a combination of long commutes, sprawling housing development, under funded transit options and a booming trucking industry. But the state is now aggressively tackling transportation emissions across many fronts. Hear how from the clean air chief of California. 

Indoor farming can sound like a sustainability bonanza. Operating from high-tech facilities, a new generation of companies is growing crops using less space, less water and no pesticides. But there are hurdles to be overcome if controlled environment agriculture is to play a more significant role in reshaping our food systems. Vertical farms, for instance, require a lot of energy, which if supplied by fossil fuels can generate additional greenhouse gas emissions. And at present, much of the sector is focused on leafy greens, a relatively niche market. Leading entrepreneurs will share their perspectives in this session on how the sector can both expand and become more sustainable.

Eliminating energy-related GHGs from industrial commodities is critical to achieving a zero-carbon energy system. Learn about the REBA Institute's initiative to help companies send zero-carbon demand signals to decarbonize these hard-to-abate, energy-intensive industrial sources at the base of their supply chains.

Some offset projects come with additional positive outcomes that go beyond reducing atmospheric carbon. Many of these co-benefits line up with the UN Sustainable Development Goals: To broaden access to clean water, improve indoor air quality or create new revenue opportunities for local communities, for example. In this session, you’ll hear from leaders who have helped develop co-benefit projects and learn about the reasons for investing in these win-win offsets.

There is a wide spectrum of renewable energy solutions in a retail energy market available to companies striving for sustainability goals. For many organizations, a retail solution not only provides a streamlined means to access renewable energy but can also be among the most cost-effective options. This session will explore the range of solutions in a retail energy market.

What can an expert teach you about our national recycling system and how we can collectively improve it? Ask them!

The U.S. needs a more robust and efficient national recycling system, but the current state of affairs and necessary changes can be confusing, to say the least. Prior to the pandemic, the U.S. recycling rate hovered at around 35 percent. Since then complexity and challenges have only grown with the rise of single-use items and their disposal, increased residential waste and strained city and state budgets that fund our recycling programs. How can we improve the patchwork of recycling structures across the United States? What policies are needed to build resilience into our recycling systems? How should companies be thinking about and engaging with these structures and policies? Where do I even begin?   

Bring any and all of your questions to this interactive Q&A with resident recycling expert, Dylan de Thomas, VP of Industry Collaboration at the Recycling Partnership.

Destruction of old-growth tropical forests presents a profound threat to the planet — a threat that the food industry has recognized and pledged to eliminate. Yet, food sourced from newly deforested land remains part of global supply chains. In this session, industry experts with inside knowledge of sourcing and supply will talk frankly about why it has proved so hard to address this problem and what it will take to finally remove deforestation from supply chains.

Organized wholesale markets are one of the most efficient paths to clean energy access for all. In this session we'll introduce REBA’s set of Buyers Principles on Organized Wholesale Market Design, discuss a recently released study by Energy Innovation on customer benefits of wholesale markets in the southeast and hear a buyer's perspective on why markets are the fastest, cheapest path to clean energy for all.

How and when should corporations get involved with policy?

While many companies are taking audacious steps on clean energy and sustainability goals, most are not. It’s clear we need policy that encourages the collective, precompetitive steps needed to reduce emissions across industries

Companies enjoy more political clout than ever, and time is running out to bend the emissions curve. This session looks at the responsibility of businesses to be advocates for clean energy and climate policies beyond their own operations, and why their customers and employees will thank them for their leadership.

Global consumption of fish and seafood has more than doubled in recent decades, but more than a third of the world’s assessed fisheries are thought to be overexploited. And while the rise of aquaculture has helped take demand off wild stocks, the process brings with it new environmental impacts. In this session, the innovators behind new fishing technologies will chart a course to better ways of managing wild and farmed stocks. Discover how blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning can help create a truly sustainable future for an industry that is playing an increasingly important role in meeting global protein needs.

There are a wide range of nontraditional startup funding options, including government funding, and innovative approaches to impact capital, like blended capital stacks, donor advised funds, impact debt, PRIs, and recoverable loans. Hear from leading pioneers of these options.