2019 Conference Program

DAY ONE - Wednesday, October 30

• Sav Dhaliwal, Chair, Metro Vancouver
• Malcolm Brodie, Chair, National Zero Waste Council

• Skylar Tibbits, Founder of the Self-Assembly Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Associate Professor of Design Research in the Department of Architecture

Humans are endlessly creative, but one of our greatest shortcomings is that we build things that have no ability to adapt to changes in the environment.

Skylar Tibbits has a bold vision – a world where buildings, products and machines are capable of self-assembly, repair and replication, without robotic parts. This adaptive quality extends the life of materials and is the ultimate form of recycling. When you consider the reduce, reuse and recycling qualities of programmable materials, the possibilities are endless—reduced fossil fuel usage in material manufacturing, or even buildings that deconstruct to be recycled. 

Skylar Tibbits’ presentation will provoke us to radically reimagine how we use materials and interact with products in our day to day lives.

Moderator: Kathryn Gretsinger, Journalist and Professor              

Businesses are critical drivers of the circular economy, and companies around the world are stepping up and demonstrating leadership with innovative approaches. Through thought-provoking presentations and discussion, this session will explore business transformation across sectors of the economy that are foundational to Canada. Hear how companies are innovating, and overcoming perceived and real barriers to realize economic opportunities while reducing environmental impacts by going circular.            

Spark Talk

• Brendan Edgerton, Director, Circular Economy, World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Panel:

• Arran Stephens, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Nature’s Path Foods Inc.
• Robyn Collver, Senior Vice-President, Risk & Regulatory Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer, Canadian Tire
• Denise Coogan, Environmental Partnerships Manager, Subaru
• Adam Corneil, Founder and CEO, Unbuilders

Moderator: Mike Gerbis, CEO, GLOBE Series & The Delphi Group

Jumpstarting innovation is essential to moving to circular models of production, designing out waste and creating regenerative systems. The National Zero Waste Council, working in collaboration with Think Beyond Plastic, are collaborators in the Canadian Innovation Showcase and are looking for Canadian innovations that will contribute to a new plastics economy – one where the amount of new plastics is significantly reduced and the limited amount of plastic used is reusable, recyclable or compostable.

The Innovation Challenge is looking for innovations in design with a focus on prevention, innovative business models that reduce waste, and new materials.

Announcement of Finalists

Hosts:

• Rebecca Beckham, Innovation Programs Coordinator, Think Beyond Plastic
• Malcolm Brodie, Chair, National Zero Waste Council

As we work to tackle food waste on a national scale, considering how packaging is applied along the entire supply chain will be an important part of the solution. Following on the launch in 2018 of the National Zero Waste Council’s A Food Loss and Waste Strategy for Canada, a new body of research is exploring how food packaging affects the amount of food wasted along the supply chain in Canada. From meat to fresh produce and seafood, this project begins where other projects in the US and Europe have left off, toward a made-in-Canada approach to better prevent food loss and waste while supporting sustainable and environmentally sound decision-making by all in the supply chain.

Catch an early snapshot of new findings on the relationship between food loss and waste and packaging offers insights for policy and practice.

Panel:

• Martin Gooch, CEO, Value Chain Management International
• Tom Rosser, Assistant Deputy Minister, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
• Ron Lemaire, President, Canadian Produce Marketing Association
  

Moderator: James Downham, Vice-Chair, National Zero Waste Council and President & CEO, PAC Packaging Consortium

• Harald Friedl, CEO, Circle Economy

Circular economy has recently made international headlines with the 2019 Circularity Gap Report, released at the World Economic Forum in Davos. It sounds the alarm that the three most threatening environmental challenges – the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and diminishing resources – are not being addressed fast enough. A more rapid uptake of the circular economy provides a way out of this situation. Harald Friedl will share his insights on how to close the gap and accelerate the global transition to a circular economy.

Moderator: Mike Wilson, Executive Director, Smart Prosperity Institute

Cities and metropolitan regions are the epicenters of economic growth and innovation. And they are an ideal testing ground for the application of circular economy principles and approaches. Across the globe, the circular economy is being embraced at the city level for its potential to encourage a systems approach to waste prevention and material savings as well as job creation and innovation – catalyzing new business opportunities across a variety of sectors as we rethink how to deliver goods and services in a new way. We will be examining the changing roles of cities as zero waste leaders, as our society and its systems evolve towards the circular economy.

European Stories:

• Anni Sinnemäki, Deputy Mayor, Helsinki
  
• Nolwenn Foray, New Plastics Economy, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
  
• Tamara Streefland, Circular Cities Program Lead, Metabolic

The Canadian Journey:

• Meaghan Davis, Acting Manager, Circular Economy and Innovation Unit, City of Toronto
• Barbara Swartzentruber, Executive Director, Smart Cities, City of Guelph
• Meaghan Kahnert, Senior Consultant, Energy & Sustainability, Arup Canada
• Christina Seidel, Co-Chair, National Zero Waste Council Circular Economy Working Group, and Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Alberta

Moderator: Brock Carlton, CEO, Federation of Canadian Municipalities

• Valerie Craig, Deputy to the Chief Scientist and Vice President of Operating Programs, National Geographic Society

Moderator: Vanessa Timmer, Co-Founder and Executive Director, One Earth and Board Member, National Zero Waste Council

• Sav Dhaliwal, Chair, Metro Vancouver

DAY TWO - Thursday, October 31

• Jack Froese, Chair, Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Committee
  

• Arthur Huang, Founder and CEO, Miniwiz
• Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO, TerraCycle

As Founder and CEO of Miniwiz, Arthur is accelerating the shift to a circular economy where everything from consumer goods to architectural structures are made from recycled materials and then continue to be recycled as they reach the end of their lives. Meanwhile, Tom, Founder and CEO of Terracycle, began with the challenge of recycling the “non-recyclable” but has now moved beyond recycling to a new zero-waste platform involving a coalition of major consumer product companies. This new company, called Loop, is piloting the delivery of a wide range of consumer products in reusable, refillable containers – no more single use items. Be prepared to have your concept of waste wither away!

Moderator:  Kathryn Gretsinger, Journalist and Professor

Only 9% of the plastic waste generated annually in Canada gets recycled. Three million tonnes, representing $8 billion in economic value, embedded energy, and resources, is thrown out - representing a huge innovation challenge and opportunity. This session will bring together leading voices on plastics to discuss and debate Canada’s path forward, and the changes needed to transform how we make, use, and recycle plastics, to ensure it remains in the economy and out of the environment.

Rethinking the Future - A Global Commitment

• Nolwenn Foray, New Plastics Economy, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

A Pan-Canadian Approach

• Michael Goeres, Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment

Responding Panel:

• Mitchell Toomey, Director of Sustainability, BASF Corporation
• Jeremy Douglas, Vice President, Development, Ocean Wise
• Usman Valiante, Senior Policy Analyst, Cardwell Grove Inc.
• Maja Vodanovic, Co-Chair, National Zero Waste Council Plastics Advisory Panel and Mayor, City of Lachine
• Pierre G. Lafleur, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal
  

Moderator: Velma McColl, Managing Principal, Earnscliffe

SITRA is a driving force behind Finland’s circular economy leadership at home and abroad - having developed one of the first national circular economy roadmaps, and pioneering the World Circular Economy Forum. Setting the stage for the panel that follows, Kari will reflect on Finland’s journey, and the leadership and success factors critical to circular economy transitions.

Kari Herlevi, Project Director, Circular Economy, The Finnish Innovation Fund, SITRA in conversation with Vanessa Timmer, Board Member, National Zero Waste Council and Co-Founder and Executive Director, One Earth

Blending insights from Canadian leaders with audience input, we will assess where we have made inroads and what’s critical to ensure Canada’s transition to a circular economy at scale and speed. What strengths and innovations can we build from, and what leadership and action is needed now to mobilize for success? What success factors will be critical to scaling up Canada’s circular economy transition?

Panel:

• Stephanie Cairns, Director of Cities and Communities & Policy Director of Circular Economy, Smart Prosperity Institute
• Robyn Collver, Senior Vice-President, Risk & Regulatory Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer, Canadian Tire
• John Coyne, VP, External Affairs & Sustainability, Unilever Canada & Executive Chair of the Board, Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance
• Sophie Langlois-Blouin, Vice-President of Operations, RECYC-QUÉBEC
• Mikhael Metauro, Director – Supply Development, Cascades Recovery+
• Christina Seidel, Co-Chair, National Zero Waste Council Circular Economy Working Group, and Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Alberta
• Mike Wilson, Executive Director, Smart Prosperity Institute

• Jack Froese, Chair, Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Committee
• Malcolm Brodie, Chair, National Zero Waste Council