Registration & Information
Pick up your registration materials here, along with answers to all your questions.
Retail Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing Committee Meeting (Committee Members Only)
This meeting is open to committee members only. If you have any questions please contact adam.siegel@rila.org Retail Energy Management Meeting (Committee Members Only)
This meeting is open to committee members only. If you have any questions please contact erin.hiatt@rila.org
Retail Environmental Compliance Meeting (Committee Members Only)
This meeting is open to committee members only. If you have any questions please contact sue.pifer@rila.org
Workshop: Sustainability 101
This session will offer an opportunity to learn from leaders in the retail sustainability field. Through interactive case studies and small/large group activities, this “learn-by-doing” environment will offer participants the opportunity to both network and learn from leaders in retail sustainability. The workshop will cover topics in sustainability such as making the business case, connecting to the core purpose of your company, the maturity arch of sustainability in retail, metrics for measuring progress (e.g., GRI, SASB, CDP), engaging buying and sourcing teams, collaborating with external stakeholders, working with operations, and engaging suppliers. The workshop will encourage participants to share challenges, successes and tips as they share with one and other and with the session leaders.
Speaker(s):Ashley C. Hall, Senior Manager, Product Sustainability, Walmart
Jessica Balsam, DTC Global Sustainability Manager, NIKE
Tim Greiner, Co-founder, Managing Director, Pure Strategies
Workshop: Finance 101: Understanding the CFO & Translating Metrics
Join Deloitte Finance to learn how most effectively communicate the value proposition of energy efficiency and sustainability projects to your corporate finance team.
This session features:
- Insights into the CFO role,
- Hands-on exercises,
- Case studies, and
- Key take aways from interviews with senior retail finance professionals to get you from project idea to implementation.
Speaker(s):Martha Fung, Manager, Strategy & Operations, Finance, Deloitte
Josh Mellinger, Manager, Strategy & Operations Practice, Deloitte
Election 2016 & Government Relations 101
The outcome of 2016 elections stand to be the most historically significant and game changing to American politics and government. Not only has the presidential race proven to be one of the most chaotic and polarizing in our nation’s history, but the elections could also flip political powers in the U.S. Senate. This session will provide a dynamic snapshot of the November 8th elections from two D.C. power players, as well as insights into the importance of a strong retail industry government relations presence in Washington, D.C. RILA’s government relations team will uncover the key strategies and tactics for engaging with Congress and the White House on industry policy priorities.
Speaker(s):Moderator:
Jennifer Safavian, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, RILA
Panelists:
Hun Quach, Vice President, International Trade, RILA
Christine Pollack, Vice President, Government Affairs, RILA
Sage Eastman, Principal, Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas
CR Wooters, Principal, Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas
Opening Reception in the Spark
Please join us for a welcome reception in The Spark to kick off the 2016 RSECC. Play the Connections Game and win prizes!
Conference Orientation in the Spark
Come learn in The Spark from the pros on how to best take advantage of the event - whether you’re here to network with peers, identify new service providers, learn in the sessions, or all of the above! RILA staff and conference regulars will share their tips, followed by time for questions and networking with veterans and fellow newbies.
Informal Dine-Arounds
Join colleagues and dine around the National Harbor. Sign-up onsite at the registration and information desk. Please contact liz.solorzano@rila.org for more information. This is a first-come first-served event. Pay on your own -- price ranges will be indicated on sign up sheets, located near RILA Registration.
Registration & Information
Pick up your registration materials here, along with answers to all your questions.
Annapolis Registration Desk
Retail Sustainability Steering Committee Meeting (Committee Members Only)
This is a private meeting for RILA members on the Retail Sustainability and Environmental Compliance Steering Committee. The committee is comprised of sustainability and environmental compliance leaders across retail segments and is primarily responsible for planning the annual conference.
Breakfast & Networking
Join us for breakfast and networking before the day begins.
Sponsor(s):
Wipro EcoEnergy
Offsite Tour: Lobbying for Sustainability on Capitol Hill
Invite only – please contact Adam Siegel at adam.siegel@rila.org to learn more
Offsite Tour: Air and Space Museum & Smithsonian Tour
Buses will depart at 8:00 a.m. | An in depth tour led by the museum's docents (volunteer guides), will highlight the Museum's collection and trace the history of air and space travel.
Offsite Tour: Walking Tour of the Monuments
Buses will depart at 8:00 a.m. | Learn about the history of the National Monuments on this walking tour through D.C. While on the tour hear about how each monument has been operating with sustainability in mind.
Offsite Tour: Kayaking
Buses will depart at 8:00 a.m. | Chat with your fellow paddlers as you kayak along the quiet, forested shores of Piscataway Bay, past osprey nests high up in the island trees, with eagles and osprey soaring overhead looking for their next meal. As you approach the Potomac River, you'll enjoy a wonderful historical perspective of the region, with distant views of Mount Vernon, the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building, and the Fort Washington Light House.
Offsite Tour: Capitol Hill Tour
Buses will depart at 8:00 a.m. | Once inside the historic Capitol, visitors will see the Crypt, the Rotunda, and National Statuary Hall during this guided tour.
Workshop: The Road to Sustainable ECommerce
The cultural shift to E-Commerce has brought with it new expectations for immediate gratification and convenience. Retailers struggle to navigate ever-evolving technologies and platforms, while offering consumers a seamless and excellent experience. Even more challenging is the growing need to meet these expectations while reducing the environmental impact. Is it even possible for E-Commerce to be sustainable? And what would it take?
Through this highly interactive session, UPS will help participants navigate the new challenges of E-Commerce. You'll have a chance to explore and discuss the latest consumer insights, emerging strategies on collaboration and innovation, and practical techniques for measuring and managing results.
Speaker(s):Greg Brown, President, Retail Sector, UPS
Ed Rogers, Senior Director, Global Sustainability, UPS
Brian Becker, Manager, Sustainability Solutions, UPS
Lunch & Networking in the Spark
Join your peers for lunch and networking in the Sparkprior to the conference kickoff and opening keynote. Play the Connections Game to win!
Welcome & Conference Kickoff
Unbox Your Thinking to Create Innovation Breakthroughs
Businesses know that innovation keeps them on the cutting edge of everything from technology to lifestyle to marketing to productivity increases. Why has innovation become mission critical? In this eye-opening, roller-coaster tour through the landscape of now, you will learn how "Ubertrends" — massive waves with broad implications for today's business and consumer lifestyle — are reshaping the innovation landscape. Ubertrends help explain the driving forces behind market phenomena and how these tectonic shifts affect demographics, products and retail logistics technology.
Speaker(s):
Michael Tchong, Founder, ubercool INNOVATION
Chasing Generator Status: Clarifying Definitions, Examining Recent Trends
Environmental Case Study: Now that retailers understand their duty to manage waste that is hazardous as hazardous waste, which generator requirements apply and why they apply can be a vexing question. This presentation and panel discussion will focus on the operational challenges and enforcement risks associated with determining the correct generator status. This discussion will also focus on best strategies for adopting a strategic plan for determining and monitoring generator status under the ever shifting sands of federal and state rules and guidance regarding retail and pharmaceutical waste generation, including as the rules and guidance relate to reverse distribution. This discussion will be in the weeds with compliance experts who, through experience, anecdotes, and analysis, will help attendees identify issues with their approach to determining generator status. The audience will be encouraged to participate and share their experience with building the foundation to good waste management programs in these shifting sands. New rules from EPA will be incorporated into the discussion as appropriate and timely.
Speaker(s):Gavin Pendleton, Manager, Costco
Greg Blount, Partner, Troutman Sanders
Karlie Clemons, Attorney, Troutman Sanders
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Turning Supply Chain Data Into Insights, Action, and Results
Responsible Sourcing Case Study: This session will highlight how data from 2,000 of the most important food and consumer goods companies can be used to: identify risk areas with individual suppliers, categories, sourcing regions and policies, benchmark retailer sourcing performance against peers and benchmark suppliers in each category, set and track goals for category and supplier improvement, track performance and compliance with business commitments and other cross-sector initiatives such as the Consumer Goods Forum Deforestation Commitments and the new UN Sustainable Development Goals, and correlate sustainability performance with improved business performance for each supplier.
Speaker(s):Brittni Furrow, Director, Sustainability Index, Walmart
Sheila Bonini, Chief Executive Officer, The Sustainability Consortium
Jim Sullivan, Vice President, Sustainability & Business Innovation, SAP
Sponsor(s):
Li & Fung, Intertek, ELEVATE
Creating a Self-Reinforcing Energy Management Strategy
Energy Case Study: Energy management can feel like a stop and go ride that stalls when projects with the quickest paybacks are exhausted. However, retailers can tap into new economical projects if they stop to address the internal processes underlying their success. Using a recent submetering project as a case study, join Ryan Billing, Director of Construction with Abercrombie & Fitch to discuss how addressing internal processes like leasing, energy modeling, and relationship building have been just as critical to successful energy savings as knowing the best technology options.
Speaker(s):Ryan Billing, Director, Technical Services, Abercrombie & Fitch
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, Current powered by GE, Altenex
Good to Great: Welcome to the Shark Tank
Sustainability Case Study: You’ve experienced the excitement of the Shark Tank on TV, now live that entrepreneurial spirit in person during RILA’s version of the same concept. Match wits with our panel of sharks, each one tougher than the next, as they decide if your ideas have what it takes to be a sustainability success. Compete against other teams for chance to win prizes and have your ideas evaluated further by RILA leadership post conference.
Speaker(s):Paul Campbell, Director, Sustainability, Green Leadership, Sears
Erik Mohn, Manager, Sustainability, Schneider Electric
The Sharks:
Robert Ter Kuile, Vice President, Global Head of Sustainability, Fossil
Christina Nicholson, Director, Environmental Impact, Gap
Todd Nash, Director, Social & Environmental Responsiblity, The Home Depot
Safiya Nieves, Project Manager, Energy & Environmental Programs & Procurement Project, Rite Aid
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, UL, Avangard Innovative
Review RILA's New Tool: The Center for Retail Compliance
Environmental Compliance Case Study: Come and learn about this free resource on environmental compliance for the retail community. Ensuring compliance with numerous complex environmental regulations in a retail setting is challenging. This session will discuss new initiatives that the CRC is developing to provide solutions to these challenges and help retailers build more effective compliance programs.
Learn about a new program framework that retailers can use to optimize their compliance programs and benchmark with their peers. We will also look at using existing data and analysis to better understand and improve compliance. This includes using compliance and store data to predict potential non-compliance, identify facility characteristics associated with noncompliance, and to evaluate behavior-based compliance approaches in order to identify what is most effective in a given situation. In addition, we will discuss a self-certification program that can help retailers evaluate and improve compliance at the facility level. Participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback on these concepts and learn how to get involved.
Speaker(s):Tiffin Shewmake, Executive Director, CRC, RILA
Mike Crow, Chief Data Illuminator, Crow Insight
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Map Your Forced Labor Risks to Enable Responsible Sourcing
Responsible Sourcing Case Study: Any company will tell you, it does not explicitly choose to source from areas with forced labor, yet it is associated with an alarming number of Fortune 1000 supply chains. In order to eradicate forced labor and enable ethical sourcing in the supply chain, companies must first understand where supply chain risks lie. Attend this session to learn how mapping your supply chain provides you with an actionable plan to ensure forced labor and unethical practices are not a part of your business.
Speaker(s):Preston Witt, Manager, Supplier Code of Conduct Compliance, Costco
Tonette Lim, Manager, Operations, UL
Sponsor(s):
Li & Fung, Intertek, ELEVATE
Thinking Inside the (Store) Box: EDF Climate Corps and RILA Co-Develop Leading Practices for Project Development
Energy Case Study: Learn how EDF, RILA, DOE and leading retail companies partnered over the summer to develop retailer-centric leading practices. Best Buy, EDF and RILA will share a specific example of leading practices to design pilot and scale energy management projects, drawing on past learnings and the development of new case studies and other tools.
Speaker(s):Huge Cherne, Senior Manager, Sustainability, Best Buy
Erin Hiatt, Senior Manager, Sustainability & Compliance, RILA
Scott Wood, Manager, EDF Climate Corps
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, Current powered by GE, Altenex
Materiality & Sustainability
Sustainability Case Study: This session will explore the SASB accounting standards for the retail industry, and highlight how they represent a pragmatic approach to:
• identifying the energy/sustainability topics most material to the retailers
• measuring performance relative to those topics
• transforming how energy/sustainability matters are valued
• improving corporate disclosures
Speaker(s):Jennifer Silberman, Vice President, Sustainability & Wellness, Target
Gabriella Vozza, Sector Analyst, Consumer Goods & Retail, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
John Thigpen, Manager, Energy & Sustainability Services, JLL
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, UL, Avangard Innovative
Seeking Inspiration from Wildlife
Speaker(s):
Dennis Kelly, Director, National Zoo
Sponsor(s):
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Seeking Inspiration from Wildlife
Speaker(s):
Gary Knell, President, Chief Executive Officer, National Geographic Society
Sponsor(s):
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Networking Reception in The Spark
Join conference attendees for an evening reception in The Spark. Share the day's learnings, while you connect and network with peers. Play the Connections Game to win!
Morning Yoga
Relax with an early morning yoga session before the start of the day. Namaste!
Registration & Information
Pick up your registration materials here, along with answers to all your questions.
Annapolis Registration Desk
Breakfast & Networking
Join us for breakfast and networking before the day begins.
Sponsor(s):
Clean Harbors/Safety-Kleen
Concurrent Session: Concurrent Session: Waste Ban Awareness – Recycling Mandates from Two Progressive States
With the passage into law the Massachusetts’ Commercial Organics Waste Ban in 2014 and California’s Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling Rule in 2016 – and with other states and localities sure to follow suit – the importance of staying ahead of rules for organics recycling has become increasingly clear. Construction materials recycling regulations and landfill disposal bans on readily recyclable construction and demolition materials also shine a spotlight on increasing requirements related to these materials. This session will focus on the latest updates on the recycling rules and best practices from two progressive jurisdictions.
Speaker(s):John Fischer, Branch Chief, Commercial Waste Reduction & Waste Planning, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
Marshalle Graham, Senior Environmental Scientist, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Leadership Lessons: Leading Sustainability for the Largest U.S. Purchaser, the Federal Government
Speaker(s):
Christine Harada, Federal Chief Sustainability Officer, Office of Federal Sustainability, Council on Environmental Quality
Happy Giving: The Emotional Rewards of Doing Good
Speaker(s):
Mike Norton, Professor, Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Scaling Impact through Social Innovation: How the Hershey Company is working to nourish 1 million minds by 2020
Speaker(s):
Whitney Mayer, Manager, Social Innovation, Hershey
Concurrent Session: Environmental Compliance Information Systems (EMIS)
Valvoline has a consistent Environmental, Health and Safety record, aspiring to achieve its ultimate goal of zero incidents. Through constant re-examination of its processes and procedures, Valvoline has been able to improve its record in the EHS space. Valvoline is leveraging technology to monitor performance through a robust management information system and industry leading data analytics tools.
Valvoline, in its effort to constantly strive to meet its ultimate goal, partnered with ProcessMAP one of the industry leaders in EHS MIS. The partnership combines Valvoline’s EHS commitment and expertise with a comprehensive technology platform.
Valvoline’s presentation will consist of three key sections:
1) Valvoline’s Health and Safety History – a look back on how Valvoline first implemented key KPIs to monitor and improve employee’s workspace and customer areas within the company.
2) Valvoline’s Current and Future EHS Initiatives – a review of Valvoline’s key metrics, processes, procedures and methods in encouraging safe behaviors throughout the Valvoline ecosystem.
3) Valvoline’s Commitment to Technology – a discussion around how the ProcessMAP platform along with its associated data analytics tool will provide lagging and leading indicators in order to improve Valvoline’s EHS performance.
Speaker(s):Nate Snyder, Senior Manager, Safety Services, Valvoline
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Partnering with Corporations to Promote the Next Generation of Sustainability
Speaker(s):
Tom Murray, Vice President, Corporate Partnerships Program, EDF
Workshop: Design Thinking
Whether you are addressing or influencing the needs or actions of customers, employees, factory workers, or others, all of our work is ultimately about influencing people. Design thinking is a process that has been employed and refined for many years and in many contexts to put people at the center of decision-making. It presents a methodical set of critical skills to empathetically listen to and understand the needs, desires, and challenges of your stakeholders; rapidly develop, prototype, and refine creative new solutions at low cost; then deploy solutions at scale. Come to this session for an introduction to the design thinking process and how you can use it in your own work.
Speaker(s):Kimberly Douglas, President, Firefly Facilitation
Workshop: Innovating for the Future: A Different Look at Sustainability
The world is changing rapidly in ways that will have profound implications for the retail sector in the US and beyond over the next 15 years. Some of these changes we can foresee with a high degree of likelihood, others are far less certain. While we can’t predict the future, we know it will be dramatically different from today. Join Georgia Rubenstein of Forum for the Future for a fast-paced interactive session to help consider how retailers can prepare for the future – mitigating risk and finding opportunities for growth and innovation in an increasingly complex and uncertain operating environment.
Speaker(s):Georgia Rubenstein, Principal, Sustainability Advisor, Forum for the Future
Workshop: Stealing Strategies from the Experts’ Playbook: Achieving More in Less Time, with Fewer Resources, and with Better Results
Leaders in retail industries daily face a gauntlet of continually changing challenges. Successfully navigating the competitive environment of today requires skill and knowledge. But skills developed yesterday are not always useful today, and yesterday's knowledge may not solve tomorrow's problems. So how do the consistent achievers, the top performers, regularly gain success in an irregular world? They use proven strategies to maximize their experience, refine critical skills, and recognize and capitalize on the subtle factors that make them industry front runners. Blending contemporary research, industry appropriate examples, and personal experience as a performance coach, Dr. Schempp will identify the strategies and principles experts use to consistently achieve extraordinary results. This entertaining, stimulating, and practical presentation is perfect for organizations and individuals looking to not only succeed, become and remain leaders in retail industries. Topics include:
• How Experts Discover and Master Fresh Skills and Knowledge
• The Talent Myth: How Ordinary People Accomplish Extraordinary Things
• Seeing Potential & Possibilities in Everyday Events
• Achieving More with Fewer Resources
• Making Powerful, Purposeful and Permanent Decisions Under Intense Pressure
Speaker(s):Dr. Paul Schempp, Professor, University of Georgia
Innovative Internal and External Financing for Energy Projects
Even at cash rich companies, the fight for internal capital can leave compelling energy projects unfunded. Join this workshop to learn how retailers are overcoming this challenge through innovative internal financing and underutilized external financing mechanisms ranging from internal venture capital funds to green bonds.
Speaker(s):Adam Sledd, Director, Market Engagement, Institute for Market Transformation (IMT)
Andrew Feierman, Senior Program Associate, Commerical Real Estate Engagement, Institute for Market Transformation (IMT)
Roundtable Lunch in The Spark
Spark up new ideas and network with peers during this year's roundtable lunch. Each table will be assigned a different conversation topic, ranging anywhere from store engagement to product design.
Topics will include:
• Community Relations
• Compliance Management Systems
• Conflict Minerals
• Energy Management Systems
• Envisioning the Future for Sustainability
• Extended Producer Responsibility
• Government Engagement/Environmental Advocacy
• Green Chemistry
• Hazardous Waste Management
• Integrated Reporting
• Energy Star for Leased Spaces
• Renewable Energy Strategies
• Financing Sustainability & Energy Projects
• Supplier Engagement
• Managing State and Regional Compliance
• Sustainable Consumption
• Forced Labor
• Responsible Sourcing Frameworks and Tools
• Fashion Retailing
This is the last session for the Connections Game, so don't forget to make those connections! And one attendee in the Spark will win the grand prize -- a new GoPro Hero. Be in the Spark at 1:20 for the announcement of the winner! You must be present to win.
Untangling the Complexity of Stormwater
Environmental Compliance Impact Session: Retailers face challenges with stormwater management such as multi-retailer developments, construction contractors, green infrastructure, and customer parking lot run-off. This session will include a panel discussion with representatives from EPA, legal counsel, and a retail operator on specific challenges found during construction and operations in multi-tenant scenario with joint compliance responsibilities. Additionally, the session will include a discussion of how Walmart uses data management systems to assist them with managing a large portfolio with minimal staff.
Speaker(s):Mark Goldsmith, Director, Storm Compliance, Walmart
Toni McCrory, Senior Manager, Walmart
Greg Schaner, Attorney Advisor, Water Permits Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Richard Davis, Principal, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Workshop: Design Thinking
Whether you are addressing or influencing the needs or actions of customers, employees, factory workers, or others, all of our work is ultimately about influencing people. Design thinking is a process that has been employed and refined for many years and in many contexts to put people at the center of decision-making. It presents a methodical set of critical skills to empathetically listen to and understand the needs, desires, and challenges of your stakeholders; rapidly develop, prototype, and refine creative new solutions at low cost; then deploy solutions at scale. Come to this session for an introduction to the design thinking process and how you can use it in your own work.
Speaker(s):Kimberly Douglas, President, Firefly Facilitation
Innovative Internal and External Financing for Energy Projects
Even at cash rich companies, the fight for internal capital can leave compelling energy projects unfunded. Join this workshop to learn how retailers are overcoming this challenge through innovative internal financing and underutilized external financing mechanisms ranging from internal venture capital funds to green bonds.
Speaker(s):Adam Sledd, Director, Market Engagement, Institute for Market Transformation (IMT)
Andrew Feierman, Senior Program Associate, Commerical Real Estate Engagement, Institute for Market Transformation (IMT)
Workshop: Stealing Strategies from the Experts’ Playbook: Achieving More in Less Time, with Fewer Resources, and with Better Results
Leaders in retail industries daily face a gauntlet of continually changing challenges. Successfully navigating the competitive environment of today requires skill and knowledge. But skills developed yesterday are not always useful today, and yesterday's knowledge may not solve tomorrow's problems. So how do the consistent achievers, the top performers, regularly gain success in an irregular world? They use proven strategies to maximize their experience, refine critical skills, and recognize and capitalize on the subtle factors that make them industry front runners. Blending contemporary research, industry appropriate examples, and personal experience as a performance coach, Dr. Schempp will identify the strategies and principles experts use to consistently achieve extraordinary results. This entertaining, stimulating, and practical presentation is perfect for organizations and individuals looking to not only succeed, become and remain leaders in retail industries. Topics include:
• How Experts Discover and Master Fresh Skills and Knowledge
• The Talent Myth: How Ordinary People Accomplish Extraordinary Things
• Seeing Potential & Possibilities in Everyday Events
• Achieving More with Fewer Resources
• Making Powerful, Purposeful and Permanent Decisions Under Intense Pressure
Speaker(s):Dr. Paul Schempp, Professor, University of Georgia
Workshop: Innovating for the Future: A Different Look at Sustainability
The world is changing rapidly in ways that will have profound implications for the retail sector in the US and beyond over the next 15 years. Some of these changes we can foresee with a high degree of likelihood, others are far less certain. While we can’t predict the future, we know it will be dramatically different from today. Join Georgia Rubenstein of Forum for the Future for a fast-paced interactive session to help consider how retailers can prepare for the future – mitigating risk and finding opportunities for growth and innovation in an increasingly complex and uncertain operating environment.
Speaker(s):Georgia Rubenstein, Principal, Sustainability Advisor, Forum for the Future
Hazardous Waste 2017 and Beyond
Environmental Compliance Impact Session: In this important workshop, Drew Lausch, of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, will present EPA's retail strategy on hazardous waste and RCRA for 2017 and beyond. Take this opportunity to hear directly from the EPA, ask questions, and exchange useful information about hazardous waste issues and practices as we seek collaborative solutions.
Speaker(s):Jessica Young, Chief of Recycling and Generator Branch, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Drew Lausch, Environmental Protection Specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Defining the Role of Risk Assessment in CSR Programs within the Retail Industry
Responsible Sourcing Impact Session: In today’s global environment companies face new challenges around the management of risk. Globalization and connectivity have significantly shifted the traditional operating environment and allowed additional stakeholders, such as communities, employees, regulators, politicians, suppliers, NGO’s and the media, to drive forward the movement behind “social risks”. The ability to thoroughly assess risk in new and existing supply chains has become critical. Failure to factor responsible sourcing into business decisions can impact continuity of supply, cost and quality within the value chain and expose a company to regulatory issues that can compromise reputation and shareholder value.
Inclusion of CSR will allow companies to identify risks, as well as define effective ways to address and mitigate against them. The first step in identifying the risks is to assess the actual and potential risks, not just to the company but to the rights holder as well. These new forms of risk cannot be managed through traditional means but require innovation in company culture and the use of new tools and data sources.
During this presentation we will help companies understand why they should include risk assessment as part of their responsible sourcing processes. In addition, we will present risk assessment best practices and demonstrate the internal and external benefits of conducting and acting on the findings from the assessment.
Speaker(s):Carol Rice, Director, Global Compliance, Sears
Donna Westerman, Vice President for Consulting, Head of Retail and Consumer Goods, Maplecroft
Mark Jones, Senior Vice President, Head of Improvement Services, ELEVATE
Sponsor(s):
Li& Fung, Intertek, ELEVATE
How All Retailers – Regardless of Size – Can Benefit From the Right Renewable Energy Procurement Strategy
Energy Impact Session: How do retailers with limited roof space or surrounding real estate, operating either stand alone or in shopping centers, take advantage of the sustainability and financial benefits of renewable energy and other clean technology solutions? Please join us in a highly interactive panel discussion and facilitated brainstorming session with audience participants and panelists from the Retail, Commercial Real Estate, and renewable energy development industries. Participants will share their challenges, experiences, internal barriers and solutions that are beginning to create opportunities for renewables and clean tech in the retail sector. Focus will be on offsite renewables, aggregation of power loads, and other collaborative approaches to help achieve energy supply diversification and attainment of aggressive sustainability goals.
Speaker(s):Moderator: David Hughes, Commercial Development Lead, Cleantech & Renewable Energy, Schneider Electric
Suzanne Tedrow, Manager, Energy & Resource Conservation, Starbucks
Michael Pariser, Origination, Wind & Solar, EDF Renewable Energy
Tanner Hayes, Senior Sustainability Analyst, Regency Centers
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, Current powered by GE, Altenex
Chemical Leadership 2.0
Sustainability Impact Session: As concerns over chemicals in consumer products continue to grow, learn how leaders are taking a proactive approach through internal efforts and external collaboration. This session would be a follow-up to the 2015 chemicals in retail discussion.
Speaker(s):Jennifer Silberman, Vice President, Wellness & Sustainability, Target
Matt Kopac, Manager, Sustainable Business & Innovation, Burt's Bees
Ashley C. Hall, Senior Manager, Product Sustainability, Walmart
Georgia Rubenstein, Principal, Sustainability Advisor, Forum For The Future
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, UL, Avangard Innovative
Materials Management in the 21st Century
Speaker(s):
Barnes Johnson, Director, Office of Resource Conservation & Recovery, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Sponsor(s):
Pure Strategies
Engaging Youth
Speaker(s):
Aria Finger, Chief Executive Officer, DoSomething.org
Sponsor(s):
Pure Strategies
Networking Reception
Take this opportunity to network with conference attendees for the final evening.
Breakfast & Networking
Join us for breakfast and networking before the day begins.
Sponsor(s):
Renewable Choice Energy
Registration & Information
Pick up your registration materials here, along with answers to all your questions.
Annapolis Registration Desk
Don’t Jeopardize Your Compliance: Product Take-Back Programs
Environmental Compliance Impact Session: Retailers are increasingly getting involved in the collection and recycling/disposal of used products, due to voluntary initiatives, arrangements with suppliers, and/or legal mandates (e.g., under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws). Products covered by these programs include electronics, batteries, and pharmaceuticals, among others. Pharmaceutical take-back programs are currently the focus of particular attention, due to (1) regulations issued in 2014 by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regarding disposal of controlled substances, (2) the decision of the Supreme Court not to hear a challenge to the pharmaceutical take-back requirements imposed by Alameda County (California), and (3) EPA’s upcoming rule revising the requirements for managing pharmaceuticals that qualify as hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). We will use the Jeopardy-style format to have a friendly game show competition between groups of attendees at this session, using questions/answers related to all aspects of waste take back programs. This alternative format promises to be fun and engaging, as well as informative.
Speaker(s):Amy Ebersole-Martinez, Manager, Safety & Environmental, Petco
Wade Scheel, Director, Safety, Health, & Compliance, Stericycle
Aaron Goldberg, Principal, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Landlord-Tenant Collaboration & EPA Tenant Star Certification Update
Energy Impact Session: Collaboration is key to getting your task completed, join our open panel discussion between tenants, landlords and vendors. We will review a case study on solar installs on a multi-tenant shopping center with collaboration between Tenants, the Landlord and the vendors.
Speaker(s):Mike Zatz, Manager, Energy Star Buildings, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Marlee Kohn, Project Manager, Sustainability, Oxford Properties
Rob Federighi, Senior Vice President, Sales, SoCore Energy
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, Current powered by GE, Altenex
Circular Economy Workshop
Sustainability Impact Session: A Circular Economy is an alternative to a traditional linear (make, use, dispose) economy. It is restorative by design and aims to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value. Elements of a circular economy include:
● End-of-life product take-back
● Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) offerings
● Facilitation of DIY, in-store, or third-party repair
● Used goods resale or donation programs
Stuffstr co-founders John Atcheson & Steve Gutmann, who have ample facilitation experience and a deep understanding of the Circular Economy and related business models, will lead a workshop that will educate participants on the broad range of elements related to the circular economy and then guide groups to develop potential circular economy projects for an identified company. Results of the workshop will be made available as a download at http://www.stuffstr.com/rseccworkshop
Speaker(s):John Atcheson, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, Stuffstr
Steve Gutmann, Vice President, Business Development, Co-Founder, Stuffstr
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, UL, Avangard Innovative
Environmental Compliance Roundtable (Retailers & Brands only)
Facilitated retailer/brand-only discussion on compliance. Come to hear from your colleagues and share your experiences and learnings from the week.
Speaker(s):Rob Gass, Director, Hazardous Materials & Environmental Compliance, Lowe’s
Sustainability Roundtable (Retailers & Brands only)
Facilitated retailer/brand-only discussion on sustainability. Come to hear from your colleagues and share your experiences and learnings from the week.
Speaker(s):Paul Campbell, Director, Sustainability & Green Leadership, Sears
Energy Roundtable (Retailers & Brands only)
Facilitated retailer/brand-only discussion on energy. Come to hear from your colleagues and share your experiences and learnings from the week.
Speaker(s):Erin Hiatt, Senior Manager, Sustainability & Compliance, RILA
Responsible Sourcing Roundtable (Retailers & Brands only)
Facilitated retailer/brand-only discussion on responsible sourcing. Come to hear from your colleagues and share your experiences and learnings from the week.
Speaker(s):Jim Thomas, Vice President, Sustainability, Safety, Environment, Risk, Ethics & Compliance, PETCO
Vendor-only Roundtable
The Blue Planet: Preserving and Sustaining a Healthy Earth
Speaker(s):
Alexandra Cousteau, Explorer, Filmaker, Water Advocate Registration & Information
Pick up your registration materials here, along with answers to all your questions.
Retail Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing Committee Meeting (Committee Members Only)
This meeting is open to committee members only. If you have any questions please contact adam.siegel@rila.org Retail Energy Management Meeting (Committee Members Only)
This meeting is open to committee members only. If you have any questions please contact erin.hiatt@rila.org
Retail Environmental Compliance Meeting (Committee Members Only)
This meeting is open to committee members only. If you have any questions please contact sue.pifer@rila.org
Workshop: Sustainability 101
This session will offer an opportunity to learn from leaders in the retail sustainability field. Through interactive case studies and small/large group activities, this “learn-by-doing” environment will offer participants the opportunity to both network and learn from leaders in retail sustainability. The workshop will cover topics in sustainability such as making the business case, connecting to the core purpose of your company, the maturity arch of sustainability in retail, metrics for measuring progress (e.g., GRI, SASB, CDP), engaging buying and sourcing teams, collaborating with external stakeholders, working with operations, and engaging suppliers. The workshop will encourage participants to share challenges, successes and tips as they share with one and other and with the session leaders.
Speaker(s):Ashley C. Hall, Senior Manager, Product Sustainability, Walmart
Jessica Balsam, DTC Global Sustainability Manager, NIKE
Tim Greiner, Co-founder, Managing Director, Pure Strategies
Workshop: Finance 101: Understanding the CFO & Translating Metrics
Join Deloitte Finance to learn how most effectively communicate the value proposition of energy efficiency and sustainability projects to your corporate finance team.
This session features:
- Insights into the CFO role,
- Hands-on exercises,
- Case studies, and
- Key take aways from interviews with senior retail finance professionals to get you from project idea to implementation.
Speaker(s):Martha Fung, Manager, Strategy & Operations, Finance, Deloitte
Josh Mellinger, Manager, Strategy & Operations Practice, Deloitte
Election 2016 & Government Relations 101
The outcome of 2016 elections stand to be the most historically significant and game changing to American politics and government. Not only has the presidential race proven to be one of the most chaotic and polarizing in our nation’s history, but the elections could also flip political powers in the U.S. Senate. This session will provide a dynamic snapshot of the November 8th elections from two D.C. power players, as well as insights into the importance of a strong retail industry government relations presence in Washington, D.C. RILA’s government relations team will uncover the key strategies and tactics for engaging with Congress and the White House on industry policy priorities.
Speaker(s):Moderator:
Jennifer Safavian, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, RILA
Panelists:
Hun Quach, Vice President, International Trade, RILA
Christine Pollack, Vice President, Government Affairs, RILA
Sage Eastman, Principal, Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas
CR Wooters, Principal, Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas
Opening Reception in the Spark
Please join us for a welcome reception in The Spark to kick off the 2016 RSECC. Play the Connections Game and win prizes!
Conference Orientation in the Spark
Come learn in The Spark from the pros on how to best take advantage of the event - whether you’re here to network with peers, identify new service providers, learn in the sessions, or all of the above! RILA staff and conference regulars will share their tips, followed by time for questions and networking with veterans and fellow newbies.
Informal Dine-Arounds
Join colleagues and dine around the National Harbor. Sign-up onsite at the registration and information desk. Please contact liz.solorzano@rila.org for more information. This is a first-come first-served event. Pay on your own -- price ranges will be indicated on sign up sheets, located near RILA Registration.
Registration & Information
Pick up your registration materials here, along with answers to all your questions.
Annapolis Registration Desk
Retail Sustainability Steering Committee Meeting (Committee Members Only)
This is a private meeting for RILA members on the Retail Sustainability and Environmental Compliance Steering Committee. The committee is comprised of sustainability and environmental compliance leaders across retail segments and is primarily responsible for planning the annual conference.
Breakfast & Networking
Join us for breakfast and networking before the day begins.
Sponsor(s):
Wipro EcoEnergy
Offsite Tour: Lobbying for Sustainability on Capitol Hill
Invite only – please contact Adam Siegel at adam.siegel@rila.org to learn more
Offsite Tour: Air and Space Museum & Smithsonian Tour
Buses will depart at 8:00 a.m. | An in depth tour led by the museum's docents (volunteer guides), will highlight the Museum's collection and trace the history of air and space travel.
Offsite Tour: Walking Tour of the Monuments
Buses will depart at 8:00 a.m. | Learn about the history of the National Monuments on this walking tour through D.C. While on the tour hear about how each monument has been operating with sustainability in mind.
Offsite Tour: Kayaking
Buses will depart at 8:00 a.m. | Chat with your fellow paddlers as you kayak along the quiet, forested shores of Piscataway Bay, past osprey nests high up in the island trees, with eagles and osprey soaring overhead looking for their next meal. As you approach the Potomac River, you'll enjoy a wonderful historical perspective of the region, with distant views of Mount Vernon, the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building, and the Fort Washington Light House.
Offsite Tour: Capitol Hill Tour
Buses will depart at 8:00 a.m. | Once inside the historic Capitol, visitors will see the Crypt, the Rotunda, and National Statuary Hall during this guided tour.
Workshop: The Road to Sustainable ECommerce
The cultural shift to E-Commerce has brought with it new expectations for immediate gratification and convenience. Retailers struggle to navigate ever-evolving technologies and platforms, while offering consumers a seamless and excellent experience. Even more challenging is the growing need to meet these expectations while reducing the environmental impact. Is it even possible for E-Commerce to be sustainable? And what would it take?
Through this highly interactive session, UPS will help participants navigate the new challenges of E-Commerce. You'll have a chance to explore and discuss the latest consumer insights, emerging strategies on collaboration and innovation, and practical techniques for measuring and managing results.
Speaker(s):Greg Brown, President, Retail Sector, UPS
Ed Rogers, Senior Director, Global Sustainability, UPS
Brian Becker, Manager, Sustainability Solutions, UPS
Lunch & Networking in the Spark
Join your peers for lunch and networking in the Sparkprior to the conference kickoff and opening keynote. Play the Connections Game to win!
Welcome & Conference Kickoff
Unbox Your Thinking to Create Innovation Breakthroughs
Businesses know that innovation keeps them on the cutting edge of everything from technology to lifestyle to marketing to productivity increases. Why has innovation become mission critical? In this eye-opening, roller-coaster tour through the landscape of now, you will learn how "Ubertrends" — massive waves with broad implications for today's business and consumer lifestyle — are reshaping the innovation landscape. Ubertrends help explain the driving forces behind market phenomena and how these tectonic shifts affect demographics, products and retail logistics technology.
Speaker(s):Michael Tchong, Founder, ubercool INNOVATION
Chasing Generator Status: Clarifying Definitions, Examining Recent Trends
Environmental Case Study: Now that retailers understand their duty to manage waste that is hazardous as hazardous waste, which generator requirements apply and why they apply can be a vexing question. This presentation and panel discussion will focus on the operational challenges and enforcement risks associated with determining the correct generator status. This discussion will also focus on best strategies for adopting a strategic plan for determining and monitoring generator status under the ever shifting sands of federal and state rules and guidance regarding retail and pharmaceutical waste generation, including as the rules and guidance relate to reverse distribution. This discussion will be in the weeds with compliance experts who, through experience, anecdotes, and analysis, will help attendees identify issues with their approach to determining generator status. The audience will be encouraged to participate and share their experience with building the foundation to good waste management programs in these shifting sands. New rules from EPA will be incorporated into the discussion as appropriate and timely.
Speaker(s):Gavin Pendleton, Manager, Costco
Greg Blount, Partner, Troutman Sanders
Karlie Clemons, Attorney, Troutman Sanders
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Turning Supply Chain Data Into Insights, Action, and Results
Responsible Sourcing Case Study: This session will highlight how data from 2,000 of the most important food and consumer goods companies can be used to: identify risk areas with individual suppliers, categories, sourcing regions and policies, benchmark retailer sourcing performance against peers and benchmark suppliers in each category, set and track goals for category and supplier improvement, track performance and compliance with business commitments and other cross-sector initiatives such as the Consumer Goods Forum Deforestation Commitments and the new UN Sustainable Development Goals, and correlate sustainability performance with improved business performance for each supplier.
Speaker(s):Brittni Furrow, Director, Sustainability Index, Walmart
Sheila Bonini, Chief Executive Officer, The Sustainability Consortium
Jim Sullivan, Vice President, Sustainability & Business Innovation, SAP
Sponsor(s):
Li & Fung, Intertek, ELEVATE
Creating a Self-Reinforcing Energy Management Strategy
Energy Case Study: Energy management can feel like a stop and go ride that stalls when projects with the quickest paybacks are exhausted. However, retailers can tap into new economical projects if they stop to address the internal processes underlying their success. Using a recent submetering project as a case study, join Ryan Billing, Director of Construction with Abercrombie & Fitch to discuss how addressing internal processes like leasing, energy modeling, and relationship building have been just as critical to successful energy savings as knowing the best technology options.
Speaker(s):Ryan Billing, Director, Technical Services, Abercrombie & Fitch
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, Current powered by GE, Altenex
Good to Great: Welcome to the Shark Tank
Sustainability Case Study: You’ve experienced the excitement of the Shark Tank on TV, now live that entrepreneurial spirit in person during RILA’s version of the same concept. Match wits with our panel of sharks, each one tougher than the next, as they decide if your ideas have what it takes to be a sustainability success. Compete against other teams for chance to win prizes and have your ideas evaluated further by RILA leadership post conference.
Speaker(s):Paul Campbell, Director, Sustainability, Green Leadership, Sears
Erik Mohn, Manager, Sustainability, Schneider Electric
The Sharks:
Robert Ter Kuile, Vice President, Global Head of Sustainability, Fossil
Christina Nicholson, Director, Environmental Impact, Gap
Todd Nash, Director, Social & Environmental Responsiblity, The Home Depot
Safiya Nieves, Project Manager, Energy & Environmental Programs & Procurement Project, Rite Aid
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, UL, Avangard Innovative
Review RILA's New Tool: The Center for Retail Compliance
Environmental Compliance Case Study: Come and learn about this free resource on environmental compliance for the retail community. Ensuring compliance with numerous complex environmental regulations in a retail setting is challenging. This session will discuss new initiatives that the CRC is developing to provide solutions to these challenges and help retailers build more effective compliance programs.
Learn about a new program framework that retailers can use to optimize their compliance programs and benchmark with their peers. We will also look at using existing data and analysis to better understand and improve compliance. This includes using compliance and store data to predict potential non-compliance, identify facility characteristics associated with noncompliance, and to evaluate behavior-based compliance approaches in order to identify what is most effective in a given situation. In addition, we will discuss a self-certification program that can help retailers evaluate and improve compliance at the facility level. Participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback on these concepts and learn how to get involved.
Speaker(s):Tiffin Shewmake, Executive Director, CRC, RILA
Mike Crow, Chief Data Illuminator, Crow Insight
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Map Your Forced Labor Risks to Enable Responsible Sourcing
Responsible Sourcing Case Study: Any company will tell you, it does not explicitly choose to source from areas with forced labor, yet it is associated with an alarming number of Fortune 1000 supply chains. In order to eradicate forced labor and enable ethical sourcing in the supply chain, companies must first understand where supply chain risks lie. Attend this session to learn how mapping your supply chain provides you with an actionable plan to ensure forced labor and unethical practices are not a part of your business.
Speaker(s):Preston Witt, Manager, Supplier Code of Conduct Compliance, Costco
Tonette Lim, Manager, Operations, UL
Sponsor(s):
Li & Fung, Intertek, ELEVATE
Thinking Inside the (Store) Box: EDF Climate Corps and RILA Co-Develop Leading Practices for Project Development
Energy Case Study: Learn how EDF, RILA, DOE and leading retail companies partnered over the summer to develop retailer-centric leading practices. Best Buy, EDF and RILA will share a specific example of leading practices to design pilot and scale energy management projects, drawing on past learnings and the development of new case studies and other tools.
Speaker(s):Huge Cherne, Senior Manager, Sustainability, Best Buy
Erin Hiatt, Senior Manager, Sustainability & Compliance, RILA
Scott Wood, Manager, EDF Climate Corps
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, Current powered by GE, Altenex
Materiality & Sustainability
Sustainability Case Study: This session will explore the SASB accounting standards for the retail industry, and highlight how they represent a pragmatic approach to:
• identifying the energy/sustainability topics most material to the retailers
• measuring performance relative to those topics
• transforming how energy/sustainability matters are valued
• improving corporate disclosures
Speaker(s):Jennifer Silberman, Vice President, Sustainability & Wellness, Target
Gabriella Vozza, Sector Analyst, Consumer Goods & Retail, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
John Thigpen, Manager, Energy & Sustainability Services, JLL
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, UL, Avangard Innovative
Seeking Inspiration from Wildlife
Speaker(s):Dennis Kelly, Director, National Zoo
Sponsor(s):
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Seeking Inspiration from Wildlife
Speaker(s):Gary Knell, President, Chief Executive Officer, National Geographic Society
Sponsor(s):
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Networking Reception in The Spark
Join conference attendees for an evening reception in The Spark. Share the day's learnings, while you connect and network with peers. Play the Connections Game to win!
Morning Yoga
Relax with an early morning yoga session before the start of the day. Namaste!
Registration & Information
Pick up your registration materials here, along with answers to all your questions.
Annapolis Registration Desk
Breakfast & Networking
Join us for breakfast and networking before the day begins.
Sponsor(s):
Clean Harbors/Safety-Kleen
Concurrent Session: Concurrent Session: Waste Ban Awareness – Recycling Mandates from Two Progressive States
With the passage into law the Massachusetts’ Commercial Organics Waste Ban in 2014 and California’s Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling Rule in 2016 – and with other states and localities sure to follow suit – the importance of staying ahead of rules for organics recycling has become increasingly clear. Construction materials recycling regulations and landfill disposal bans on readily recyclable construction and demolition materials also shine a spotlight on increasing requirements related to these materials. This session will focus on the latest updates on the recycling rules and best practices from two progressive jurisdictions.
Speaker(s):John Fischer, Branch Chief, Commercial Waste Reduction & Waste Planning, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
Marshalle Graham, Senior Environmental Scientist, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Leadership Lessons: Leading Sustainability for the Largest U.S. Purchaser, the Federal Government
Speaker(s):Christine Harada, Federal Chief Sustainability Officer, Office of Federal Sustainability, Council on Environmental Quality
Happy Giving: The Emotional Rewards of Doing Good
Speaker(s):Mike Norton, Professor, Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Scaling Impact through Social Innovation: How the Hershey Company is working to nourish 1 million minds by 2020
Speaker(s):Whitney Mayer, Manager, Social Innovation, Hershey
Concurrent Session: Environmental Compliance Information Systems (EMIS)
Valvoline has a consistent Environmental, Health and Safety record, aspiring to achieve its ultimate goal of zero incidents. Through constant re-examination of its processes and procedures, Valvoline has been able to improve its record in the EHS space. Valvoline is leveraging technology to monitor performance through a robust management information system and industry leading data analytics tools.
Valvoline, in its effort to constantly strive to meet its ultimate goal, partnered with ProcessMAP one of the industry leaders in EHS MIS. The partnership combines Valvoline’s EHS commitment and expertise with a comprehensive technology platform.
Valvoline’s presentation will consist of three key sections:
1) Valvoline’s Health and Safety History – a look back on how Valvoline first implemented key KPIs to monitor and improve employee’s workspace and customer areas within the company.
2) Valvoline’s Current and Future EHS Initiatives – a review of Valvoline’s key metrics, processes, procedures and methods in encouraging safe behaviors throughout the Valvoline ecosystem.
3) Valvoline’s Commitment to Technology – a discussion around how the ProcessMAP platform along with its associated data analytics tool will provide lagging and leading indicators in order to improve Valvoline’s EHS performance.
Speaker(s):Nate Snyder, Senior Manager, Safety Services, Valvoline
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Partnering with Corporations to Promote the Next Generation of Sustainability
Speaker(s):Tom Murray, Vice President, Corporate Partnerships Program, EDF
Workshop: Design Thinking
Whether you are addressing or influencing the needs or actions of customers, employees, factory workers, or others, all of our work is ultimately about influencing people. Design thinking is a process that has been employed and refined for many years and in many contexts to put people at the center of decision-making. It presents a methodical set of critical skills to empathetically listen to and understand the needs, desires, and challenges of your stakeholders; rapidly develop, prototype, and refine creative new solutions at low cost; then deploy solutions at scale. Come to this session for an introduction to the design thinking process and how you can use it in your own work.
Speaker(s):Kimberly Douglas, President, Firefly Facilitation
Workshop: Innovating for the Future: A Different Look at Sustainability
The world is changing rapidly in ways that will have profound implications for the retail sector in the US and beyond over the next 15 years. Some of these changes we can foresee with a high degree of likelihood, others are far less certain. While we can’t predict the future, we know it will be dramatically different from today. Join Georgia Rubenstein of Forum for the Future for a fast-paced interactive session to help consider how retailers can prepare for the future – mitigating risk and finding opportunities for growth and innovation in an increasingly complex and uncertain operating environment.
Speaker(s):Georgia Rubenstein, Principal, Sustainability Advisor, Forum for the Future
Workshop: Stealing Strategies from the Experts’ Playbook: Achieving More in Less Time, with Fewer Resources, and with Better Results
Leaders in retail industries daily face a gauntlet of continually changing challenges. Successfully navigating the competitive environment of today requires skill and knowledge. But skills developed yesterday are not always useful today, and yesterday's knowledge may not solve tomorrow's problems. So how do the consistent achievers, the top performers, regularly gain success in an irregular world? They use proven strategies to maximize their experience, refine critical skills, and recognize and capitalize on the subtle factors that make them industry front runners. Blending contemporary research, industry appropriate examples, and personal experience as a performance coach, Dr. Schempp will identify the strategies and principles experts use to consistently achieve extraordinary results. This entertaining, stimulating, and practical presentation is perfect for organizations and individuals looking to not only succeed, become and remain leaders in retail industries. Topics include:
• How Experts Discover and Master Fresh Skills and Knowledge
• The Talent Myth: How Ordinary People Accomplish Extraordinary Things
• Seeing Potential & Possibilities in Everyday Events
• Achieving More with Fewer Resources
• Making Powerful, Purposeful and Permanent Decisions Under Intense Pressure
Speaker(s):Dr. Paul Schempp, Professor, University of Georgia
Innovative Internal and External Financing for Energy Projects
Even at cash rich companies, the fight for internal capital can leave compelling energy projects unfunded. Join this workshop to learn how retailers are overcoming this challenge through innovative internal financing and underutilized external financing mechanisms ranging from internal venture capital funds to green bonds.
Speaker(s):Adam Sledd, Director, Market Engagement, Institute for Market Transformation (IMT)
Andrew Feierman, Senior Program Associate, Commerical Real Estate Engagement, Institute for Market Transformation (IMT)
Roundtable Lunch in The Spark
Spark up new ideas and network with peers during this year's roundtable lunch. Each table will be assigned a different conversation topic, ranging anywhere from store engagement to product design.
Topics will include:
• Community Relations
• Compliance Management Systems
• Conflict Minerals
• Energy Management Systems
• Envisioning the Future for Sustainability
• Extended Producer Responsibility
• Government Engagement/Environmental Advocacy
• Green Chemistry
• Hazardous Waste Management
• Integrated Reporting
• Energy Star for Leased Spaces
• Renewable Energy Strategies
• Financing Sustainability & Energy Projects
• Supplier Engagement
• Managing State and Regional Compliance
• Sustainable Consumption
• Forced Labor
• Responsible Sourcing Frameworks and Tools
• Fashion Retailing
This is the last session for the Connections Game, so don't forget to make those connections! And one attendee in the Spark will win the grand prize -- a new GoPro Hero. Be in the Spark at 1:20 for the announcement of the winner! You must be present to win.
Untangling the Complexity of Stormwater
Environmental Compliance Impact Session: Retailers face challenges with stormwater management such as multi-retailer developments, construction contractors, green infrastructure, and customer parking lot run-off. This session will include a panel discussion with representatives from EPA, legal counsel, and a retail operator on specific challenges found during construction and operations in multi-tenant scenario with joint compliance responsibilities. Additionally, the session will include a discussion of how Walmart uses data management systems to assist them with managing a large portfolio with minimal staff.
Speaker(s):Mark Goldsmith, Director, Storm Compliance, Walmart
Toni McCrory, Senior Manager, Walmart
Greg Schaner, Attorney Advisor, Water Permits Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Richard Davis, Principal, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Workshop: Design Thinking
Whether you are addressing or influencing the needs or actions of customers, employees, factory workers, or others, all of our work is ultimately about influencing people. Design thinking is a process that has been employed and refined for many years and in many contexts to put people at the center of decision-making. It presents a methodical set of critical skills to empathetically listen to and understand the needs, desires, and challenges of your stakeholders; rapidly develop, prototype, and refine creative new solutions at low cost; then deploy solutions at scale. Come to this session for an introduction to the design thinking process and how you can use it in your own work.
Speaker(s):Kimberly Douglas, President, Firefly Facilitation
Innovative Internal and External Financing for Energy Projects
Even at cash rich companies, the fight for internal capital can leave compelling energy projects unfunded. Join this workshop to learn how retailers are overcoming this challenge through innovative internal financing and underutilized external financing mechanisms ranging from internal venture capital funds to green bonds.
Speaker(s):Adam Sledd, Director, Market Engagement, Institute for Market Transformation (IMT)
Andrew Feierman, Senior Program Associate, Commerical Real Estate Engagement, Institute for Market Transformation (IMT)
Workshop: Stealing Strategies from the Experts’ Playbook: Achieving More in Less Time, with Fewer Resources, and with Better Results
Leaders in retail industries daily face a gauntlet of continually changing challenges. Successfully navigating the competitive environment of today requires skill and knowledge. But skills developed yesterday are not always useful today, and yesterday's knowledge may not solve tomorrow's problems. So how do the consistent achievers, the top performers, regularly gain success in an irregular world? They use proven strategies to maximize their experience, refine critical skills, and recognize and capitalize on the subtle factors that make them industry front runners. Blending contemporary research, industry appropriate examples, and personal experience as a performance coach, Dr. Schempp will identify the strategies and principles experts use to consistently achieve extraordinary results. This entertaining, stimulating, and practical presentation is perfect for organizations and individuals looking to not only succeed, become and remain leaders in retail industries. Topics include:
• How Experts Discover and Master Fresh Skills and Knowledge
• The Talent Myth: How Ordinary People Accomplish Extraordinary Things
• Seeing Potential & Possibilities in Everyday Events
• Achieving More with Fewer Resources
• Making Powerful, Purposeful and Permanent Decisions Under Intense Pressure
Speaker(s):Dr. Paul Schempp, Professor, University of Georgia
Workshop: Innovating for the Future: A Different Look at Sustainability
The world is changing rapidly in ways that will have profound implications for the retail sector in the US and beyond over the next 15 years. Some of these changes we can foresee with a high degree of likelihood, others are far less certain. While we can’t predict the future, we know it will be dramatically different from today. Join Georgia Rubenstein of Forum for the Future for a fast-paced interactive session to help consider how retailers can prepare for the future – mitigating risk and finding opportunities for growth and innovation in an increasingly complex and uncertain operating environment.
Speaker(s):Georgia Rubenstein, Principal, Sustainability Advisor, Forum for the Future
Hazardous Waste 2017 and Beyond
Environmental Compliance Impact Session: In this important workshop, Drew Lausch, of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, will present EPA's retail strategy on hazardous waste and RCRA for 2017 and beyond. Take this opportunity to hear directly from the EPA, ask questions, and exchange useful information about hazardous waste issues and practices as we seek collaborative solutions.
Speaker(s):Jessica Young, Chief of Recycling and Generator Branch, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Drew Lausch, Environmental Protection Specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Defining the Role of Risk Assessment in CSR Programs within the Retail Industry
Responsible Sourcing Impact Session: In today’s global environment companies face new challenges around the management of risk. Globalization and connectivity have significantly shifted the traditional operating environment and allowed additional stakeholders, such as communities, employees, regulators, politicians, suppliers, NGO’s and the media, to drive forward the movement behind “social risks”. The ability to thoroughly assess risk in new and existing supply chains has become critical. Failure to factor responsible sourcing into business decisions can impact continuity of supply, cost and quality within the value chain and expose a company to regulatory issues that can compromise reputation and shareholder value.
Inclusion of CSR will allow companies to identify risks, as well as define effective ways to address and mitigate against them. The first step in identifying the risks is to assess the actual and potential risks, not just to the company but to the rights holder as well. These new forms of risk cannot be managed through traditional means but require innovation in company culture and the use of new tools and data sources.
During this presentation we will help companies understand why they should include risk assessment as part of their responsible sourcing processes. In addition, we will present risk assessment best practices and demonstrate the internal and external benefits of conducting and acting on the findings from the assessment.
Speaker(s):Carol Rice, Director, Global Compliance, Sears
Donna Westerman, Vice President for Consulting, Head of Retail and Consumer Goods, Maplecroft
Mark Jones, Senior Vice President, Head of Improvement Services, ELEVATE
Sponsor(s):
Li& Fung, Intertek, ELEVATE
How All Retailers – Regardless of Size – Can Benefit From the Right Renewable Energy Procurement Strategy
Energy Impact Session: How do retailers with limited roof space or surrounding real estate, operating either stand alone or in shopping centers, take advantage of the sustainability and financial benefits of renewable energy and other clean technology solutions? Please join us in a highly interactive panel discussion and facilitated brainstorming session with audience participants and panelists from the Retail, Commercial Real Estate, and renewable energy development industries. Participants will share their challenges, experiences, internal barriers and solutions that are beginning to create opportunities for renewables and clean tech in the retail sector. Focus will be on offsite renewables, aggregation of power loads, and other collaborative approaches to help achieve energy supply diversification and attainment of aggressive sustainability goals.
Speaker(s):Moderator: David Hughes, Commercial Development Lead, Cleantech & Renewable Energy, Schneider Electric
Suzanne Tedrow, Manager, Energy & Resource Conservation, Starbucks
Michael Pariser, Origination, Wind & Solar, EDF Renewable Energy
Tanner Hayes, Senior Sustainability Analyst, Regency Centers
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, Current powered by GE, Altenex
Chemical Leadership 2.0
Sustainability Impact Session: As concerns over chemicals in consumer products continue to grow, learn how leaders are taking a proactive approach through internal efforts and external collaboration. This session would be a follow-up to the 2015 chemicals in retail discussion.
Speaker(s):Jennifer Silberman, Vice President, Wellness & Sustainability, Target
Matt Kopac, Manager, Sustainable Business & Innovation, Burt's Bees
Ashley C. Hall, Senior Manager, Product Sustainability, Walmart
Georgia Rubenstein, Principal, Sustainability Advisor, Forum For The Future
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, UL, Avangard Innovative
Materials Management in the 21st Century
Speaker(s):Barnes Johnson, Director, Office of Resource Conservation & Recovery, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Sponsor(s):
Pure Strategies
Engaging Youth
Speaker(s):Aria Finger, Chief Executive Officer, DoSomething.org
Sponsor(s):
Pure Strategies
Networking Reception
Take this opportunity to network with conference attendees for the final evening.
Breakfast & Networking
Join us for breakfast and networking before the day begins.
Sponsor(s):
Renewable Choice Energy
Registration & Information
Pick up your registration materials here, along with answers to all your questions.
Annapolis Registration Desk
Don’t Jeopardize Your Compliance: Product Take-Back Programs
Environmental Compliance Impact Session: Retailers are increasingly getting involved in the collection and recycling/disposal of used products, due to voluntary initiatives, arrangements with suppliers, and/or legal mandates (e.g., under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws). Products covered by these programs include electronics, batteries, and pharmaceuticals, among others. Pharmaceutical take-back programs are currently the focus of particular attention, due to (1) regulations issued in 2014 by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regarding disposal of controlled substances, (2) the decision of the Supreme Court not to hear a challenge to the pharmaceutical take-back requirements imposed by Alameda County (California), and (3) EPA’s upcoming rule revising the requirements for managing pharmaceuticals that qualify as hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). We will use the Jeopardy-style format to have a friendly game show competition between groups of attendees at this session, using questions/answers related to all aspects of waste take back programs. This alternative format promises to be fun and engaging, as well as informative.
Speaker(s):Amy Ebersole-Martinez, Manager, Safety & Environmental, Petco
Wade Scheel, Director, Safety, Health, & Compliance, Stericycle
Aaron Goldberg, Principal, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Stericycle, AECOM, The OS Group, Beveridge & Diamond
Landlord-Tenant Collaboration & EPA Tenant Star Certification Update
Energy Impact Session: Collaboration is key to getting your task completed, join our open panel discussion between tenants, landlords and vendors. We will review a case study on solar installs on a multi-tenant shopping center with collaboration between Tenants, the Landlord and the vendors.
Speaker(s):Mike Zatz, Manager, Energy Star Buildings, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Marlee Kohn, Project Manager, Sustainability, Oxford Properties
Rob Federighi, Senior Vice President, Sales, SoCore Energy
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, Current powered by GE, Altenex
Circular Economy Workshop
Sustainability Impact Session: A Circular Economy is an alternative to a traditional linear (make, use, dispose) economy. It is restorative by design and aims to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value. Elements of a circular economy include:
● End-of-life product take-back
● Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) offerings
● Facilitation of DIY, in-store, or third-party repair
● Used goods resale or donation programs
Stuffstr co-founders John Atcheson & Steve Gutmann, who have ample facilitation experience and a deep understanding of the Circular Economy and related business models, will lead a workshop that will educate participants on the broad range of elements related to the circular economy and then guide groups to develop potential circular economy projects for an identified company. Results of the workshop will be made available as a download at http://www.stuffstr.com/rseccworkshop
Speaker(s):John Atcheson, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, Stuffstr
Steve Gutmann, Vice President, Business Development, Co-Founder, Stuffstr
Sponsor(s):
CB&I, Schneider Electric, UL, Avangard Innovative
Environmental Compliance Roundtable (Retailers & Brands only)
Facilitated retailer/brand-only discussion on compliance. Come to hear from your colleagues and share your experiences and learnings from the week.
Speaker(s):Rob Gass, Director, Hazardous Materials & Environmental Compliance, Lowe’s
Sustainability Roundtable (Retailers & Brands only)
Facilitated retailer/brand-only discussion on sustainability. Come to hear from your colleagues and share your experiences and learnings from the week.
Speaker(s):Paul Campbell, Director, Sustainability & Green Leadership, Sears
Energy Roundtable (Retailers & Brands only)
Facilitated retailer/brand-only discussion on energy. Come to hear from your colleagues and share your experiences and learnings from the week.
Speaker(s):Erin Hiatt, Senior Manager, Sustainability & Compliance, RILA
Responsible Sourcing Roundtable (Retailers & Brands only)
Facilitated retailer/brand-only discussion on responsible sourcing. Come to hear from your colleagues and share your experiences and learnings from the week.
Speaker(s):Jim Thomas, Vice President, Sustainability, Safety, Environment, Risk, Ethics & Compliance, PETCO
Vendor-only Roundtable
The Blue Planet: Preserving and Sustaining a Healthy Earth
Speaker(s):Alexandra Cousteau, Explorer, Filmaker, Water Advocate