Agenda now available for Sonoco FRESH Food, Packaging & Sustainability Summit

The second annual Food, Packaging & Sustainability Summit hosted by Sonoco FRESH at Clemson University will focus on strategies to achieve sustainability targets. The FRESH Summit will be held September 19 – 21, 2022 at The Madren Conference Center in Clemson, South Carolina.

The Summit will kick off on Monday, Sept. 19 with tours of Clemson’s recycling facilities and Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences department. The tours will be followed by a welcome reception, where attendees will have the opportunity to tour the Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics and the Sonoco FRESH innovation studio and enjoy a cooking demonstration from South Carolina-based Seaside Grown. On Tuesday, Sept. 20 Rob Dongoski – partner, global agribusiness industry leader at Ernst & Young LLP – will start the day with a follow up to the “The Shifts Creating Ripples Across Food & Agriculture” presentation he gave during the FRESH Perspectives on Sustainability event in March. Tuesday’s sessions will include presentations on innovation and technologies to advance sustainability. The day will conclude with a reception featuring poster presentations from Clemson students and a Farm to Fork Dinner. Wednesday’s program will focus on engaging consumers in achieving sustainability targets.

“The FRESH Summit will feature expert panels on advances across the food value chain, from sustainable packaging concepts to insights on consumer attitudes about sustainability,” said Anne Barr, executive director of Sonoco FRESH. “We are thrilled to provide this opportunity for industry members to come together in person with Clemson faculty and students to network, brainstorm and help advance sustainability across the food value chain.”

The Early Bird Registration rate for the FRESH Summit is $479 for individuals through June 30, 2022, at which point it will raise to $599. For groups of 5 of more registering together Early Bird Registration is $429 per person until June 30, 2022 at which point it will raise to $499. Proceeds from the FRESH Summit will support future activities of the FRESH initiative at Clemson University. More information on the FRESH Summit, including agenda and speaker updates, can be found at www.SonocoFRESHSummit.com. Sponsorships are available.

Sonoco FRESH Food, Packaging & Sustainability Summit

Agenda
(subject to change) 

Monday, September 19

2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Clemson Campus Tours 

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Welcome Reception & Registration

 

Tuesday, September 20

8:00 am – 8:30 am
Registration

8:30 am – 10:00 am
Breakfast and Keynote Presentation
Breakfast sponsored by Milliken

Welcome

James P. Clements, Ph.D.
President, Clemson University

Howard Coker
President & Chief Executive Officer, Sonoco

Keynote Presentation: The Food System Reimagined

Rob Dongoski
Partner, Global Agribusiness Industry Leader, Ernst & Young LLC

10:00 am – 10:45 am
Technology-Driven Transformation

Moderator
Kathleen Cook
Innovation Executive, IBM Supply Chain Intelligence & Sustainability

10:45 am – 11:15 am
Coffee Break

11:15 am – 12:00 pm
Sustainable Packaging: A Layer by Layer Look at Achieving Success

Moderator
Keith Belli, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences and Associate Vice President for Public Service and Agriculture, Clemson University

Speakers
Nikola Juhasz, Ph.D.
Global Technical Director for Sustainability, Sun Chemical

J. Alan McDowall
Sr. Product Stewardship Engineer, Printpack

Chris Schaefer
Global Marketing Director, EarthFirst^® Films by PSI

12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
Summit Highlights: Zero Waste Event

12:30 pm – 12:45 pm
Break

12:45 pm – 2:15 pm
Lunch Presentation
Lunch sponsored by Nova Chemical

Summit Highlights: Gift Box Reveal

Multiple Perspectives on Food Waste

Moderator
Corby Kummer
Executive Director, Food and Society, Aspen Institute

Speakers
Matthew Aronson
Chief Revenue Officer, Verdant Technologies

2:15 pm – 2:45 pm
Creating Opportunities to Close the Loop on Circular Plastics

Speakers
Brent Greiner
Vice President of Technology, Charter Next Generation

Alan Schrob
Manager, PCR Business Development, NOVA Chemicals Inc.

2:45 pm – 3:15 pm
Coffee Break
Coffee Break sponsored by TIPA

3:15 pm – 4:30 pm
Breakout Sessions: Sustainability Explored by Sector

Life Cycle Assessment in Packaging: Un-Wrapping the Benefits and Challenges

Speakers
Liz Ernst
Sustainability Analyst, Sonoco

The Impact of Sustainability KPIs in the Capital Markets

Speakers
Tierney Seidel
Vice President, Sustainable Capital Markets, Rabobank

Industry 4.0: A Practical Guide to Understanding Sustainable Manufacturing

Speakers
Catherine Hayes
Industry Manager, South Carolina Research Authority

Mark Johnson, Ph.D.
Thomas F. Hash Endowed Chair in Sustainable Development and Director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Clemson University

Asem Mokaddem
President, Tellus Products

Compostable Packaging Technologies, Practices and Certification

Speakers
J. Alan McDowall
Sr. Product Stewardship Engineer, Printpack

Gary Robinson
Director of Public Affairs, TIPA

Jay Sperry
Global Digital Transformation Leader, Digimarc

5:45 pm – 7:00 pm
Reception and Student Poster Presentations

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Farm to Fork Dinner
Dinner sponsored by Aramark and SC Dept. of Agriculture

Wednesday, September 21

8:00 am – 9:30 am
Breakfast and Keynote Presentation
Breakfast sponsored by Dupont

Speaker
David Allen
Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer, PepsiCo Foods North America

9:30 am – 10:15 am
Packaging Has a Sustainability Story… What’s the Right Way to Tell It?

Speaker
Suzanne Shelton
President & CEO, Shelton Group

10:15 am – 10:45 am
Coffee Break
Coffee Break sponsored by Sustana Fiber

10:45 am – 11:30 am
Navigating the Three Rs: Myth Busting Sustainability Lore

Moderator
Cassandra Snelling
Marketing Manager of Global Sustainability, Sonoco

Speakers
Ezra Cates, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University

Greg Johnson
Director of New Business Development, Sustana Fiber

Elizabeth Rhue
Staff VP of Global Sustainability, Sonoco

Whole Foods

11:30 am – 1:15 pm
Lunch and Keynote Presentation
Lunch sponsored by Seaside Grown

Conserving the Magic – Operationalizing Disney’s Environmental Goals

Speakers
Chef Gary Jones
Culinary Environmental Specialist, Walt Disney World^® Resort

Steve Vanarsdall
Environmental Integration Project Manager, Walt Disney World^® Resort

Closing Remarks

Anne Barr
Executive Director, Sonoco FRESH, Clemson University

Jeff Schuetz
Staff Vice President, Global Technology, Sonoco