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Virtual Conversation Series

June 25, 2020 | News,

Virtual Conversation Series | Navigating Sustainability Priorities during Unprecedented Times

To provide support and leadership on pressing issues during challenging times, Anthesis led a program of virtual conversations facilitated by our experts, and joined by select clients and partners to share their experience and insights. The goal of the series was to convene conversations to provide real value to the sustainability community in times of great uncertainty.

Led by our team in the North America region and supported by our global colleagues, all sessions were relevant for a global audience.

Access the recordings and session specific takeaway documents under the session descriptions. 


Pushing Sustainability Forward in 2020: Insights from Anthesis Senior Leadership

Session Description
There is increasing momentum around accelerating action in the decisive decade, but how do we actually make it happen in this turbulent moment, to drive improvement opportunities that these tides of change provide us? Our virtual series explored these questions with perspectives from the front lines of sustainability. The group of executive directors brought their respective expertise in ESG, Circularity, Strategy and Goal-Setting and shared examples of successful practice, innovation, key considerations and essential questions to accelerate sustainability progress. The current level of disruption creates a profound challenge as well as opportunity for improvement. We need to support one another to achieve our most ambitious goals and realize the better world we want.

Chris Jones,
President and Managing Director, North America & APAC
Anthesis Group
Lisa Grice,
Executive Director,
Anthesis Group
Don Reed,
Executive Director,
Anthesis Group
John Heckman,
Executive Director,
Anthesis Group
Jenn Clipsham,
Director,
Anthesis Group



Collaborating during COVID to Pivot and Support Imminent Societal Needs: Learnings from 3M and Stanley Black & Decker

Session Description
During the coronavirus pandemic, 3M, Stanley Black & Decker with Ford collaborated to bring Scrappy powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR) to health care professionals. During this Virtual Workshop session 3M and SBD shared their learnings and the implications of that project to beyond-pandemic applications.  

Insights were shared on topics related to:

  • What was the opportunity and how did these companies come together?
  • What was different than normal supply chain collaborations?
  • What were the critical success factors?
  • What are the learnings for application to other global issues?

Dr. Jim Fava, Executive Director, Anthesis Group, has spent over 40 years supporting businesses and governments to understand the risks and opportunities facing them, and providing guidance and tools for strategies to enable them to operate more sustainably. As Executive Director at Anthesis Group, Jim continues with this purpose, passion, and actions to drive business value from operating sustainably.
Dan Fitzgerald, Product Sustainability Director, Stanley Black & Decker, is responsible for identifying and facilitating strategies and action plans for improving the sustainable performance of products across the corporation. He leads the “Innovate with Purpose” pillar of the Corporate Social Responsibility strategy with the goal to develop products that address unmet societal needs and to improve the impacts of products across their lifecycle.
Bhanu Gorti, VP of Engineering, Stanley Black & Decker, is responsible for Global Electronics and Electrical Systems within the Global Tools & Storage Business. Bhanu holds 30+ patents and leads a team of ~300 technical personnel with responsibilities focused on Lithium Batteries, Brushless & Brushed Motors, Electronics Assemblies for Motor Controls and Digitally Connected Products. Bhanu holds a Ph.D. in Energy Systems from the Oregon State University.
Michael Parham, Senior Product Development Specialist, 3M has worked over 15 years in the respiratory protection field, involving product development, research, and standards development. Michael’s current work supports 3M’s Personal Safety Division, which makes powered respirators for hospital workers, among other professional safety products. He is currently President of the International Society for Respiratory Protection, a non-profit providing an educational service to those involved in respiratory protection.

 



Leveraging Disruption and Determination to Accelerate your Corporate Sustainability Strategy

Session Description
This session had guests from the corporate sustainability team from Salt River Project – a water and power utility in Arizona.  Having navigated a transformational change across a relatively conservative organization facing significant disruption this session provided a number of valuable insights.  These include perspectives from a utility on the COVID crisis and path forward; insights from their experience making the most of disruption to drive positive change; and a discussion on priorities going forward.  Through the combination of presentation and interactive workshop participants from both the utility sector and beyond left with a better understanding of the current context, successful practices to adopt, and inspiration to capture this moment of disruption to drive improvements.

Chris Peterson, Associate Director, Anthesis Group, works primarily in the area of sustainability strategy assessment and development. Chris is also the Executive Director of the Electric Utility Industry Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance (EUISSCA), a CPO lead group of 20 leading US electric power utilities driving sustainability into the supply chain.

Marc Campbell, Manager of Sustainability Policy & Programs, Salt River Project, is responsible for advancing the corporate sustainability strategy at Salt River Project (SRP), a multipurpose reclamation project and the third-largest public power utility in the United States. In late 2015, Marc began a two-year effort to develop and implement a comprehensive sustainability framework called SRP 2035 that SRP’s Board of Directors approved in 2017 and revised in 2019.
Brendan Denker, Senior Policy Analyst, Salt River Project, works in the Sustainability Policy & Programs department. He is the project manager for SRP’s long-term sustainability framework and goals, known as SRP 2035 Sustainability. He has also previously held roles as a Planning Analyst and an Engineer in SRP’s electric business operations.

 



Built Back Better: The Future of the Built Environment under a Green New Deal

Session Description
With many organisations now set on a firm trajectory to net zero carbon, this session unpacked what this means for assets within the built environment. Achieving net zero carbon will mean radical change for design teams and conventional wisdom will need to be challenged. We defined the characteristics of a net zero carbon building and looked to a future where these will need to become the standard. We also looked to the remodelling and retrofit of existing stock and how these can be decarbonised in an economic and sympathetic way. In the session we discussed future design standards that will need to be met and how the performance gap between design intent and operation can be reduced.


Ben Lynch, Director, Anthesis Group, leads the Energy Systems team at Anthesis and is responsible for the delivery of consultancy, design and project management services. Ben has considerable experience in the commissioning, delivery and management of decentralized energy projects including energy master planning, district heating, techno-economic modelling of prospective schemes and post-project evaluation and optimization.
George Favaloro, Executive Director, Anthesis Group, helps Chief Sustainability Officers develop, launch, and manage effective sustainability programs, in addition to leading the Anthesis North America Energy and Renewables practice. His clients include leaders in manufacturing, retail and consumer, industrial products, and the information, communications and technology industries.
Huw Blackwell, Principal Engineer, Anthesis Group, is a Chartered Energy Engineer and Chair of the CIBSE CHP and District Heating group, Huw is the lead consultant on district heating in Anthesis. Huw is recognised as one of the UK’s leading luminaries in the district heating market and is regularly consulted by both industry bodies and government on the technicalities of communal and District Heating, CHP and other renewable heating systems, as well as the development of projects and of policy.

 



Accelerating Supply Chain Scope 3 Emissions for SBTs

Session Description
In this webinar, Anthesis Experts, Josh Whitney and Elena Kocherovsky shared insights needed to evaluate, prioritize and set science-based targets for your scope 3 emissions as part of supply chain strategy. They explained considerations you need to be aware of, about the nuances of the SBTi criteria and how leading companies are developing innovative supplier engagement programs using technology and collaboration to help drive progress on their climate initiatives.


Josh Whitney, Executive Director, Anthesis Group, works with a range of sectors including technology, retail and CPG, energy and clean technology and industrials. He supports clients to develop strategic programs that anticipate stakeholders pressure while delivering corporate and long-term value. Josh is an expert in GHG Inventory, Scope 3 and supplier engagement, and works with clients to achieve targets aligned to climate science.
Elena Kocherovsky, Principal Consultant, Anthesis Group, has extensive experience working with companies to identify and manage the environmental impacts of their operations and products. At Anthesis she specializes in supply chain impacts and engagement within the apparel, footwear and broader retail sector. She has a depth of experience in strategy and goal-setting, environmental data tracking and analysis, and implementation of supplier engagement initiatives.

 


Building a Sustainable Agriculture Strategy for Resilient Global Food Systems – Lessons from 2020

Session Description
The shock of a global pandemic has forced our sector to transform the way it produces, distributes and consumes food almost overnight. This is a unique moment in time to redefine our organizations’ role in delivering sustainable food security.  This session explored how the food system is becoming resilient to the impact of COVID, shared examples of how pre-competitiveness, partnerships and innovation are supporting a new path for food that’s fit for the future and discussed how these learnings can be incorporated into your own organization’s responsible sourcing strategies.

Portrait of Simon Davis of Anthesis Simon Davis, Sustainable Agriculture Lead, Anthesis Group, works with major brands to embed technology-enabled initiatives that support improvements in agricultural productivity, environmental stewardship and societal value. His experience spans across global retail, agri-service and agri-tech.

Honor Cowen, Retail & Consumer Products Lead, Anthesis Group, focuses on sustainability issues across both own operations and supply chains at Anthesis. She works closely with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and its members on providing Higg Index related services. Honor moved from the London to Colorado in 2016 to transfer European knowledge on food waste and apparel supply chains to the North America market.

John Heckman, Executive Director, Anthesis Group, is a recognized expert using sustainability as a mechanism for improving business performance.  John has led more than 100 sustainability projects including life cycle assessments (LCA), sustainability strategy development efforts, sustainability report development efforts, and enterprise sustainability software implementations.

 



Material Solutions in the Time of COVID-19

Session Description
Disruptions to the textile supply chain from store closings have effected every step.  These disruptions have resulted in unsold merchandise sitting in stores, warehouses, ports and garment manufacturers.  The industry has put huge effort into finding positive solutions on what to do with these garments.  This session covered a range of solutions that have been brought forth to keep these garment at their highest use possible.


James Ewell, Sustainable Chemistry Practice Lead, Anthesis Group, helps clients to gain transparency on the chemicals used in their supply chains, identify chemicals of concern and optimize product composition for human and environmental health. He supports brands and their suppliers to collect, assess and communicate important information about the substances they use.

Karla Magruder, Founder and President, Accelerating Circularity, has 30+ years in the textile industry from fiber to finished garments. She founded Accelerating Circularity in 2019 and Fabrikology International in 2003.  She specializes in sustainable textile sourcing, education and buisness development and has worked in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors in convening working groups, launching new products, and organizing tradeshow seminars & conferences.

Ehsan Johari, Managing Director, TEXAID, has worked in the textile recycling industry since 2007 for SOEX, a leading worldwide garment collection, sorting and recycling company and I:Collect USA (I:CO), a worldwide take-back system and logistics network in the textile industry. He has been at TEXAID, a charity-private-partnership since 2018. Their services help ensure that valuable raw materials are recycled responsibly and generate funds for charities by selling the usable textiles.

Alice Hartley, Senior Manager of Brand and Product Sustainability, Gap Inc. leads work on supply chain sustainability, including water savings, textile mill impacts, traceability, and sustainable cotton. She also works with design teams across the company on product sustainability and circular design strategies. Earlier in her career, Alice worked in green buildings and at nonprofit and research institutions. She holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Julia K. Hughes, President, United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), represents the industry in front of the U.S. government as well as international governments and stakeholders, explaining how fashion companies create high quality jobs in the United States and economic opportunities around the world. An expert on textile and apparel trade issues, Julie has testified before Congress and the Executive Branch and frequently speaks at international conferences.

 


The experience of Implementing Circularity at Scale – Technology Sector Case Studies

Session Description
In this session, we discussed an applied example of implementing circularity at scale. By using reuse, repair and the smarter use of assets, sustainability can be used to unlock efficiencies and greater business continuity. When applying these principles at scale, in the critical path of a key global business, performance and reliability are absolutely critical. We are delighted that Microsoft and HP Inc. were able to join the conversation as sustainability commitments are at the core of what they do.

Richard Peagam, Associate Director, Anthesis Group, leads on product sustainability in Europe. Richard provides clients with expertise, strategy and implementation support for product stewardship (including compliance), responsible supply chains (including conflict minerals and transparency), circular economy and sustainable business strategy.
Lisa Grice, Executive Director, Anthesis Group, leads the Anthesis Circular Economy strategy in the region. Her work in Circular Economy, nominated for a Responsible Business Innovation award, includes developing the strategy for Merck KGaA’s Life Sciences business to credibly position for entry into the multi-billion dollar green chemicals market, and Lisa was chosen to author the chapter on Sustainability in the London Stock Exchange book on Corporate Governance
Kesava Viswanathan, Director of Operations, Cloud Supply Chain Sustainability, Microsoft, is responsible for startup of strategic programs. Prior to this role he managed deployment of cloud capacity for Exchange, Azure and other Microsoft Cloud services. Previously he worked at Intel Corp where he led Global Infrastructure Operations and Manufacturing Computing for Intel IT.
Kirstie McIntyre, Global Director, Global Sustainability Operations, HP Inc, leads sustainability, product and service compliance operations. Her remit covers all environmental/social responsibility laws and market access agreements on energy efficiency, chemical / material restrictions and end-of-life considerations. Her teams manage WW takeback and recycling, IT systems for reporting and disclosure and WW product compliance programs.