January 22, 2014
GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) announced today that Joel Makower, chairman and executive editor of GreenBiz Group, Inc., is slated to deliver the keynote address at the Sustainable Packaging Coalition Spring Conference 2014 on March 26 in Seattle. Makower is an award-winning speaker, writer, and strategist on corporate sustainability practices, clean technology, and green marketing, and has worked with leading companies and brands to align environmental responsibility with corporate success.
Makower is creator of GreenBiz.com, and numerous research reports and events on corporate sustainability strategy and trends. He hosts the annual GreenBiz Forums and VERGE conferences around the world, and is author of the annual State of Green Business report.
A former nationally syndicated columnist, Makower is author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including his latest, Strategies for the Green Economy. He has been a commentator on “Marketplace,” public radio’s nightly business show, and appears regularly in both broadcast and print media, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, and Business Week, and on Larry King, Oprah, the Today Show, Good Morning America, All Things Considered, and on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and other broadcast networks.
“Joel Makower has been a highly respected voice in our field for over 25 years, and we couldn’t think of a better person to keynote the Conference on its 10th anniversary,” said Katherine O’Dea, GreenBlue Senior Director of Innovation. “Drawing on his State of Green Business report, the keynote should be of great interest to Conference attendees, whether they’re responsible for their organization’s general sustainability goals or focused exclusively on packaging sustainability. Joel is a dynamic speaker and storyteller who delivers his message with command of the facts and a sharp wit.”
Makower’s keynote will cover the progress businesses are making on environmental issues, challenges keeping them from reaching sustainability goals, areas for improvement, what needs to happen in the coming years to align business and sustainability goals on a larger scale, and how sustainable packaging fits into the larger corporate sustainability picture.
“Central to GreenBlue’s and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s philosophy is the idea that sustainable business practices are not only good for the environment, but are also good for a company’s bottom line,” said Nina Goodrich, GreenBlue Executive Director and Director of the SPC. “Makower is among the best at articulating this philosophy, and his focus on realistic, practical solutions will be appreciated by our audience.”
In addition to keynoting the Conference, Makower will also serve as a moderator on complementary, consecutive panels: Top-Down Sustainability, Bottom-Up Sustainability, and Integrated Sustainability.
For more information about the Conference, or to register, visit the website at http://conference.sustainablepackaging.org/, or contact Liz Shoch via email at spcmeetings@greenblue.org.
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About the Sustainable Packaging Coalition Spring Conference
The annual Sustainable Packaging Coalition Spring Conference is recognized at the must-attend event for anyone with a vested interest in sustainable packaging. It is the premier forum for stakeholders to collaborate in a pre-competitive space to find solutions to the industry’s most pressing challenges. The event attracts sustainability leaders from across the packaging value chain, including suppliers, converters, manufacturers, designers, brand owners, government stakeholders, nonprofits, and educational institutions.
Past attendees include sustainability leaders from top organizations, companies and brands, including Target, REI, Microsoft, Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Mars, Coca Cola, Dow Chemical Company, General Mills, Seventh Generation, NatureWorks, Avery Dennison, MeadWestvaco, SC Johnson, Staples, Clorox, FedEx, UPS, U.S. EPA, Disney, and many more.
About the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and GreenBlue
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition® (SPC) is a membership group that brings together business, educational institutions, and government agencies to collectively broaden the understanding of packaging sustainability and develop meaningful improvements for packaging solutions. Through strong member support, an informed and science-based approach, supply chain collaborations and continuous outreach, the SPC works to build packaging systems that encourage economic prosperity and a sustainable flow of materials.
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition® is a project of Greenblue, an environmental nonprofit that shapes the business of sustainability by equipping individuals with the science, resources, and technology needed to make business more sustainable.
