2021 Program

3 pm – 4 pm

Welcome

James P. Clements, Ph.D., President, Clemson University
Howard Coker, President & Chief Executive Officer, Sonoco

Keynote Presentation – Supporting Sustainable Food Systems through Partnerships

Food is one of the most fundamental building blocks for society. In addition to meeting a basic human need, it also supports societal stability and allows individuals to lead productive lives – a truth highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Join David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme for captivating and insightful remarks about the importance of industry partnerships to address the global need for sustainable food systems.

David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme

4 pm – 5:30 pm

Social Hour – Travel and Food: An Eco-Ethics Pairing

Sponsored by McCall Farms & South Carolina Department of Agriculture

The Summit’s Social Hour provides two experiences that we’ve all been missing – travel and food! This program will be memorable, fun and definitely unique!

Scrappy Hour: Sustainability Chef Joel Gamoran shares his passion for sustainable cooking through an interactive cooking demonstration. Want to cook along with Joel? Click the Download button below for the recipes he’ll be making. The shelf-stable ingredients were provided to our first 100 Industry Level Summit registrants in their Surprises for the Summit goody boxes.

Eco-Tourism Mini-Tour: Enjoy your Scrappy Hour creations while traveling with Richard Crawford, Host of Amazon Prime’s Leave No Trace eco-tourism travel program. Ricky’s passion for ecologically responsible travel combined with his knowledge of off-the-beaten-path destinations will transport you to a destination you’ll want to visit in person.

Introduction
Leslie Hossfeld, Ph.D., Dean, College of Behavioral, Social & Health Sciences, Clemson University

Speakers
Joel Gamoran, Sustainable Chef, Author & Founder of Homemade
Richard Crawford, Eco-Luxury Travel Expert, TV Host, Storyteller, Executive Producer & Global Brand Ambassador

10 am – 11 am

Welcome

Lessons Across the Food Value Chain

Thursday’s opening address features Deloitte Consulting’s market leaders in Sustainability and the Fresh Food Supply Chain, Kyle Tanger and Josh Mellinger. Kyle and Josh will discuss the current state of the food value chain and lessons learned that will help inform decisions and operations in 2021, followed by Q&A.

Introduction
Wendy York, Dean, Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, Clemson University

Speakers
Kyle Tanger, US Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Josh Mellinger, Fresh Food Supply Chain Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP

11 am – 12 pm

Overcoming Supply Chain Disruptions in Times of Change

While unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters are not new to the food supply chain, the past year has seen record setting disruptions – in scope, scale and duration. This panel includes multiple stakeholders who will offer multiple perspectives and valuable insights to innovative and adaptive solutions while balancing efficiency and agility. Followed by Q&A.

Introduction
Anand Gramopadhye, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences

Moderator
Philip Saylor, Vice President of Global Supply Chain, Aramark

Speakers
Chalmers Carr, Owner & Chief Executive Officer, Titan Farms
Jim Henderson, Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development, Lineage Logistics
Micah Mallace, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, SC Ports Authority

12:30 pm – 1:25 pm

IoT: The Power of Connected Packaging

Leveraging cutting edge technologies to capture, analyze and deploy data related to food has become increasingly important. Join Digimarc and their technology partners as they discuss implementing and utilizing innovative technologies from bar codes to block chain to deliver safe, secure and sustainable solutions. Followed by Q&A.

Introduction
Amy Apon, Ph.D., C. Tycho Howle Director, School of Computing, Clemson University

Moderator
Richard Freundlich, Executive Director, Supply Chains, Rabobank

Speakers
Raj Rao, General Manager, Blockchain Platforms, IBM
Jay Sperry, Platform Evangelist, Digimarc

1:25 pm – 2 pm

Going Bananas for Circular Solutions: An Innovative Approach to Circularity

Caue Suplicy is the Chairman and Founder of Barnana, a banana-based snacks company that has upcycled 100 million bananas since its inception in 2012. Caue will share Barnana’s unique approach to bringing healthier, delicious snacks to market that are safe, secure and sustainable.  He will also offer lessons learned on his journey to build a business from bananas that otherwise would have been thrown away. Followed by Q&A.

Introduction
Shontavia Johnson, Associate Vice President for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Clemson University

Speaker
Caue Suplicy, Founder, Barnana

2 pm – 2:15 pm

Student Poster Presentation
Student Dining Hall Food Waste & Carbon Footprint Analytics
Emma Stark

2:30 pm – 2:45 pm

Student Poster Presentation
Sustainable Packaging: Beginning with the End in Mind
Erin O’Rourke

2:45 pm – 3 pm

Student Poster Presentation
Elucidating Metabolite Dynamics During Anaerobic Co-digestion of Municipal Wastewater Sludge with Fats, Oils & Grease
Jessica Deaver

3:15 pm – 3:30 pm

Student Poster Presentation
The Impact of COVID-19 on Packaging, Safety and Food Waste
Dakota Cook, Maria Camargo, Ana Romero

3:30 pm – 3:45 pm

Student Poster Presentation
Sustainable Packaging: End of Life Package
Tara Hathaway

3:45 pm – 4 pm

Student Poster Presentation
Sustainability and Design
Caitlin Hodge

9:15 am – 9:30 am

Student Poster Presentation
Clemson Food Waste Recovery Initiative
Emily White

9:30 am – 9:45 am

Student Poster Presentation
Presentation of Sustainable Packaging Exploratory Company Survey
Emily Anderson

9:45 am – 10 am

Student Poster Presentation
From Waste to “Win!”: A Path Towards Sustainable Food Systems
Amanda Tan

10 am – 10:55 am

Designing and Delivering Cradle-to-Cradle Packaging Solutions

Demands on packaging are greater than ever. Food packaging has evolved from protecting products in transit to an expanded role that spans safety, security, traceability, shelf- life extension, and environmental sustainability– all with the bottom line in mind. This panel of industry experts moderated by AMERIPEN, will discuss the challenges, opportunities and innovations being developed to meet the demands of today’s marketplace. Followed by Q&A.

Introduction
Keith Belli, Ph.D., Dean, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, Clemson University

Moderator
Kyla Fisher, Program Manager, AMERIPEN

Speakers
Kathy Bolhous, Chief Executive Officer, Charter Next Generation
Raghu Chakravarthi, Portfolio Director, Tetra Pak Americas
Brett Stevens, Global VP of Material Sales & Procurement, TerraCycle
Stephen Tyner, R&D Manager, FLNA Core Packaging Services, PepsiCo

10:55 am – 11:15 am

Plant, Product and Planet: A Case Study Using Sugar Cane Fiber

Matt Hoffman and Becky Skipper will present insights to how their organizations collaborated to deliver an innovative food packaging portfolio using sugar cane fiber.

Introduction
Anne Barr, Executive Director, Sonoco FRESH

Speakers
Matt Hoffman, President, Tellus Products
Becky Skipper, Marketing Manager, Sonoco

11:15 am – 12:15 pm

Advanced Recycling Practices: What the Future Holds

Traditional Mechanical Recycling methods are limited by the contamination level of the feedstock and are not effective in processing multimaterial structures and other hard-to-recycle packages in order to generate high quality recycled plastics that can then be used in new packaging. In addition, the infrastructure and capacity required to meet brand owner commitments and potential legislative mandates around recyclability and recycled content is also inadequate today. Advanced Recycling Technologies offer the promise of recycling complex materials and packages with various levels of contamination to generate polymers of virgin-like quality. Stakeholders representing multiple stages of the advanced recycling process will discuss the current state of this evolving technology. Followed by Q&A.

Introduction
Cynthia Young, Ph.D., Founding Dean, College of Science, Clemson University

Moderator
Lindsay Mendes, Principal Sustainability Engineer, Sonoco

Speakers
Prapti Muhuri, Manager of Recycling & Recovery, American Chemistry Council
Linda Roman, Head of Packaging Growth & Technology, The Kraft Heinz Company
Jennifer Ronk, Sustainability & Advocacy Manager, NA Packaging & Specialty Products, Dow
Ross Sloane, Director of Business Development, Braven Environmental

12:30 pm – 1:25 pm

From Concept to Compost: How to Successfully Launch Sustainable Packaging Innovations

Join industry experts as they delve into the opportunities and challenges of introducing new packaging concepts using a closed venue platform. The closed venue serves as a microcosm for the larger population, allowing for a quicker launch and rapid feedback on new sustainable packaging concepts. Working in a closed venue also presents unique challenges and requires closely orchestrated collaborations among each party within the supply chain. The panel will include representatives from Raw Material Supply, Converting, Brand Management, Foodservice Provider, Closed Venue Management and a Composter and will explore the critical role played by each to ensure a successful product launch. Followed by Q&A.

Introduction
Angie Leidinger, Vice President for External Affairs, Clemson University

Moderator
Ruth Watts, Business Development Manager, Packaging & Agriculture Markets, BASF

Speakers
Kevin Anderson, Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Business Development, Missouri Organic Recycling
Alan Belcher, Senior Product Stewardship Engineer, Printpack
Edwin Freeman, Principal Engineer, Advanced Materials Research & Open Innovation, Mars
Brandon Hamilton, Vice President of Stadium Operations & Facilities, Kansas City Chiefs Football Club
Tim Witkowski, District Manager, Kansas City, Aramark

1:25 pm – 2 pm

When Competitors Collaborate for the Greater Good

Many companies are faced with similar challenges as they strive to achieve more circularity in their businesses. What if companies that compete in the field or on the shelf were able to join forces in a pre-competitive space to collaborate on solutions that impact the greater good? We look forward to presenting several case studies and to inspiring Summit attendees to forge new partnerships in support of sustainability initiatives across the food value chain.

Introduction
Marcy Thompson, Vice President, Marketing and Innovation, Sonoco

Speaker
Ron Gonen, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Closed Loop Partners