GoGreen Seattle Conference

Virtual Conference Program | September 8-9, 2020 Attendees of the 2020 Conference recieve complimentary access to all session recordings via the Conference App, Socio. If you were unable to attend the Virtual Conference, you can still purchase a Virtual Access Ticket here for all session recordings.
September 8, 2020
9:00-9:05am	Emcee Intro & Announcements Sarah Severn | Principal, Severn Consulting and Strategic Advisor, Washington Business Alliance
9:05-9:25am	Waves of Innovation and Sustainability: Decoupling Economic Growth from Resource Consumption James Chin Moody | Chief Executive Officer, Sendle
9:25-9:45am	Technology for Climate Solutions: Commitments & Innovation for a Carbon-Negative Future ▾ The IPCC has called for wide-scale decarbonization across entire industries by 2030, in order for humanity to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Dr. Lucas Joppa, Microsoft's first Chief Environmental Officer, will describe how the company is using its operations, investments, cloud and AI platforms, as well as policy, to make Microsoft carbon negative by 2030, while enabling innovative, scalable solutions for a low-carbon future. Dr. Lucas Joppa | Chief Environmental Officer, Microsoft
9:45-10:30am	The Future of Green Transportation: Rethinking the Path Forward in the Time of COVID-19 ▾ While transportation, the largest GHG emission category, has been a conspicuous challenge in recent history, its landscape has drastically changed in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Traffic volumes are down now and will remain so in the near future with a new corporate emphasis on telecommuting, public transit faces multiple challenges from loss of ridership and tax revenue, and rideshare business is down dramatically because people are concerned about sharing rides with strangers due to COVID exposure. What does the future of green transportation look like in the wake of a public health crisis and how will this shape public policy and corporate commitments moving forward? Moderator: Bruce Agnew | Director, Cascadia Center & ACES Northwest Network Elizabeth Leavitt | Senior Director, Environment and Sustainability, Port of Seattle Amy Shatzkin | Deputy Director, Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, Sound Transit Sarah Spicer | Strategic Advisor / Transportation Demand Management, City of Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) John Walsh | Senior Vice President, Proterra
10:30-11:00am	Networking Breakout Rooms
11:00-11:30am	Break
11:30am-12:30pm
Competitors Working Together: Turning The Tide on Ocean Pollution ▾ There are currently more than 86 million tons of plastic in the ocean, with an estimated 8 million tons of new plastic waste entering the ocean each year. Plastic breaks down in the ocean but never biodegrades, instead becoming microplastics, which are nearly impossible to remove. To help solve this crisis, NextWave Plastics has convened leading companies and market competitors to develop the first global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains. Member companies have demonstrated the viability of integrating ocean-bound plastics into their products and packaging to keep plastics in our economy and out of the ocean. During the panel, Nextwave member companies will share innovative products that permanently lock up ocean-bound plastic, such as Trek Bicycles' water bottle holder made of 100% Nylon6 from ocean-bound fishing nets and HP Inc.'s ink cartridges and the new HP Elite and HP Pro desktop and notebook computers, which have eliminated 35 million single-use plastic bottles to date. Moderated by the Executive Director of award-winning NGO Lonely Whale, panelists will discuss the practicalities and benefits of collaborating with both market competitors and cross-industry thought leaders to work toward the same goals, as no company alone can solve the ocean plastics crisis. Moderator: Dune Ives | Executive Director, Lonely Whale Mikhail Davis | Director of Technical Sustainability, Interface Ellen Jackowski | Global Head of Sustainability Strategy & Innovation at HP Inc. Page Motes | Director, Sustainability Strategy, Dell Adrian Solgaard | Founder and CEO, SOLGAARD	Bridging the Divide: Linking Urban, Rural & Tribal Climate Strategies ▾ In 2018 the defeat of Washington's Initiative 1631, a carbon pricing initiative, sent a powerful message. Rural voters crushed it. Two thirds of WA counties voting no by more than 60%, half by more than 70%. The defeat shows clearly that competent response to the carbon crisis hinges on fundamentally dealing in people who live outside the prosperous urban centers. How can we build a future of low-carbon prosperity not just for Tesla drivers, but for folks who drive pickups because they need them? What can we learn from tribes, farmers, and remote, resource-dependent communities where leaders are successfully tackling pollution while controlling energy costs. This panel discussion will explore strategies that work, and the lessons they offer. Moderator: Brad Warren | Executive Director, National Fisheries Conservation Center Paul Williams | Shellfish Biologist, Suquamish Tribe Angelena Campobasso | Small Urban, Rural, and Tribal Transportation Program Manager, Eastern Washington University	Centering Equity & Sustainability in Co-Creating Policy with Community ▾ In this panel discussion, staff from King County Metro Transit, King County Departments of Natural Resources and Parks, and community leaders from recently created King County Equity Cabinet will showcase their work co-creating policy, using a pro-equity and climate-focused lens. Over the last two years, these two departments broke through organizational silos and partnered with 23 diverse community leaders on a King County Equity Cabinet to develop recommendations related to parks and open space funding policies and programs, as well as investments in traditional and new mobility services and programs. These efforts culminated in community-driven recommendations and legislation focused on advancing equity and climate-related outcomes that are currently under consideration by regional elected officials. This session will include a skill-building activity in which audience members work with each other to design opportunities for co-creating pro-equity policy and programs with community-leaders in their own work. Moderator: De'Sean Quinn | Program Manager, Equity & Social Justice Implementation, King County Sarneshea Evans | Outreach & Partnerships Manager, Friends of Waterfront Seattle Alex Mayo | West Sound Marketing	Framing the Building Decarbonization Challenge ▾ Driving the overall carbon emission footprint of buildings to zero is achievable thanks to recent innovations in design methods, tools, materials and construction techniques. This session will define the total carbon footprint of buildings, identify the challenges to driving the carbon footprint to zero, and highlight recent technology and policy innovations that make achieving that goal possible. Moderator: Ash Awad | Chief Market Officer, McKinstry Davina Duerr | Representative, Washington State, 1st Legislative District Beth Doglio | Representative, Washington State, 22nd Legislative District Tobias Levey | Vice President of Real Estate Transactions, Forterra Stacy Smedley | Director of Sustainability, Skanska	Private Industry Taking the Lead on Tackling Intractable Problems: Fixing Puget Sound Faster with Public-Private Partnerships ▾ The Nature Conservancy is working for a complete cleanup of the water in the Puget Sound watershed over the next 20 years by activating public-private partnerships on a new scale. Panel discussion led by Jessie Israel, Puget Sound Conservation Director for The Nature Conservancy, with three visionary private sector leaders who've recognized the pollution problem and created roles for themselves in solving it. Through private projects and private public partnerships, we're solving previously unsolvable problems. The panel will explore what it takes to bring private and public sector together to overcome barriers and clean up Puget Sound. Moderator: Jessie Israel | Puget Sound Conservation Director, The Nature Conservancy Lori Blair | Engineer/Scientist at The Boeing Company Mark Grey | Principal, Stephen Grey & Associates Stanley Janicki | Vice President of Business Development, Sedron Technologies	Reducing the Embodied Carbon Footprint of Buildings: Best Practices ▾ The greenhouse gas emissions associated with building materials and construction processes are large and growing, and typically overlooked. This session will define the challenges we must overcome and opportunities we must exploit to drive embodied carbon emissions to zero. Expert practitioners will discuss the best practices we must adopt to reduce embodied carbon in construction. Moderator: David Walsh | Director of Sustainability, Sellen Construction Duncan Griffin | Managing Principal, HDR David Mead | Senior Associate, PAE Baha Sadreddin | High Performance Design Specialist, ZGF Landry Watson | Executive Director - Sustainability, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.
12:30-1:30pm	Recycling and Composting Questions with Seattle Public Utilities ▾ Join this open-forum Zoom session to ask all of your recycling and composting questions! Get answers for how compost is processed or where to put that pesky soup can lid? Seattle Public Utilities solid waste outreach and education team members Becca Fong and Pat Kaufman (also the hosts of the hit Instagram Live series "Ask Evelyn Live") will host the session to answer all of your most challenging recycling and composting questions. Pat Kaufman | Commercial Recycling Program Manager Becca Fong | Solid Waste Residential Outreach Program Manager

September 9, 2020
8:45-8:50am	Emcee Intro & Announcements Sarah Severn | Principal, Severn Consulting and Strategic Advisor, Washington Business Alliance
8:50-10:00am	Sustainable & Equitable Communities: How Sustainability Intersects with Equity▾ Cities, companies, and communities are working to address the challenges posed by climate change, economic development, and social equity. The path forward must address both environmental sustainability and economic opportunity for all, and this panel will explore how public, private, and nonprofit sector leaders are working toward a more sustainable, equitable regional economy Moderator: Laura Clise | Chief Executive Officer, Intentionalist Michelle Connor | President & Chief Executive Officer, Forterra Mami Hara | General Manager & Chief Executive Officer, Seattle Public Utilities Erin Osher | Managing Director, Porter Novelli Marilyn Strickland | former Mayor of Tacoma, WA & former Chief Executive Officer, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
10:00-10:30am	Leadership in Environmental Activism: An Intergenerational Conversation ▾ 18 years ago when Jamie Margolin was born, Bill Weihl was in his early forties and just about to begin his journey in climate activism. While there may be a stark difference in age and perspective between Jamie and Bill, they are aligned in their passion for a more positive future for both climate and society. Join us for an intergenerational conversation about how older generations in power can empower today's youth in climate action. Bill Weihl | Founder and Executive Director, ClimateVoice; Former Chief Sustainability Officer, Facebook; Board of Directors, Sierra Club Foundation Jamie Margolin | Founder & Co-Executive Director, Zero Hour
10:30-11:00am	Break
11:00am-12:00pm
Sustainability Superstars: Achieving Bottom Line Benefit Through Principles ▾ With 87 percent of consumers considering a company's social and environmental commitment when making buying decisions, smart startups are building sustainability practices and strategies into the very core of their business from the very beginning. Why? Because they know that sustainable business practices produce real results: brand loyalty, rising stock values, risk mitigation, product innovations that open new markets, and more. Moderator: Carolyn Parrs | CEO & Founder, Mind Over Markets Katherine Cheng | Head of Global and Community Impact, Expedia Group Alison Booth Gribas | Worker-Owner, Equal Exchange Kevin Wilhelm | Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Business Consulting	A Focus on Results - Equity, Empathy and Moral Courage ▾ We see better outcomes when marginalized groups - women, people of color, low-income communities, etc. - are leading, because their leadership is often based on three important principles: equity, empathy, and moral courage. Moderator: Zenobia Jeffries Warfield | Executive Editor, YES! Media Colleen Echohawk | Executive Director, Chief Seattle Club Ubax Gardheere | Equity Strategies Manager, City of Seattle Dr. Sarah Myhre | Executive Director, Rowan Institute	Journalists Covering Climate Change Impacts Moderator: David Giuliani | Co-Founder & Board Member, Washington Business Alliance; Co-Founder, Low Carbon Prosperity Institute Hal Bernton | Seattle Times Liz Smith | Independent Filmmaker and Writer Kate Yoder | Journalist and Associate Editor, Grist	Biological Sequestration: Shifting Paradigms and the Prosperity of Rural America ▾ As the world, the country, and Washington State (HB2311) move to adopt net zero carbon targets new marketplaces will need to incentivize both reduced emissions and enhanced biological sequestration. Biosequestration predominately occurs on rural landscapes where carbon absorbed from the atmosphere is stored safely in trees, soil, seaweed and other vegetation. This panel discussion will evaluate the technical underpinnings of biosequestration and explore the rural economic development opportunities for Washington State. Moderator: Christophe Jospe | Chief Development Officer, Nori Ara Erickson | Director Corporate Sustainability, Weyerhaeuser Indroneil Ganguly | Associate Professor, University of Washington Beth Robinette | Farmer, Lazy R Ranch and Co-Founder, LINC Foods	Building a Climate-Ready Workforce: Fellowships for Equity ▾ Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI) is a nonprofit that builds leaders to drive climate solutions. With 22 years of experience serving communities, SEI builds capacity for sustainable communities through its scalable programs and models. Its flagship programs (Energize Schools, Energize Colleges, School of Environmental Leadership) integrate climate education, training, and career development. From young students to emerging professionals to communities, SEI programs address sustainability goals by leading projects with measurable environmental, economic, and social benefits. Since 2010, SEI's Climate Corps program has worked with over 250 partners placing 400 Fellows to complete more than 800 high impact projects focused broadly on sustainability and climate change. In 2019, SEI worked to place Climate Justice Fellow at the Portland African American Leadership Forum, working in the Environmental & Climate Justice Program. The program supports policies that advance environmental protections in Oregon that provide economic and social benefit to communities of African descent. Specific near-term program objectives included building capacity in communities of African descent to advance climate solutions; environmental protections; access to the clean energy economy; shifting discourses that centralize the voices of those most impacted by environmental injustice and climate change; and strengthening relationships between environmental organizations and the black community. Moderator: Jake Pollack | Program Manager, SEI	Reducing the Operating Carbon Footprint of Buildings: Best Practices ▾ To decarbonize the Pacific Northwest economy, we must cut our per capita energy use by 50% and switch fuels to electricity or biofuels. Our building stock must be overhauled to make this happen. It's a massive transformation that requires a comprehensive approach. This session will describe the strategies we must pursue to decarbonize existing buildings. Expert practitioners will discuss the best practices we must pursue to eliminate the operating carbon emissions of our buildings. Moderator: Heather Burpee | Research Associate Professor & Director, Education & Outreach, University of Washington Integrated Design Lab David Heslam | Executive Director, Earth Advantage Duane Jonlin | Energy Code and Energy Conservation Advisor, City of Seattle, Department of Construction and Inspections Brad Liljequist | Zero Energy Senior Program Manager, McKinstry Brett Phillips | Vice President, Sustainable and Responsible Investments, Unico Properties
12:00-12:15pm	Break
12:15-1:00pm	Building Back Better: Investing in a Resilient Recovery for Washington State ▾ A Resilient Recovery framework can lead our response to concurrent health, jobs, and climate crises while strengthening the economy versus the status quo. This panel will explore opportunities that combine tangible community health and climate benefits with robust job growth and economic performance, discuss mechanisms for achieving these outcomes, and identify approaches that ensure benefits flow to where needs are most pressing. Moderator: Kevin Tempest | Co-Founder and Research and Development Scientist, Low Carbon Prosperity Institute Moderator: Jonah Kurman-Faber | Author and Senior Research Associate, Climate XChange Tom Bugert | Senior Strategic Advisor, Washington Department of Natural Resources Mark Riker | Executive Secretary, Washington State Construction & Building Trades Council Liz Lovelett | Senator, State of Washington Hilary Franz | Commissioner of Public Lands, State of Washington
1:00-2:00pm	Recycling and Composting Questions with Seattle Public Utilities ▾ Join this open-forum Zoom session to ask all of your recycling and composting questions! Get answers for how compost is processed or where to put that pesky soup can lid? Seattle Public Utilities solid waste outreach and education team members Becca Fong and Pat Kaufman (also the hosts of the hit Instagram Live series "Ask Evelyn Live") will host the session to answer all of your most challenging recycling and composting questions. Pat Kaufman | Commercial Recycling Program Manager Becca Fong | Solid Waste Residential Outreach Program Manager

Learn more about the GoGreen Conference in Seattle and see topics we've covered over the years. View our past programs:

2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010

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