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The 10th annual Wisconsin Sustainable Business Conference was one of our most successful (and most popular) conferences ever. The event was hosted by Kohler Co. at the American Club and brought outstanding speakers together in panels that allowed for extensive interaction with the audience. Watch the short video featuring a wide range of attendees at the conference and hear their reactions to the conference. The Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council integrated principles of sustainability into the conference, and worked toward a zero waste event and offset all of the carbon emissions associated with the conference.  Carbon offsets were purchased from 3 Degrees (purchasing offsets from Holsum Dairies in Chilton, WI) and TerraPass (purchasing offsets from Dairy Dreams in Door County). In short, we continue to model how to hold a sustainable conference.

Kohler sustainability
(Click to see what Kohler is doing to become more sustainable)

The 10th Annual WI Sustainable Business Conference celebrated a decade of bringing businesses together to learn from each other.  Kohler was an exceptional choice for our host this year as they have been such a leader in sustainability.  We heard from their CEO and were able to tour their facilities. Additionally, we did it all at the American Club, one of the premier destinations in the state. 

It's a collection of the forward thinking businesses in Wisconsin talking to each other about how to lead on sustainability.  

-Kathy Kuntz, Executive Director of Cool Choices 

 

Agenda

 

2017 WI Sustainable Business Conference
 

7:30 - Registration and Breakfast

 

8:30 – Welcome and Opening Remarks

 

  • Tom Eggert – Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council

 

8:50 - Co-host Welcome

 

9:05 - Welcome from Dignitaries(s)

 

  • Chad Pelishek – Sustainability Coordinator, City of Sheboygan

  • Jerry Murphy – Executive Director, The New North

 

9:25 - Welcome from Kohler - CIO & VP Sustainability, Davor Grgic

 

9:45 - Morning Keynote 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10:30 - Break/Passing Time

 

 

11:00 - Morning Breakout Sessions

  • Industrial Energy Efficiency

    • Moderated by Mark McDermid - WI Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP)

    • AJ Gordon - CEO, Gordon Aluminum Industries, Inc.

    • John Davis - Continuous Improvement Manager, Letterhead Press

    • Ben Perreault - Sustainability Specialist, R&B Wagner  

  • Empowering Women through Sustainable Businesses

    • Moderated by Jessy Servi Ortiz – Sustainability Manager, Outpost Natural Foods

    • Cynthia Bachmann – Vice President-Fixtures Engineering, Kitchen & Bath Americas, Kohler Co.

    • Jacquelynn Voss – Project Manager, Oshkosh Defense, LLC

    • Jane McCurry – Executive Director, Wisconsin Microfinance

  • Benchmarking Sustainability Performance

    • Moderated by Richard Udell – Conference Planner, UW Madison

    • Scott Louks – Sustainability & Facilities Project Manager, Mercury Marine

    • John Mourand – Corporate Director of Environmental and Product Safety Compliance and Sustainability, Briggs & Stratton 

    • Jacob Madsen – Director of Sustainability, SC Johnson

  • Increasing Building Efficiency through Automation

  • Project Nutmeg: a Kohler Design for Environment Exercise

(Concurrent tours of Kohler offered)


12:15 - Lunch


1:15 - Green Masters Presentation


1:45 - Afternoon Breakout Sessions

 

3:00 - Break/Passing Time


3:30 - Afternoon Keynote 

 

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4:15 - Closing Remarks
 

4:30 - Reception

Accommodation

This event is made possible because of the generosity of our sponsors, partners and volunteers, and because of the continuing interest and support from businesses in Wisconsin.

Conference Sponsors

Conference Partners

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