Afternoon Breakout Session
1:45-3:00pm
(A5) Now That You've Embraced Sustainability, What Do You Do? – H
This session will feature speakers from companies that have committed to sustainability and got some easy early wins. The next projects though cost a bit more, or take a bit more time, or require other people that are busy doing other things. How do these companies maintain the momentum? What tools are available to help companies overcome this inertia? This breakout session really exemplifies this year’s conference theme of “sustainably forward,” because it focuses on moving forward even when it is hard.
Dan Streit —WECC
Dan Streit serves as the Program Manager for Commercial Finance and Sustainability Services at WECC, a mission-based nonprofit headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. In this role, he is responsible for developing and implementing programs for corporate and municipal clients seeking to improve supply chain sustainability, identify and report upon their material sustainability issues, or calculate their carbon footprints.
Dan is certified as a Greenhouse Gas Inventory Quantifier and has also completed the GRI training program. He has presented at past conferences and events, including the Better Buildings: Better Business Conference, the New York Home Performance Coalition Conference
(formerly Affordable Comfort), Dane Buy Local, and Women in Sustainability, as well as to a variety of local audiences.
When he is not engaging organizations on environmental sustainability issues, Dan is an avid cyclist, runner, and baker.
.jpg)
Beth Churchill – American Family
Beth is a seasoned Corporate Responsibility/Sustainability strategist. She has experience in strategic planning, program management and facilitation in both business and community. Committed to guiding organizations towards responsible social, environmental and economic stewardship, Beth co-leads American Family’s Corporate Responsibility program strategy & development, project management, education & outreach, and metrics and reporting.
A fellow of Edgewood College’s Social Innovation and Sustainability Leadership program, she is a LEED Accredited Professional, a certified Sustainability Associate with the International Society of Sustainability Professionals and a licensed Landscape Architect in California. She serves on Edgewood College’s Social Innovation and Sustainability Leadership Advisory Board and is a member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. In 2016 she received the Sustainable Leadership Award from the Wisconsin Sustainability Business Council Earth Day Sustainable Business Awards.
She calls Madison, Wisconsin, home where she surrounds herself with clean air, quality water, black soil, natural rain cycles, and local food sources. Active in local and regional communities, she has an insatiable appetite to help others make the change they want to see in the world. A systems thinker, always learning from nature.
Nathan Nissen - Kohler
Nathan Nissen was on the team that developed the first Kohler Co. Sustainability strategy in 2007 and has lead footprint reporting activities and coordinated footprint reduction activities since then. Prior to that, Nathan had worked in an environmental leadership role with the Kohler Co. corporate Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) department since 1989.
While working in EHS, Nathan’s career evolved through hazardous waste management and elimination, emergency response planning, environmental management systems, and industrial waste recycling. Nathan has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He is an amateur bee keeper and a licensed Professional Engineer.
The session will be moderated by...
Moderated by Lindsey Jacques – Conference Planner, UW Madison
Lindsey Jacques is from Appleton, Wisconsin and is a senior at UW Madison majoring in Economics and Environmental Studies. After graduating, Lindsey is planning on going to law school, and is currently thinking of practicing environmental, food, or business law. In of her areas of interest, sustainability is a large factor for later development, and she believes sustainability will be a pivotal factor for maintaining growth and prosperity in the future. She would like to see widespread environmental and social practices implemented into our culture to improve the long term common good, and thinks businesses play a key role in creating a demand for these practices to become standardized. In the future, Lindsey feels integrating sustainable practices into business models will be mandatory for businesses to remain competitive.