Last month, I attended GreenBiz 22 with my Rubicon colleagues David Rachelson, Tom Owston, Tess Riley, Gabrielle Donchez, and Arnaldo Perez-Negron. This event is a high point in the year for many sustainability-focused businesses, as it brings together some of the brightest and most innovative minds to share stories of their sustainability successes and challenges.
For many attendees, myself included, GreenBiz 22 was our first foray out into the world of conferences in more than two years, and the GreenBiz team did a fantastic job implementing health and safety measures to keep us all feeling safe. By the time all was said and done, more than 1,200 sustainability leaders from different sectors of business, government, academia, and NGOs had congregated in Scottsdale.
Our booth saw some heavy foot-traffic, which allowed us to spend time with a wide variety of business leaders who all share a common goal of creating a more sustainable world.
Rubicon’s Chief Sustainability Officer, David Rachelson, participated in one of the many informative panels, during which he underscored the critical role that circularity will play in decarbonizating of all kinds of industries, as well as the many challenges that come along with such a revolution. David touched on the fact that mainstreaming adoption of circular systems requires the digitalization of our industry, as tracking and measuring material flows is critical to ending waste (and the core focus of so much of our work).
As circular economy proponents, our team was pleased that so much of the discussion at GreenBiz 22 centered on what companies are doing to redesign business practices and close loops.
Ashley Fahey, Sr. Manager of Global Product Sustainability at Kohler Co., shared a story in which during a recent remodel at the Many Glacier Hotel in Montana, they re-enameled cast iron bathtubs from 1914 , rather than replace them entirely. These efforts allowed them to reduce solid waste production, water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy consumption. We are big fans of reuse and refurbishment at Rubicon!
GreenBiz selected the perfect Keynote Speaker. Paul Polman has been one of the more important professional figures for me, and so many of my colleagues, throughout my career. His latest book, Net Positive, is a manifesto for stakeholder capitalism. Seeing him speak to it, in person, was invigorating and encouraging.
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All in all, GreenBiz 22 was a blast! I’m looking forward to the return of more in-person events this year. If you would like to learn more about Rubicon’s sustainability offerings, please reach out to me any time at nick.mcculloch@rubicon.com.
Nick McCulloch is Director of Sustainability at Rubicon. To stay ahead of Rubicon’s announcements of new partnerships and collaborations around the world, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, or contact us today.
