2015 Zero Waste Conference: A Star-Studded Event!

On May 5 - 7, 2015 sustainability leaders from across industry boundaries will converge on the City of Los Angeles (LA) for the Fourth Annual National U.S Zero Waste Business Council (USZWBC) Conference,The Stars of Zero Waste. Announced at the 2014 USZWBC Conference hosted in Atlanta, the 2015 star-studded event is staged for grandeur.

Matt Petersen

With ample planning time, the conference program is filled with local LA stars as well those traveling across the nation to share their expertise. In addition to the stellar program, pre and post-conference activities include the ZWBA Scorecard 101 Professional Training Course, workshops and tours of local landmarks dedicated to zero waste.

Committed to their host city role, LA staff traveled to Atlanta for the 2014 conference and lived the USZWBC conference experience. Reina Pereira, senior environmental engineer, Solid Resources Support ServicesDivision, LA Bureau of Sanitation and Marivic Sabillo, management analyst II, LA Bureau of Sanitation attended the Atlanta conference and supporting activities. The LA Bureau of Sanitation grounded their 2015 hosting commitment as a 2014 USZWBC Conference Sponsor.

LA chief sustainability officer Matt Peterson welcomes attendees to his fine city as the 2015 USZBC Conference keynote opening speaker. Prior to joining LA Matt was co-founder & president of Global Green USA for 19+ years. During Matt's Global Green tenure, the Coalition of Resource Recovery was launched first in New York City and later expanded to a national platform.

Fedele Bauccio

Fedele Bauccio, Bon Appétit Management Company (BAMC) co-founder, shares his company's pioneer role in environmentally sound operating policies as the first day lunch keynote. BAMC provides foodservice to corporations, universities, and museums in 32 states. Complementing its longstanding food-waste reduction efforts, BAMC was an early partner of the Food Recovery Network and has three dozen cafés Food Recovery Certified.

Additional plenary keynotes, panels and breakout sessions are in various planning stages. As in prior years, the final program consists of topics national in focus yet infiltrated with the local host city flavor.

Announced in March 2013 the USZWBC Zero Waste Certification Program (ZWCP) - the first U.S. third-party zero waste certification program - is a featured topic throughout conference sessions. Associates from many of the zero waste certified facilities are speaking as panelists or keynotes over the two-day event. The ZWZ Blog article, Third Party Certification Edges Industry Towards a Zero Waste Economy, introduces the ZWCP.

Stated 2015 conference goals are:

• Helping businesses achieve zero waste to both help the environment and their bottom line.
• Teaching businesses waste reduction methods from the leaders in the field including industry specialists and experts from zero waste businesses that achieved more than 90% diversion.

The conference is designed for zero waste veterans as well as those embarking upon the path with the following attendee profile: 

• Corporate sustainability managers and facility managers looking to cut costs through greener practices.
• Small and mid-sized business managers looking to improve waste reduction practices.
• State and local government employees who help businesses reduce waste and get to zero waste.
• Environmental consulting firms that want to learn about the latest successes in zero waste and certification.

2014 Opening Keynote
Laura Turner Seydel
Photo courtesy of Scott Lutocka

For the second consecutive year, Elemental Impact (Ei) serves as the conference media partner. The ZWA Blog article, USZWBC Conference Theme: Zero Waste Evolution, is an overview of the excellent 2014 conference hosted in Atlanta.

Registration is open for the 2015 USZWBC Conference with early bird rates available until year end. For those interested in conference sponsorship, the Sponsorship page details options available. Upon request, tailored sponsor packages are considered.

Join the industry colleagues in LA for the 2015 USZWBC Conference as the Stars of Zero Waste forge new zero waste frontiers!