The Future is Circular: Designing Waste out of the Economy

The ultimate sustainability solution is for business to mimic nature, a system in which there is zero waste: all by-products in nature are food for some other production process. Join the Bard MBA in Sustainability and the Sustainability Practice Network (SPN) to learn from three leading voices on how businesses are pursuing radical redesign in pursuit of a nature-inspired, circular economy.

Our Panelists:

Tom Szaky is the founder and CEO of TerraCycle, a global leader in the collection and repurposing of complex waste streams. TerraCycle operates in 21 countries, working with the world’s largest brands and companies to recycle products and packaging that currently go to landfill or incineration. Szaky started TerraCycle from his freshman Princeton University dorm, where he began producing organic fertilizer, packaging liquid worm poop in used soda bottles. Since then TerraCycle has grown into one of the fastest-growing green companies in the world.

Carrie Phillips is Co-Founder and CEO of BPCM, fully integrated global agency with offices in New York, Los Angeles and London, specializing in brand building and communications. Under Phillips' leadership, BPCM has proven its ability to build and grow brands to become leaders in the fashion, beauty, travel, lifestyle and luxury markets. BPCM believes in a comprehensive style that embraces brand strategy, press and communications, influencer engagement and celebrity relationships, regional outreach, social media, special events, sales relationships, collaborations and partnerships, brand ambassadors, media planning, and international partners to help meet and exceed their clients’ goals.

Jennifer Russell is a sustainability leader and circular economy scientist who specializes in sustainability outcomes at the intersection of business strategy and ethics, operations, circular economy and stakeholder engagement. Jennifer has spent more than twelve years leading and guiding the development of both internal and external sustainability strategy and programming across a range of sectors including industry, government, non-profit, and academia. As a sustainability professional, Jennifer has been involved in facility-level impact assessment (energy use, water use, waste generation), facility sustainability, waste, and building retro-fitting assessment, product life-cycle assessment, supply-chain and value-chain assessment, sustainability metrics development and corporate sustainability reporting, and other environmental and regulatory compliance reporting. Jennifer has led global-level consulting projects for several multi-national CPG company initiatives to develop circular economy strategy, sustainability, and implementation plans.Sponsored by: Bard Graduate Programs; Bard MBA in Sustainability.

Join Bard MBA in Sustainability as we host the Business Stepping Up Series monthly in downtown Manhattan featuring Bard MBA faculty and additional experts in the field who are part of this business revolution.