Speakers

Carla coordinates the Town of Banff’s zero waste and circular economy initiatives, which support the Town’s goal to divert 70% of waste by 2028 and ultimately send zero waste to landfill. As a municipality uniquely situated within a National Park and UNESCO world heritage site, Banff faces both unique challenges and opportunities in striving to become a model environmental community.

Andy Chou believes that, to achieve the circular future we all dream of, we must change the narrative of green living. Instead of being focused on the environment, we must focus on solving the problem of everyday consumers. It is from this belief that the smart refillery concepts of Soapstand (for cleaning products) and Drinkfill (for beverages) were born.

Rosemary has been catalyzing the transition to a circular economy since 2013 with an emphasis on upstream solutions that design out waste and carbon with a focus on both supply and demand-side innovation. She brings more than 25 years of experience working at the intersection of sustainability and economic development to help businesses and cities bridge the gap between circular ideas and solutions through strategy, research, marketing, and innovation processes.She is currently Project Director at the Share Reuse Repair Initiative (the consumer-facing circular economy) and Director of Circular Innovation at Light House (circular built environment), as well as Circular Economy Faculty at BCIT School of Business.

Aurore discovered a passion for waste 10 years ago, through her first career in events and shows production. She then built a solid experience in waste management, amongst which for the Quebec Council of Environmental Technology Companies, while obtaining a master’s degree in environmental management from the Université de Sherbrooke.
In 2018, with a dozen neighboring businesses, she developed the project La tasse: a network of reusable and returnable coffee cups. The success was immediate and led to the creation in 2019 of the organization La vague, dedicated to the eco-responsibility of the restaurant sector, which now includes more than 400 participating businesses throughout the province of Quebec.

Kristy Ehman is three-time business owner, two-time mom and one-time wife. Based in Lumsden, Saskatchewan, Kristy launched tech company Hyon Software Inc in 2018 to help advance the circular economy in Canada. Hyon works with large organizations in the public and private sectors.
Kristy currently chairs the Governance and Nominations Committee within Saskatchewan Trade and Export’s Board of Directors and is on the board with the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council.

Eric is involved in the global expansion of Ecoborne by Llenar as their Senior VP of Business Development. He is a multidisciplinary corporate executive that helps companies to grow their business activities in international key markets, advising the executive leadership on emerging global trends, providing insights grounded in his global reach around the world.

Eric has also worked for more than a decade for some of the largest private banks in Canada, helping Ultra-High-Net-Worth families managing their wealth and portfolio with the integration of sophisticated financial ESG instrument’s solutions. He has a passion towards sustainability and was one of a few people driving a car brand Tesla in Canada, before the mainstream adoption of EV’s.

Jason Hawkins is the CEO and Co-Founder at Reusables.com, with half a decade of experience in food technology and sustainability. His first venture was a local food marketplace for students, which Jason started during his Bachelor of Commerce degree at Queen’s University and sold to a grocery retailer in Ontario. Prior to starting Reusables.com, Jason served as Director of Business Development at FoodX Technologies and SPUD.ca.

Jason started Reusables with Co-Founder Anastasia Kiku during the height of COVID-19, after discovering the magnitude of this problem and its threat to our ecological integrity. He views the global environmental crisis as an opportunity for society to leap towards a healthier future where the circular economy is central to how we live.

Christian Kaufholz joined the Global Plastic Action Partnership team in November 2020 as Head of Community Engagement and Impact. He has been with the World Economic Forum for eight years, managing a diversity of partner accounts and multistakeholder projects promoting sustainable consumption and the circular economy. From 2018 to 2020, he incubated and led the Consumers Beyond Waste project focused on reusable packaging solutions. Prior to joining the Forum he has worked in public affairs and the food & beverage sector in both Europe and Latin America.

Andrew Macdonald manages PAC Next – PAC Global’s program on packaging sustainability.  Andrew co-delivers PAC Global’s packaging circularity course, and its training on the Golden Design Rules for plastic packaging.  He is part of the PAC Global packaging sustainability consulting team, and represents PAC Global on the National Zero Waste Council Management Board, and on the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) Recycled Content Working Group.  Andrew’s particular area of interest is reusable packaging, and he currently represents PAC Global at the year-long Reuse/Refill Action Forum.

Canadian-born, Clarissa Morawski brings nearly 30 years of technical, analytical and communications experience in waste reduction policy and operations. Since 1998, Clarissa has acted a Principal of CM Consulting www.cmconsultinginc.com, which has published many studies related to circular packaging in Canada.

McKenna Morrigan is the waste prevention and product stewardship policy advisor for Seattle Public Utilities. In this role, she advocates for state and local policies to advance SPU’s vision of zero waste and support the development of a circular and inclusive economy. She is also part of the Reuse Seattle initiative, a public-private partnership working to make Seattle home to the first standardized, citywide reusable food and beverage container system in the U.S.. McKenna holds a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Washington Evans School and a B.A. from Brown University.

Scott Morrison, co-founder of DreamZero and General Manager of Muuse Canada, has been working with reusable packaging for over 10 years, starting in industrial and agricultural products and now in foodservice for both B2B and B2C applications.  Known by many as “The Reusables Guy” Scott is an advocate for the systemic transformation of commercial and municipal material management to evolve into a viable reusable stream of high quality packaging and materials.

Oscar Planells is responsible for research and data collection at RREUSE, the European network of social enterprises active in the circular economy. As the Research Officer, he focuses on collecting best practices and data, drafting briefings and articles, or conducting ad-hoc research depending on policy and project priorities. Prior to joining RREUSE, Oscar studied Political Science and Sociology back in his hometown, Barcelona, and worked among others as a Research Assistant on a project regarding adult education centres in Catalonia.

Annette Synowiec has close to 20 years of experience in the municipal sector of the Solid Waste industry. She has worked in almost every area of the City of Toronto’s integrated waste management system and helped lead the development the Long-Term Waste Management Strategy
As the Director of Policy, Planning & Outreach she oversees a number of cross-cutting waste system portfolios including: extended producer responsibility transition; stakeholder and community outreach; circular economy & innovation; intergovernmental advocacy, policy, programs and long-term planning; and environmental, health and safety compliance.

Responsible for tracking cash flow and financial planning and analyzing the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses and proposing strategic directions. A strong-willed entrepreneur involved in numerous start-ups and various business community organizations. Focused on creating profitable, simple and flexible business models.

A global citizen, Mika has lived, worked, and been educated in Israel, the United States, and Canada helping to shape her perspective and knowledge of the cannabis industry. Before launching Apical, she excelled as a community manager and cannabis educator, normalizing the widespread use of cannabis recreationally and medicinally. She has Been responsible for product innovation and business intelligence, launching over 60 SKUS Across Canada. A passionate advocate of values in business, she founded Apical in 2019 to provide easily accessible ESG programs for cannabis businesses.