ISPA Sustainability Conference logo
SEPTEMBER 10-11, 2025

Wyndham Atlanta Buckhead Hotel
& Conference Center

Atlanta, GA

Contact Us

sustainability flower imageSCHEDULEsustainability flower image

Gain insights from our sustainability experts, take part in an interactive Circular Design Workgroup, and learn how mattresses are dismantled during this two-day, action-packed event.

Don't miss your chance to network with other industry professionals, discover new ideas and be inspired!

Registration fee includes access to all educational sessions, workgroup, panel discussions, networking events and the opportunity to visit with our table top sponsors.

Schedule is subject to change

sustainability flower imageWednesday | September 10sustainability flower image

Registration Hours:

8:00AM – 6:00PM

WED | SEPT 10

8:45AM — 12:00PM

Greenhouse Gas Accounting Essentials: Key Methods for Measuring and Reducing Your Environmental Footprint

Robbie Moon, Thomas Williams-Wells Fargo Associate Professor & Area of Accounting, Georgia Institute of Technology
This session will introduce the fundamentals of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting, focusing on essential methods for tracking, measuring and reporting emissions. Learn how to track scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and translate these into reportable amounts consistent with key frameworks. These techniques can reveal actionable strategies for minimizing emissions across your organization and supply chain, while meeting regulatory requirements and advancing your climate goals. Ideal for sustainability professionals and organizations looking to strengthen their emission reporting and reduction strategies.
LiquiDonate

WED | SEPT 10

12:00PM — 1:00PM

Networking Lunch

Join us for a networking lunch! A great opportunity to connect with professionals, build relationships, and visit with our table top sponsors.

WED | SEPT 10

1:30PM — 4:30PM

Mattress Recycling Council's Industry Workgroup on Circular Design

Ryan McMullan, Director, Sustainability Strategy, Lean Green Way & Kate CaddyDirector, Sustainability,ISPA

Speakers: Ryan McMullan, Principal Consultant, Lean Green Way and Kate Caddy, Director of Sustainability, ISPAJoin the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) for an interactive session bringing together mattress designers, manufacturers, suppliers, and recyclers to address deconstruction challenges and advance circular mattress design. Members of the value chain will discuss how materials and assembly methods impact recyclability, explore strategies to reduce waste, use sustainable materials, and lower carbon emissions while maintaining performance and durability.MRC will facilitate several breakout sessions during the workgroup meeting. Please indicate which breakout session you will attend during registration. You can select from the following:

  • Design for Disassembly: Explore design and assembly choices that can enable easier mattress disassembly, minimize cross-material contamination, reduce manufacturing waste, and maximize recovery of valuable materials at end-of-life.
  • Waste Reduction Across the Value Chain: Share and develop strategies to eliminate waste across production and post-consumer recovery by increasing product longevity, closing in-plant material loops, and optimizing packaging systems.
  • Circular Fabrication Materials: Explore current and emerging opportunities to integrate innovative materials—such as recycled content and renewable feedstocks—into products and processes to drive circularity and reduce environmental impacts while maintaining high performance.
  • Reducing Lifecycle Carbon Emissions: Identify emissions hotspots and develop actionable strategies across design, production, logistics, and recovery to meaningfully reduce a product’s lifecycle carbon footprint.
  • Downstream Communication: Engaging Retailers, Consumers, and Recyclers: Develop practical solutions to enhance communication across the value chain by educating consumers, aligning with retailers, and engaging mattress recyclers.

WED | SEPT 10

5:30PM — 7:00PM

Welcome Reception

Mix and mingle in this casual atmosphere, enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres, and take the opportunity to connect with fellow industry professionals and table top sponsors.

sustainability flower imageThursday | September 11sustainability flower image

Registration Hours:

7:00AM – 3:00PM

THU | SEPT 11

7:30AM — 8:30AM

Continental Breakfast

Start your day with a casual and productive networking breakfast, offering a perfect opportunity to meet new people and expand your professional network.

THU | SEPT 11

8:30AM — 9:15AM

Covestro’s Sustainability Journey

Tim Thiel, Circular Economy  Manager, CovestroClimate change, population growth, unsustainable lifestyles – surmounting global challenges like these require embracing sustainability and the circular economy as a guiding light. At Covestro, our goal is to embed circular economic principles into the fabric of our operations and be a trailblazer for the entire plastics industry. A globally leading high-tech polymer manufacturer, Covestro has set a vision to be fully circular. A core component of achieving that vision is focused on joint solutions and collaborations with entities, like the Mattress Recycling Council, that share a similar goal for a more sustainable future. From innovative mattress collection initiatives to advanced and chemical recycling solutions, Covestro and its collaborators work to set the foundation for a new way of working. Closing the loop on a sustainable future is just one way Covestro plans to help achieve climate neutrality.

THU | SEPT 11

9:15AM — 10:00AM

Driving Sustainability Forward in the Automotive Industry

Deborah Mielewski Title: Ford Motor Company Technical Fellow, Sustainability (retired)Join Dr. Deborah Mielewski, retired Technical Fellow of Sustainability at Ford Motor Company, for an inspiring look at how circularity and sustainable innovation can and will transform industries. A pioneer of Ford’s biomaterials program and with over three decades at Ford Research, she and her team introduced more than 15 industry-first sustainable materials into automotive production, including the first soy-based foam seating. She now leads her own company Dione Solutions, which focuses on advancing sustainable materials and solutions across industries. Dr. Mielewski will share insights on driving corporate innovation and sustainability, launching impactful sustainability projects, the importance of collaboration, and navigating roadblocks to progress. Drawing on real-world partnerships and proven solutions, she offers a compelling vision for circularity across sectors.
CertiPUR-US

THU | SEPT 11

10:00AM — 10:30AM

Break

Take a short break from the days activities to relax and unwind and catch up with other bedding industry colleagues.

THU | SEPT 11

10:30AM — 11:00AM

Sustainability Policy: ISPA Engagement in 2025 and Beyond

Alison A. Keane, President, ISPA & MRC Join Alison Keane, President of the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) and the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), for a comprehensive update on the legislative and regulatory issues that affect the mattress industry. From mattress and packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation to broader sustainability-related policies, Alison will share insights into legislative trends and describe ISPA's efforts to shape a regulatory environment that supports innovation, sustainability, and long-term growth.

THU | SEPT 11

11:00AM — 11:45AM

Taking it All Apart: Mattress Recycler Panel and Mattress Disassembly Demonstration

Justine Fallon, Vice President, Operations, MRC
Curious about how mattresses are dismantled at end of life, but have not had a chance to visit a mattress recycling facility? ISPA is bringing mattress recycling to the main stage at this year's Sustainability Conference. A panel of experienced mattress recyclers will perform a live deconstruction of a generic mattress, offering a visual, firsthand look at the examples of deconstruction challenges they face daily. The panel will also discuss secondary markets for post-consumer mattress materials, highlight innovation in the mattress recycling process and discuss opportunities for the mattress industry to help drive progress to improve end of life management.

THU | SEPT 11

11:45AM — 12:45PM

Networking Lunch

Network with industry leaders and fellow professionals at our networking lunch and take time to visit with our table top sponsors.

THU | SEPT 11

12:45PM — 1:30PM

Investing in Sustainability: Understanding Investors' Priorities

Priyanka Shome, Vice President, Sustainability, One Rock Capital Partners, LLC and Andrew R. Prusky, Sr. Vice President, General Council, FXI, Inc.What are investors prioritizing when it comes to sustainability, and how does that translate into action at the company level? In this moderated discussion, representatives from ORCP and FXI will explore how sustainability considerations shape investment decisions, business priorities, and long-term value creation. ORCP will offer the investor perspective on ESG trends, performance expectations, and key metrics, while FXI will share how these expectations are implemented in practice, from selecting initiatives to tracking results.

THU | SEPT 11

1:30PM — 2:00PM

Circling Back: Key Insights from MRC’s 2025 Circular Design Workgroup

Kate CaddyDirector, SustainabilityISPAThis session will share key insights from the Mattress Recycling Council’s Circular Design Workgroup held the previous day. Breakout leaders will provide summaries from sessions focused on design for disassembly, waste reduction, circular materials, carbon footprint reduction, and communication across the value chain. The session will offer a clear overview of the challenges, strategies, and opportunities identified by industry stakeholders working to advance circularity in mattress design and end-of-life management.

THU | SEPT 11

2:00PM — 2:45PM

Coffee and Connections

Grab a coffee or refreshing drink and enjoy this extended break to chat and collaborate with fellow attendees.

THU | SEPT 11

2:45PM — 3:30PM

The Next Frontier of Sustainability: Industry Strategies for a Resilient Future

Joel Hartter, Founder, Parallel LabsThe bedding industry is facing rising product returns, shifting customer expectations, and increasing pressure to rethink what happens after a sale. Comfort returns are just one signal that the old playbook isn’t working as well as it used to. This session explores how other industries, from apparel to automotive, are turning challenges like returns, surplus materials, and customer churn into opportunities to strengthen their brands, open new revenue streams, and deepen customer relationships. We’ll examine the principles behind these shifts and share examples of how focused strategies are helping companies stay relevant, especially with younger, values-driven consumers.

THU | SEPT 11

3:30PM — 4:00PM

Reimagining Reuse: Turning Returns into Opportunities

Nick Oettinger, CEO, The TFR Group & Emma Reid, Director of Sustainability, The TFR Group

Nick Oettinger, CEO, The TFR Group & Emma Reid, Director of Sustainability, The TFR GroupDiscover how The TFR Group is transforming mattress end-of-life management into a circular success story. In this session, Nick Oettinger, CEO of The TFR Group will reveal how they are driving the circular economy by providing logistics and rejuvenation services for UK mattress brands. Learn how post-consumer mattresses are assessed, cleaned, sanitized, and graded using stringent criteria developed by TFR Group and individual brand partners—ensuring quality and performance before these products re-enter the market.
ISPA, The Voice of the Mattress Industry

International Sleep Products Association
501 Wythe Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

SleepProducts.org

September 10-11, 2025

Marriott Atlanta Buckhead Hotel
& Conference Center
Atlanta, GA

 

Contact Us

Public Relations/Media: Mary Helen Rogers

Exhibits, Advertising & Sales: Kerri Bellias

General Inquiries: 703-683-8371

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