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Sustainability Sessions and Networking Events
September 13-14, 2023
Le Mériden/Sheraton Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Hear from bedding industry professionals on the importance of sustainability and how to set and achieve sustainability goals within your organization.
Wednesday | September 13
12:00pm – 7:00pm
Registration
5:30pm – 7:00pm
Welcome Reception
Join us for refreshments and light fare as you meet and mingle with fellow conference attendees.
Thursday | September 14
7:00am – 4:00pm
Registration
7:30AM – 8:30AM
Networking Breakfast
Connect with industry colleagues while enjoying a continental breakfast.
8:30AM – 9:30AM
Corporate Resilience and Renewal: How Sustainability Can Drive Stability and Growth
Learn how operational sustainability can drive process, performance, and profit. Peter will discuss consumer trends, maximizing employee engagement, the benefits of risk management, and stories from 23 years in the field working with a variety of industries.
9:30AM – 10:15AM
How to Build a Culture of Sustainability: Innovation and Design for Circularity – Drive Your Business and Strengthen Employee Engagement
Speaker: Josh Riggs, Senior Manager, Global Sustainability, Milliken & Company
In a world of greenwashing and greenhushing, having a meaningful impact on our planet requires a business plan that infuses sustainability into every aspect of the organization. But before you can execute, creating buy-in internally is vital to success. In this candid conversation with Josh Riggs, Senior Sustainability Manager at Milliken & Company, you’ll learn how to communicate your company’s sustainability initiatives across multiple teams, create an environment that emphasizes employee engagement, and the role leaders must play in advocating for a culture of sustainability.
Attendees will walk away with valuable insights, practical strategies, actionable takeaways, and real-world examples of Milliken’s efforts to bring their commitment to positively impacting the world for future generations to life for their associates.
At Milliken & Company, a global diversified manufacturing and material science company, sustainability is a core value. From SBTi-validated net-zero targets and “World’s Most Ethical” honors to multi-million-dollar investments in cogeneration and publicly accessible sustainability reports, the company prioritizes sustainability at every level of the organization.
10:15AM – 10:45AM
Break
Join us for a short coffee break.
10:45AM – 11:45AM
Sustainability Panel: How to Communicate Your Sustainability Story to Retailers and Mattress Shoppers
Panelists:
Barrie Brown, Managing Director, Retail Strategies, LLC
Don Pflug, Senior Vice President, Operations, King Koil
Rhiannon Burch Hallam, Senior Vice President, Sales, BekaertDeslee USA, Inc.
Lisa will moderate a panel comprised of industry veterans to discuss new Better Sleep Council surveys that explore mattress consumer and retailer knowledge and attitudes about sustainability. The session will provide insights that the full mattress value chain can use to define and communicate their sustainability value proposition.
11:45AM – 12:30PM
Making Product Circularity and Traceability a Reality
Stefaan Cognie, Co-Founder, TripleR (left)
Ryan McMullan, Principal Consultant, Lean Green Way (right)
In March 2022, the European Commission proposed a package of legislative measures as part of the draft Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, a component of the European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). A key measure included in the CEAP is introducing Digital Product Passports (DPP) into the European market. A DPP creates a digital twin of a physical product and securely records sustainability-related data throughout a product’s lifecycle in a shareable format. Final approval of the regulations is expected in 2024 and implementation estimated to start 2026/27. Get ahead of the game by learning how companies like TripleR are responding to the proposed regulations and the increased demand for product traceability.
12:30PM – 1:45PM
Networking Lunch
Meet fellow attendees during lunch and discuss sustainability topics of interest to you.
1:45PM – 2:30PM
IKEA’s Path to Circular Foam
Speaker: Jose Junior Naraval, Material Specialist for Foams, Textile Furnishings, Inter IKEA Group
Polyurethane foam, an important material in many mattresses, is traditionally sourced from virgin petrochemicals. To help achieve a more circular world, IKEA has committed to using only renewable and recycled materials by 2030. Jose will discuss IKEA’s efforts to develop mattress foam made with polyols recycled from production waste, post-consumer mattress foam and renewables.2:30PM – 3:00PM
Break
Grab a snack, coffee or tea during this short break.
3:00PM – 4:00PM
Parts of a Whole: How Manufacturers of Mattress Components are Innovating for a More Sustainable Future
Moderator: Ryan Trainer, President ISPA and MRC
Panelists:
Ethan McGuigan, Sustainability Systems Manager, Harrison Spinks
Jenny Tinsley, Manager, Corporate Communications & ESG, Culp, Inc.
Dennis Mater, Director, Performance Fibers, Kaneka Corporation
International Sleep Products Association
501 Wythe Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
September 13-14, 2023
Le Meridien/ Sheraton Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Contact Us
Public Relations/Media: Mary Helen Rogers
Exhibits, Advertising & Sales: Kerri Bellias
General Inquiries: 703-683-8371
