Born in the UK, educated in Rhodesia and South Africa, Stephen Harrod spent eleven years building a market research company in South Africa, focussed on the paper and packaging industry in that country, following which he spent six years in the paper industry with Mondi and JAC Labels before relocating to England. He has been consulting on ad-hoc projects and authoring reports for Smithers since 2006, with a focus on global paper and packaging markets. Stephen is responsible for a range of Smithers market reports including the Global Corrugated Market, the Global Folding Carton Market, Retail Ready Packaging, Liquid Packaging Board, Sustainable E-Commerce Packaging and many others.
As Ocean Ambassador of the Netherlands, Willemijn Peeters is an established international speaker on circular plastics. Being highly committed to preventing plastics from ending up in our environment, Willemijn founded Searious Business, a social enterprise that makes the difference in the world of plastics. She works together with highly motivated international brand owners to close the plastic loop in 3 impact sectors: packaging, furniture, consumer electronics. Creating innovative, economically advantageous alternatives at the source, Searious Business strategically assesses internal plastic use, accelerates circular product & business innovation, and reduces external impacts on ocean ecosystems.
Willemijn has been awarded with several titles:
-Ocean Ambassador of the Netherlands;
-Green Solutions partner of the European Commission;
-Leader in Sustainable Top 100 in the Netherlands;
-Member of Dutch circular economy transition team;
-Winner Plastic Recycling Europe Award 2018;
-Winner National Energy Globe Award 2018;
- Developer of fully recyclable drink pouch
-Co-developer of Oceans and Plastics Platform, IUCN;
-Initiator of circular product line: 276pieces.com;
-Developer of Design Sofa from >95% recycled plastics (mainly packaging materials.)
www.seariousbusiness.com
Degree in Political Science and International Relations at University of Turin, Italy
Master of Art’s Degree in European Studies at the College of Europe in Warsaw, Poland
Government Affairs and Business Development in the European region for global aluminium leaders Arconic and Alcoa
Public Affairs at Hyundai Motor Company, the Confederation of Italian Industry and Alcan
Currently Managing Director of EUROPEN, the European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment, comprised of companies representing the packaging supply chain and national packaging associations
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Biography to follow...
Jurek Zaroffe is a Public Affairs Manager at Schwarz Group in Brussels. He is responsible for the topics environment and circular economy - with a current focus on the PPWR. Prior to Schwarz Group, he was a legal adviser at the German Waste Management Federation (BDE).
After studying law in France and Germany, Emmanuelle Bautista began her professional career as a parliamentary assistant in the German Parliament (Bundestag). Recruited by the General Treasury Directorate of the French Ministry for Economy and Finance in 2007, she holds three posts abroad. Firstly, in the economic department of the French Embassy in Berlin from 2007 to 2015, then as legal Counsellor to the Permanent French Mission to the WTO from 2015 to 2018. She was from September 2018 to August 2022 Counsellor for services and investment in the trade policy department of the French Permanent Representation to the EU. She was the chair of the Trade Policy Committee for services and the vice chair of the Trade Policy Committee for investment during the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first semester 2022. She was from September 2022 to June 2023 Deputy Head of Unit Development Assistance in the Treasury Directorate in the French Ministry of Economy.
She is since July 2023 the Head of European and international affairs of Citeo, the French PRO for household packaging and graphic papers.
Sander Defruyt leads the Plastics Initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation which aims to bring together key stakeholders across the globe to rethink and redesign the future of plastics. With a background in mechanical engineering, prior to working at the Foundation, Sander worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. During this time, he was part of the core team publishing the report: ‘Growth Within: a circular economy vision for a competitive Europe.'
Tom Domen graduated in 1996 with a Masters in Industrial Design. In 2007 he completed a Master's degree in Sustainable Development at the University of Brussels. With his MA on sustainable technology for East Africa he received the Annual Prize for Innovative Technology from the Chamber of Engineers
He started his career at Philips in packaging innovation, after which he worked for 5 years as a marketing and communications specialist at Panasonic.
Tom worked for Ecover/Method for 18 years, where he was responsible for the innovation strategy and sustainability for the various Ecover and Method product categories (laundry, cleaning, dishes, home care and personal care). Tom draws his inspiration from biomimicry (translating knowledge of nature into innovations) and systems thinking. He mapped out an ambitious roadmap for the company, inspiring a shift towards a restorative business model. Tom is also a member of the board of directors of Kringwinkel, a Belgian organization that gives goods a second life.
Tom recently started as a freelance consultant for Made. As an 'innovation catalyst', he helps accelerate circularity on a large scale by creating business models with added value.
After two master’s degrees on law and economics, with a focus on environmental projects & political decisions, Vincent Colard started his professional life with a first experience at Veolia, on industrial waste treatment plants. Then he joined Elipso as environment manager. He started his journey with Citeo in 2016, now he conducts R&D projects to deploy with his team the ecodesign Citeo strategy for household packaging. He is part of Cotrep board, in charge of plastic packaging recyclability assessment and he leads standardization project to harmonize recyclability guidelines in Europe.
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Zoe is a Senior Manager in the Central Sustainability Team at Haleon, with responsibility for the corporate plastics and packaging strategy, embedding sustainability into business as usual, packaging reporting and cross industry collaborations to improve recycling of Healthcare packaging. She has over 20 years of packaging R&D experience, including at Procter & Gamble, most recently making Sensodyne toothpaste tubes that are compatible with existing recycling streams.
Daniel Winkler is Executive Vice President Aluminum Division & Group
Sustainability of Constantia Flexibles and joined the company in February 2020.
Daniel Winkler combines a commercial perspective with sustainability topics and brings in first-hand knowledge of the market. Leveraging the unique lessons he learned from the industry, he knows exactly what it needs and how customers can transform to a
more sustainable packaging portfolio.
Daniel earned an Engineering degree and a Master in Business Administration in
Vienna. He held various Commercial and Operations positions across the globe, as
well as several Managing Director roles in the Packaging Industry in Europe. His broad
background in strategy, business development, sales, and operations makes him a crucial part of today’s Executive Committee of Constantia Flexibles.
Caroline is currently working for Mars in the Brussels-based Government Relations Service Center. She has been with Mars since 2016, working in different parts of the business (e.g., Pet Care, Confectionary) and in different roles. In her previous role she worked in R&D on sustainability programs, developing her knowledge on climate and circularity related issues. She is passionate about sustainability topics and led by a desire to create mutual outcomes with stakeholders.
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After graduating in 1990 and a career in polymers and plastics Hugo Vuurens worked in the bioplastic industry since 2010 – initially for what become Total Corion PLA, and in 2022 joined the Biomaterials division of Korean headquartered CJ. He is currently responsible for business development in EMEA and India for the PHA products CJ Biomaterials is producing. Hugo is active in various advisory boards and holds a master’s degree in chemistry as well as an MBA and has a passion for improving sustainability.
Jukka Ketoja is a Principal Scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. His work primarily focuses on the fields of materials and bio-based solutions based on cellulose fibres. This includes the study of their properties, production processes, and potential applications in various industries. He has published numerous scientific papers and holds several patents in the field of material science. Ketoja aims to push the boundaries of material science, exploring new ways to create stronger, lighter, and more sustainable packaging materials.
Bio coming soon!
Graham is the Managing Director of SLOOP Consulting B.V. which has been offering consulting services and tools in the field of packaging and sustainability since 2009.
He is the founder & project co-ordinator for CEFLEX (a Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging), which is a collaborative initiative by over 170 companies and associations from across the flexible packaging value chain to make flexible packaging even more relevant in the circular economy.
Prior to 2009, he worked for Unilever for 23 years with a wide range of responsibilities including: R&D, Packaging management and design, Supply chain restructuring, Sustainability and CSR.
When not helping clients to make their packaging more sustainable, he enjoys being outdoors, BBQ’ing, restoring an old house and trying to fend off Father Time by keeping fit.
Dragos is a global expert in packaging sustainability, waste management, EPR and DRS across Europe, Asia and Africa, with 15+ years of experience in the sector; he is member of the leadership team of Roland Berger’s global circular economy practice, with over 200 professionals working on circularity and waste management topics (including plastic waste collection and recycling) across the world
Richard has over 20 years of R&D leadership experience in global food FMCG companies such as Mars, McCormick and Mondelez International. Senior roles in product and packaging development, process technology, quality and productivity, as well as early career experiences in manufacturing and marketing have provided him with a broad cross-functional business perspective that is essential for leading innovation and change in sustainability.
Since the beginning of 2022, Richard has taken up the challenge of leading Mondelez’s R&D packaging sustainability strategy and programme for the European region, with brands including Cadbury®, Milka®, Philadelphia®, Oreo® and Belvita®.
He is a passionate advocate for sustainability and how, only by working together, we can eliminate packaging waste and create a fully circular economy for all packaging.
Jan Henke has studied International Economics at the University of Tübingen in Germany. He has worked for four years at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in the research area of environmental and resource economics. During that time, he also acquired his PhD. He then joined Meo Carbon Solutions, a management consultancy focussing on sustainability, climate change, carbon markets, renewable resources, bio- and circular economy and sustainability certification.
Jan has been involved from the beginning in the development of ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) and GRAS (Global Risk Assessment Services) in multi-stakeholder processes and is a board member of the coffee certification system 4C.
Jan is working globally on topics of renewable resources, sustainability, renewable energies, climate change, carbon markets, land use and land use change, GHG calculations, the circular economy and bioeconomy and sustainability certification for all markets. Currently he is inter alia involved in the further development of ISCC PLUS for the circular economy and bioeconomy.
3. I am an EU environmental, products and ESG lawyer based in Brussels. I advise on a broad range of areas from chemicals (REACH, biocides, pesticides, and CLP) through to packaging, plastics, water law, and the various ESG laws such as green claims and EUDR. The advice concerns compliance with the law, defending clients in enforcement proceedings, inter-company negotiations, strategic/policy advice, or representing clients in legal/quasi-legal proceedings before the European Courts, European Agencies, and national courts. My clients include multinationals, trade associations, innovative start-ups, and SMEs. My bar admissions include the roll of solicitors in Ireland (non-practising), the Brussels Bar (A-list), and the Law Society of England and Wales (non-practising).
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Plastic Energy is a technology provider and global leader in chemical recycling. As part of her role, Adela leads the corporate policy and sustainability strategy. Her work is primarily focused on assessing the impact arising from current and ongoing regulations on chemical recycling, waste management and the circular economy. Adela also acts as Policy Lead for the Brussels based association Chemical Recycling Europe. She has a Master of Science in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and is passionate about sustainability and driving the transition to a net-zero and circular economy.
Jagan is the innovation director of Berry Flexibles for over 8 years with responsibility for product and process innovations in recycling and manufacture of second life products. He has a PhD degree in polymer physics from the University of Leeds and has published over 15 articles in peer reviewed journals.
Degree MBA General Management from Allensbach Univiersitiy Konstanz, M.A. in Sociology, Political Sciences and American Studies form Mainz University
o >10 years experience at GVM Gesellschaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung (German specialists for packaging market research and consulting) for customers like the German Federal Environmental agency, WWF, ZSVR (German Central Agency Packaging Register), HDE (German Retail Association), IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (German Association for Plastic Packaging), BDE (German Waste Management Association)
o At PreZero since 2019, assisting with establishing a new centralized unit for packaging sustainability within Schwarz Group
o Specialist for consulting on sustainability, economics, legal requirements and marketing aspects of packaging
Gaspard Duthilleul is an accomplished engineer and operational lead whose journey began with the construction industry. Working in Paris, New York and London, he has extensive experience steering high-stakes global projects, each valued in the multiple millions. Following these ventures, Gaspard joined Greyparrot, where he spearheaded a multitude of R&D projects to support product development while strengthening Greyparrot's ties within the waste industry ecosystem. Gaspard has been instrumental in building the operational and customer service frameworks necessary for the company's global expansion. Today, in his capacity as COO, he stands at the forefront of Greyparrot's operational strategy. A dynamic leader who turns inspiration into concrete results, Gaspard is actively engaged in forging new partnerships and translating Greyparrot's waste intelligence into tangible solutions for the circular economy.
Andrés García de Tuñón started in 1990 managing the sale of industrial packaging products and technical polymeric films to foreign customers. He was Export Sales Manager at Aspla-Plásticos Españoles s.a. (main company of the Armando Alvarez Group) and has had different responsibilities in the international area. Andrés has been responsible for large accounts and has participated in R&D projects for very demanding markets, collaborating in the development of successful B2B solutions. He has developed new markets and provided technical and marketing support to sales teams around the world. In recent years he has been responsible for corporate sustainability in the AA Group, carrying out its roadmap, together with the rest of the management team.
Jan Bauer is the Managing Director of RIGK GmbH.
The company was founded by the plastics industry in 1992. RIGK GmbH is located in
Wiesbaden, Germany. The core business of the company is the development and
operation of collection-systems for plastic packaging and plastic products.
Jan Bauer is a board member of the association EPRO and plastship a spinoff of
RIGK GmbH which is operating a digital platform for the trading of recyclates.
During his career Jan has designed and developed several collection-systems and
circular economy solutions for plastic packaging and products.
One lighthouse project is the ERDE-System for agricultural plastics in Germany
which was recently transferred to Switzerland.
Since March 2023 Jan is also Managing Director of Hannawald Plastik GmbH a
sorting company for industrial packaging.
Jan has a degree in International Business Studies from the University of Paderborn
Dr. Francis Huysman is a bio-engineer who earned his Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences. After serving as an assistant at the Vlerick Management School, he joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Project Manager where he was involved in studies that resulted in the development of pioneering systems for the efficient management of packaging and packaging waste in Belgium.
Joining Valipac in 1997 as the Operational Director, he assumed the role of Managing Director in 2017, steering the organization towards a new focus on circularity of C&I packaging at the European level.
Katrin Zeiler is the Senior Director, Zero Waste World and Customer Innovation & Solutions in Europe. In her role Katrin drives new customer collaboration initiatives aimed at unlocking circularity from supply chains and building more sustainable and smarter supply chains in Europe. Before joining CHEP in summer 2020, Katrin held various roles in global the logistics industry, bringing expertise around Data Analytics and AI, Augmented Reality (AR), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and sustainable logistic solutions.
o Lithuanian by birth, Dutch by education, Austrian by professional background, I develop sustainable packaging solutions. During nine years in the paper and packaging industry, I took roles in supply chain, project management, and sales leadership. I use my diverse education and work experience to develop circular packaging solutions, aiming to protect the environment for future generations to enjoy, just as I did in my childhood.
Xavier Lhoir is 48y old. He holds a degree in Applied Economics from the Louvain School of Management (UCL). He started his professional career, as teacher/researcher, in Chile at the Universidad Católica of Valparaíso. He joined Valipac in 2002 as an auditor for the affiliated waste management companies. Since 2017, Xavier is Director Operations and Circular Economy at Valipac. Xavier also chair the WG Export and Recycling within EPRO.
From 2010 to 2015 Xavier worked for Recydata (a spin-off of Valipac) using the Valipac (free market) approach for other waste streams subject to an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). During this 5 year period Xavier has been director of Valorfrit (the EPR organization for used cooking oils and fats) and has carried out several other assignments for, among others, the following organizations: Recovinyl (PVC frames), PV Cycle (photovoltaic panels), EuCertPlast,…
Since Januari 2024 is Xavier also Director Operations and Circular Economy at Recydata, making its expertise and management skills available to the various EPR projects managed the organization (cooking oils, mineral oils, used matrasses, fashion, contruction,…).
Lars Schnell is a Chief Technical Officer of CIRCMAR, where he is responsible for setting the technical direction, driving innovation and partnership. With over 26 years in the industry, Lars played the role of a CTO, enterprise architect, consultant and developer to a number of multinational companies. Lars currently focuses on IoT, RTI asset handling, Artificial Intelligence, exploring challenges in smart transportation and values chain solutions and future technology innovation.
o Tony Nawar’s current responsibilities span sustainability, innovation (R&D) and recycling at Berry BPI’s flexible packaging division in Europe and the UK. Priory to Berry, Tony spent part of his career in technical textiles and specialty chemicals in a variety of business management roles in Europe and the United States. He holds an MBA from Vlerick in Belgium and a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
