Sustainable Brands Announces Full Conference Program for SB’17 Detroit

SAN FRANCISCO, March 29, 2017 /3BL Media/ –  Sustainable Brands® recently announced full program details for SB’17 Detroit, running May 22-25 at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. The conference will convene more than 2,000 senior executives, top brand strategists and leading sustainability practitioners to discover how brands can position themselves for success against a backdrop of changing societal needs.

SB’17 Detroit marks the launch of a global initiative to discover how redefined societal aspirations are transforming the way brands deliver value for their customers. Brand leaders, sustainability practitioners and design innovators will unite in Detroit for a collective conversation about how businesses can emerge as leaders in the 21st century economy.

More than 300 influential leaders and cutting-edge practitioners of environmental and social innovation will host interactive discussions, breakout sessions, plenary presentations, deep-dive workshops and networking activities, including:

• Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of Chobani, emphasizing how inclusion and a strong focus on employee wealth creation can drive business success.
   
• Sarah Chandler, Director of Operations and Environmental Initiatives at Apple, exposing the challenges of creating a closed loop supply chain and pulling the curtain on research and innovation facilitating a circular economy.
   
• Daniel Lubetzky, CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks, sharing how to lead with empathy and why it’s more important than ever to build bridges between people.
   
• Lorna Davis, Chief Manifesto Catalyst at Danone, Michael Arena, Chief Talent Officer at General Motors, and Kimberly Kleiman-Lee, Senior Executive Leadership Development at General Electric, revealing how to reinvent brands inside and out with compelling new visions.
   
• Neil Hawkins, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Dow Chemical Company, Pashon Murray, Co-Founder of Detroit Dirt, Hajj Flemmings, Founder of re:Brand Detroit, Tyson Gersh, Co-Founder and President of the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI), and the Ford Motor Company sharing stories of transformative journeys in and around Detroit, America’s comeback city.
   
• David Levine, Co-Founder and CEO of the American Sustainable Business Council, Nelson Switzer, Chief Sustainability Officer at Nestlé Waters, Mindy Lubber, President of Ceres, Olivia Kalihi, Director of Yahoo for Good at Yahoo!, and Meghan French Dunbar, Co-Founder of Conscious Company Media debating the role of brands in inspiring and uniting consumers in the midst of social tension, political division and deregulation.
   
• Paul Norman, President, North America at Kellogg Company, Virginie Helias, Vice President of Global Sustainability at Procter & Gamble, and Nour Tayara, Assistant Vice President of Marketing at L'Oreal, unpacking new product innovation and marketing strategies aimed at changing consumer behavior toward more sustainable consumption norms.
   
• Dr. Victor Pineda, President & Founder of the Pineda Foundation / World Enabled discussing how brands can design for the true inclusion of all of humanity.
   
• Kristina Kloberdanz, the Corporate Responsibility Leader at IBM, demonstrating what Watson can do and how the world’s most popular supercomputer is enabling the Good Life.
   
• Charlene Wall-Warren, Director of Sustainability at BASF, showcasing a breakthrough value-to-society approach in a calculating a brand’s contribution to society along the entire value chain.

“The emergence of today’s pressing social and environmental challenges is stirring global brand leaders to drive positive and real change - with business success,” states KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz, Founder of Sustainable Brands. “We’re seeing courageous leaders and brilliant ideas coming from both the tried-and-true powerhouse brands of the 20th century as well as the disruptive innovators of the 21st century. Having our community convene in Detroit - the birthplace of American innovation and now re-invention - is providing the perfect backdrop for this year’s event.”

In addition to conference programming, the Activation Hub at SB’17 Detroit will be fertile ground for collaboration with Innovation Labs focused around ‘Good Life Pavilions’. Each Innovation Lab will consist of a Subject Matter Expert, a Facilitator and several sponsors, exhibitors and attendees committed to sharing ideas around product/industry sectors. Several confirmed pavilions include: Good Mobility hosted by Ford Motor Company, Good Chemistry hosted by The Dow Chemical Company, Good Cities hosted by BASF, Good Packaging hosted by Amazon, Good Logistics hosted by UPS, and Good Homes hosted by Procter & Gamble.  Other Pavilions include Good Agricultural featuring Wrangler, Good Food featuring WhiteWave Foods and U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, Good Travel featuring United, and Good Materials featuring Vinyl Business & Sustainability Council among others.

This global gathering of prominent business leaders is led by Lead Sponsors Ford Motor Company, The Dow Chemical Company, and BASF. Sustainable Brands Strategic Partner is the Retail Industry Leaders Association. Principal Sponsors include Nestlé and Citizen Group. Target, UPS, Amazon, and Procter & Gamble are Premier sponsors and Savers, Shaw Industries Group, Ltd., Braskem, General Motors, WhiteWave Foods, Vinyl Business & Sustainability Council, and United are Major Sponsors. Additional sponsors and partners include: CVS Health, BillerudKorsnäs, DuPont, NSF International, Forest Stewardship Council, Whirlpool, Cone Communications, South Pole Group, NatureBank, Harris Insights & Analytics, The Huffington Post, Innovation & Tech Today, Forum for the Future, among others.

For further information on the conference program, a complete list of confirmed speakers and sponsors or available sponsorship opportunities, please visit the conference website at www.SB17Detroit.com. Registration is now open and global business leaders with innovative solutions are encouraged to participate.

About Sustainable Brands

Sustainable Brands^® is the premier global community of brand innovators who are shaping the future of commerce worldwide. Since 2006, our mission has been to inspire, engage and equip today’s business and brand leaders to prosper for the near and long term by leading the way to a better future. Digitally published news articles and issues-focused conversation topics, internationally known conferences and regional events, a robust e-learning library and peer-to-peer membership groups all facilitate community learning and engagement throughout the year. Sustainable Brands is hosted by Sustainable Brands Worldwide, a division of Sustainable Life Media headquartered in San Francisco, CA.