Several of the industry’s largest retailers have instituted “green” requirements for consumer products manufacturers who, in turn, are now looking to their suppliers to submit evidence of their sustainability initiatives as well. Requirements range from reductions in energy, waste and air pollutants to eco-friendly sourcing, labor practices and safety for employees and the community. Hear from a panel of manufacturers and upstream suppliers who will share how they’ve met the challenges of green requirements throughout the supply chain during “Upstream Migration of ‘Green’ Requirements for Suppliers” at the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) Manufacturing Excellence Conference co-located with Pack Expo on Nov. 1 and 2 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Panelists:
Bruce Cords, vice president of environment, food safety and public health at Ecolab: As vice president of environment, food safety and public health, Cords is responsible for managing Ecolab's sustainability activities including raw material profiling, selection, and deselection. Cords has held a variety of positions within Ecolab's Research, Development and Engineering group during his tenure with the company. From 1985 to 2000, Cords was responsible for global product development and technical service in Ecolab's Food and Beverage division. Cords is a member of the American Society for Microbiology, the Institute of Food Technologists, the International Association of Food Protection and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety, and is a member of the Food Science and Nutrition Advisory Council at the University of Minnesota. Cords also currently serves on the Institute of Food Technologists Threat Assessment Group, McDonald's Food Safety Advisory Council, Senior Advisory Council of Global Environmental Management Initiative, and the Strategic Advisory Committee of the Soap and Detergent Association.
Jon Doering, director of environmental, health and safety at The Schwan Food Co.: Doering is director of environmental, health and safety for Schwan’s Global Supply Chain Inc., a subsidiary of The Schwan Food Co. He is responsible for business development in areas of health and safety, sustainability, loss prevention/security, environment planning and permitting, environmental health and safety management systems and engineering. Doering is considered an expert in environment, health and safety, behavioral based safety, facility systems, compliance, permitting, soil and water remediation, environmental assessment and corporate EHS systems. He has developed sustainability, environmental management systems, and health and safety management systems taking them from concept to certification and/or recertification.
Willie K. Johnson associate director of global product supply sustainability at Procter & Gamble: Johnson is responsible for accelerating and enabling the delivery of key elements of Procter & Gamble's Operations Sustainability strategy. He joined Procter & Gamble in 1986 as a product technical engineer. Since then, he has assumed a variety of engineering, operations and strategic planning assignments. In his assignments, he has worked in several business areas and in many different locations globally. Most recently, Johnson was the Family Care Business Unit engineering associate director in which he had several roles including Charmin technical organization leader, new capacity leader and process technology owner. He also was responsible for leading new site projects, developing and launching new products, and developing new technologies.
