Systemic Change with Solid Wood/Saving Forests: Going Beyond Your Supply Chain
This forum will be split into two sessions of 45 minutes each.
Session 1:
Saving Forests: Going Beyond Your Supply Chain
In 2015, Apple committed to conserving forests around the world equivalent to the footprint of virgin fiber used in Apple’s product packaging. As a leader in this new approach, their commitment has already started to drive transformational change. The goal is to have a positive impact on the world’s forests, even as the company uses paper in packaging for its iconic products. In China, 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of forestland have been brought into FSC certification as part of Apple and World Wildlife Fund’s five-year partnership to improve management of up to 400,000 hectares of Chinese forests. Referred to by many as “forest positive,” the emerging concept could lead to even greater impacts at scale. This session will explore Apple’s strategy behind the project, how the organizations are working together, the outcomes achieved to date, and the path ahead. As many companies explore innovative ways to source forest products responsibly and contribute to forest conservation, the session will uncover ways the model could be applied more broadly.
Speakers:
Sarah Chandler
Director of Operations, Product Development and Environmental Initiatives
Apple
Sarah Chandler is Apple’s director of Operations Product Development and Environmental Initiatives. She is responsible for Apple’s product-level goals of using greener materials, conserving finite resources, and reducing the environmental impact of its supply chain. Her teams work cross-functionally to address cost, environmental opportunities, and supply chain strategy in product development. Sarah joined Apple in 2006 and holds an M.B.A. and Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Systems, both from Stanford University. Prior to Apple, Sarah served as the Executive Director of a nonprofit providing environmental education and leadership experiences for low-income high school students. Sarah can trace her environmental roots back to her upbringing on a maple syrup farm in Massachusetts.
And
Kerry Cesareo
Vice President, Forests
WWF US
Kerry leads WWF’s strategy and work related to forest conservation to produce measurable results in mitigating and reversing the impacts of the forest sector as a driver of biodiversity loss, particularly in WWF’s priority places. In 2006, Kerry successfully launched the North American program of WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), forging partnerships with P&G, Kimberly-Clark, Walmart, Williams-Sonoma, Inc., and others. She also managed project start-up for the Sustainable Forest Products Global Alliance, a public-private partnership with The Home Depot and USAID, and served as Operations Manager for GFTN globally. She currently serves on the board of the Forest Stewardship Council U.S. Prior to WWF, Kerry worked as an environmental scientist, forest inventory researcher, an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer, and a U.S. PIRG Field Manager.
Kerry has been involved with responsible forest management and trade dates for more than a decade. She had the opportunity to spend a summer working with First Nations on Vancouver Island, British Columbia in 2000 as they prepared for their inaugural timber harvest through a newly-formed company, Iisaak Forest Resources. The creation of Iisaak and its commitment to FSC had helped to end decades of conflict in Clayoquot Sound among environmentalists, First Nations, and logging companies. Iisaak received FSC certification in 2001 and inspired her master’s project and a career.
Session 2:
Systemic Change with Solid Wood
Systemic Change In The Way We Will Build Our Cities
We stand at the edge of a systemic shift in the way we build and the way we live. As the world searches for ways to address environmental and climate issues, we have come to realize that living more densely is fundamental to the future of mankind and to our relationship with our planet.
For a century and a half steel and concrete have shaped the skylines of the world. They are wonderful materials that allow big buildings, bridges and roads but we now also know that they are hugely energy demanding materials to produce, with significant carbon footprints. Today we understand how dramatically our climate is changing and we know that the future of society will be severely impacted. We also know that as world populations grow and people move at an increasing rate into cities that we will need to continue to build housing and infrastructure to support human existence.
Climate change and the need for more urban housing collide in a crisis that demands building solutions with low energy and low carbon footprints. Wood, unlike steel and concrete, sequesters carbon dioxide, storing it away for the life of the building it is in. As a renewable material, wood offers us a new way to think about our future. To do so it means reinventing wood; making it stronger, more fire safe, more durable and selecting material from sustainably managed forests.
Wood construction, is not only engrained in our cultural identity as Canadians, it is the answer to the question of how we will build climate neutral buildings to meet the world’s needs. We can meet these needs with Canadian design, engineering, construction, wood products, and forestry and environmental expertise. Online education can advance the use of carbon-sequestering sustainably sourced engineered wood products in urban-scale buildings. To date no global forum exists to provide the full spectrum of stakeholders with the education, resources, research and accessible public information to make informed decisions, increase economic opportunity and jobs, and manage environmental and social opportunity.
Speaker
Michael Green
Michael Green is an architect known for his research, leadership, and advocacy in promoting the use of wood in the built environment.
He lectures internationally on the subject, including his 2013 TED talk on “Why We Should Build Wooden Skyscrapers,” which has been viewed over a million times. Michael founded his architecture firm MGA and his not for profit school DBR | Design Build Research to focus on progressive architecture, research, education, and innovation. Based in Vancouver, BC, Michael and his team strive to contribute to meaningful and sustainable change in building through innovation in construction sciences and design. Michael has been honoured with North America’s most prestigious awards, including 2 RAIC Innovation Awards and 3 Governor General’s Medals (the highest awards for a Canadian architect), along with numerous North American Wood Design Awards and International Interior Design Awards. In 2014, Michael received an honourary doctorate degree from the University of Northern British Columbia.