At C2C/IMP in Practice, you’ll be led in learning by two of the world’s leading thinkers on Cradle to Cradle Design and the process of creating transformative innovation in business.

Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart is a world-renowned chemist and business leader, and co-designer, with Bill McDonough, of the Cradle to Cradle Design and Intelligent Materials Pooling frameworks. He is co-founder of MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry) in Charlottesville, Virginia, and founder of EPEA International Umweltforschung GmbH, in Hamburg, Germany. Both EPEA and MBDC share a common set of values that embrace intelligent, aesthetic and eco-effective design, and seek to optimize products through Cradle to Cradle design. Dr. Braungart has developed tools to aid the design of eco-effective products and business systems, and has worked with a multitude of organizations and companies (e.g. UNIDO, Greenpeace, Ford, Shaw) in a range of industries to help them do so.

Since 1994, Dr. Braungart has been a visiting professor at Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, and the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and is currently professor of Process Engineering at the Europa-Universität in Lüneburg, Germany, where he also serves as the director of an interdisciplinary materials flow management masters program.

Peter M. Senge is a Senior Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of the widely acclaimed book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization which Harvard Business Review identified as one of the seminal management books of the past 75 years. Dr. Senge has been listed as one of the top 24 most influential business thinkers in the past 100 years. His ideas have been featured in Business Week, Fortune, Fast Company and other leading business periodicals. He has lectured extensively throughout the world, translating the abstract ideas of systems theory into tools for better understanding of economic and organizational change.

Dr. Senge’s current strong interest is in applying the lessons of organizational learning and systems theory to help aid the transformation of businesses and markets to sustainable operating paradigms. He is founder of the Society for Organizational Learning and the SoL Sustainability Consortium who's members include companies such as Nike, Ford, Herman Miller, Visteon, Harley Davidson, HP and many more. Together, members of the consortium are doing groundbreaking work in their efforts to eliminate the use of specific toxic materials and lay the groundwork for materials pooling.

Joe Laur is a founding partner of SEED Systems, a company dedicated to applying systems thinking, scientific frameworks and organizational learning to create sustainable enterprises. Mr. Laur along with their colleague Peter Senge established the SoL Sustainability Consortium, an active group of industry leaders committed to learning and sustainability. Participants in their work have included BP/Amoco, BSR, Burlington Chemical, California EPA, Chrysler, CERES, College of Notre Dame, Detroit Edison, Ford, Interface, Harley-Davidson, Hewlett Packard, Missouri Botanical Gardens, Nike, Northeast Utilities, Shell Oil, Unilever, United Technologies and more. Mr. Laur is a co-author of "The Sustainability Challenge" and "Creating Sustainable Organizations."

Ms. Page is a member of the Integrated Design Practices team and project leader for educational initiatives at Rocky Mountain Institute, an organization established by Hunter and Amory Lovins in 1982 to help corporations, governments, communities, and citizens solve problems, gain competitive advantage, increase profits, and create wealth through the more productive use of resources. Ms. Page teaches a class on sustainability frameworks and solutions at Colorado Mountain College, and created, coordinated and co-taught a semester-long course on RMI's concepts for graduate students at Peking University's School for the Environment in Beijing. Previously, she managed a multi-year RMI project funded by the Joyce Foundation to introduce Chicago area businesses to the principles of natural capitalism.

As VP of Environmental Development, Steve has been at Shaw Industries since 1991. Several years ago, he turned his considerable energy toward developing a modular floor covering that personified the best of sustainable design. Bradfield applied cradle-to-cradle principles to the company's product development process, doing a "deep dive" into the material chemistry of carpet fiber and backing. Dyes, pigments, finishes, auxiliaries-everything that goes into carpet-is were scientifically assessed. Out of this rigorous process has come the promise of a fully optimized carpet tile, a true technical nutrient. Furthermore, Shaw has confirmed that the cost associated with taking back the product and recycling it into new EcoWorx through our cradle-to-cradle recycling process makes more financial sense than purchasing new raw materials.

As Vice President, Package Development for AvedaTM, John is responsible for implementing the brand’s commitment to the environment by making environmentally conscious product packaging decisions, while developing a supplier base to partner with Aveda in this mission. Joining the brand in 2000, he has driven the packaging department to new levels of environmental leadership -- successfully reducing the amount of packaging used in production and manufacturing packaging with the most post consumer recycled (PCR) material possible. Mr. Delfausse has been instrumental in the conceptualization and development of the innovative Uruku refillable lipstick tubes made with 90% PCR resins with aluminum accents containing up to 65% PCR content. Under his leadership, Aveda won the HBA 2003 International Package Design Award for Uruku Lipstick, the CPC Editor’s Choice Award for the Aveda Brilliant line, and was recognized by the National Recycling Coalition for “Leadership in Recycling”.

Michael is Executive Director, Bing Thom Architects (BTA), LEED APTM, MAIBC, MRAIC. BTA was founded in 1980 by Bing Thom, recipient of Canada's highest honor, the Order of Canada, for his contribution to architecture, and more recently, the Golden Jubilee Medal for his outstanding service to his country. Michael has been a colleague of Bing’s for over 15 years. During this time he has been in charge of some of BTA’s highest profile projects including: the Central City development in Surrey, BC, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts for the University of British Columbia, and most recently the prestigious Arena Stage expansion in Washington, D.C. and the new downtown campus for Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas. With a background in both architecture and urban land economics, Michael acts as the cornerstone of BTA’s holistic design approach that searches for synergies between art, business, community and the environment. BTA recently collaborated with EPEA to develop the “Shanghai Principles”, and to incorporate Cradle to Cradle Design principles into the master plan for Shanghai Expo 2010.

Michael Paparian currently works as Special Consultant to the California Environmental Protection Agency. He is helping to lead the efforts to implement Governor Schwarzenegger’s Green Building Executive Order which, among other things, mandates that all new state buildings over 10,000 square feet be certified as LEED Silver and that all existing state buildings reduce energy use by 20% in the next 10 years.

Prior to working at Cal/EPA, Mr. Paparian served as a member of the California Integrated Waste Management Board, where he was a leader on electronic waste, public participation and “greening” state government. He led the efforts from within Cal/EPA related to the development of California’s e-waste legislation.

Mr. Paparian has over 26 years of experience on California environmental matters, including work on energy, air quality, waste, toxics, water, land use and other issues. He worked for the Sierra Club for 22 years and served on Boards and Commissions as diverse as the SolarCal Council, Hazardous Waste Management Council, Commission on Building for the 21st Century, National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative, World Conservation Union Commission on Environmental Strategy and Planning, and others. He holds Bachelors Degrees in Biology and Psychology from U.C. Santa Cruz and a Masters Degree in Environmental Planning from Calif. State University.

Paul Nash has degrees in Chemistry and Biological Sciences from UCI Irvine and a PhD from the University of Akron in Polymer Science and Engineering. He worked six years in the appliance industry for Frigidaire Company and nine years for HP (current employer), working with inkjet printers and cartridges. His work at both companies centers around polymer selection and supplier development for product applications. He also works in product recycling, mainly with refrigerators for Frigidaire and ink jet cartridges for HP.

Additional speakers are currently being confirmed to discuss their specific experiences with hands-on Cradle to Cradle Design and IMP initiatives. Expect to learn from practitioners from a cross section of industries including apparel, architecture, technology, industrial design, personal health care and other markets. Watch this space, or join our email list for updates!