SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association announced today that the Sustainability Division of SPE (Society of Plastics Engineers) is an official partner for its second-annual Re|focus Sustainability & Recycling Summit, and that the associations are now accepting proposals for the Summit. Leveraging the vast technical expertise of the Sustainability Division, SPE will create the Sustainable Technology and Engineering track for the Summit. This track will address the technical challenges that product designers and manufacturers may encounter as they better design products for recycling, increase use of recycled content and overall improve sustainability of products and the manufacturing process. Re|focus will be held on June 27-29, 2017 in Orlando, Fla., and is expected to welcome leading companies, from major U.S. brands to plastics producers to recyclers.
“We are excited to work with SPE on creating a conference track that reaches engineers and designers, a core audience group who play an increasingly important role in driving how we think about sustainability in manufacturing,” said SPI’s President and CEO William R. Carteaux. “Success in sustainability requires fully engaging the supply chain, and that’s exactly why we launched our inaugural Re|focus Summit this year.”
SPI and SPE work together to collaborate on pressing issues in the plastics industry, from talent recruitment to educational outreach. The industry is spearheading efforts, like Re|focus, to meet consumer and company demands to create products that minimize their impact on the environment, from ideation to execution.
“SPI’s inaugural Re|focus Summit was a step forward for our industry, and truly brings together a unique and important mix of companies who need to share key learnings and best practices to move our sustainability goals forward,” said Bill Schreiber, conference chair of SPE’s sustainability division. “Our track at next year’s Summit will help attendees better understand solutions to the technical and conceptual challenges plastics engineers face in pursuit of creating environmentally-friendly products.” SPI’s Re|focus Summit in 2016 welcomed a host of dynamic speakers and attendees, including representation from major consumer companies such as S.C. Johnson, Keurig and Proctor & Gamble, among others.
For more information, visit www.RefocusSummit.org.