From Skateboards to Toilet Paper:
New Business Models for Manufacturers & Branded Consumer Products Companies

Thursday, May 31st, 8:30am-4:00pm
Pauley Ballroom, University of California, Berkeley
$125 includes lunch and light breakfast

REGISTER NOW!

“We should be producing locally whenever possible.”
“We don’t want to be a big company. We want to be the best company.”

These quotes from Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia, capture the spirit of this important gathering.

Climate change is driving many business leaders to reconsider global supply chains and distribution. Some are taking a serious look at the environmental costs of long-distance transportation and developing new business models to meet the challenge. Others are adopting closed-loop manufacturing practices to significantly reduce energy usage and waste.

The other topic of the day is scale. Many entrepreneurs are questioning the bigger-is-better mandate.

Through intense small-group sessions, we will explore issues related to ownership structure, scale, capitalization, and local/regional manufacturing for companies in the following categories: food, beverages, apparel, footwear, building materials, paper, cleaning products, beauty products, and sports equipment. Only one company from each industry sector or industry niche will be represented in the Track A program.

Track A    By invitation only. Limited to 20 founders and CEOs of privately held, triple-bottom-line manufacturers and/or branded consumer products companies  with at least $10 million in annual revenue.

Track B    Limited to 80 people. Open to founders and CEOs of privately held, triple-bottom-line manufacturers and/or branded consumer products companies with $0-$10 million in annual revenue. Also welcome to attend this track: entrepreneurs, consultants, finance professionals, non-profit leaders, government officials, professors, and graduate students.

8:00am    Breakfast

8:30        Welcome
        Don Shaffer, Executive Director, BALLE        
        Jeff Mendelsohn, Founder/CEO, New Leaf Paper

9:00

Track A      Three Short Case Studies:
        Seventh Generation, Patagonia, Clif Bar

Track B      Introduction - Local Manufacturing & Distribution
        Michael Shuman, author “Going Local”

9:30

Track A    Full-group discussion - Opportunities & challenges
        Facilitated by Gregor Barnum, Seventh Generation

Track B    Two panel discussions with Q&A:
        (1) Comet Skateboards, An Experiment on the Leading Edge 
        Jason Salfi, Co-founder & CEO, Comet Skateboards
        Pat Govang, President, E2E Biocomposites
        Ken Alston, CEO, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry

        (2) New Models for Food Processing and Distribution
        Judy Wicks, White Dog Café
        Sallie Calhoun, Paicines Ranch
        Renato Sardo, California Harvest Hall

10:30    Break

10:45

Track A    Small-group discussions on three topics:
        1. Localized sourcing, production, and distribution
        2. Ownership, scale, and capitalization
        3. Closed-loop manufacturing

Track B    Small-group discussions on same three topics

12:15    Lunch

1:15     Tracks A & B
        Reportback from the morning sessions
        Observations, next steps
        Affinity-based small-group discussions

2:30    Optional workshop on Cradle-to-Cradle design principles with Ken Alston, CEO, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry

4:00    Adjourn