First speakers confirmed for Focal Point 2012

Kelly Rooney, director of recycling for Veolia Environmental Services Solid Waste; Kevin Hansen, technical manager at ERCO Worldwide; and Kristine Young, sustainability manager for Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., are slated to present at Focal Point 2012: Capitalizing on Sustainable Technology. The speakers will discuss how their companies are incorporating sustainability practices to improve the bottom line.

Hansen is an engineer at ERCO Worldwide’s Port Edwards plant. ERCO Worldwide focuses largely on the production and supply of inorganic products along with the technology for the production of chlorine dioxide.

Rooney plays a key role in executing Veolia’s overall recycling strategy, focused on expanding and improving the organization’s existing recycling processes and capabilities. She joined Veolia in 2007 as an area manager in Central Wisconsin and brings over 20 years of experience in the waste and recycling industry. She brings a wealth of experience from having worked in every functional area of solid waste and recycling businesses.  Rooney led the transition from dual stream to single stream recycling processing at the Portage County Material Recovery Facility.  She also led the transformation of Cranberry Creek Landfill from a unilateral focus on disposal to an environmental campus with a full offering of recycling, reuse and treatment options. 

At Ocean Spray, a $2 billion consumer packaged goods company and best-in-class agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 growers, Young integrates sustainable environmental practices into all parts the company’s business of making world-class cranberry and citrus products.  The cooperative’s efforts to improve environmental practices focus in five key areas: agriculture, water stewardship, climate & energy, packaging and waste reduction.   

Focal Point 2012 features sessions showcasing examples of renewable energy and biofuels, innovative use of raw materials, resource efficiency, new product ownership models, and biocatalysis applications. Additional presenters for these sessions will be announced soon.