2023 GC3 European Forum - Speakers

June 13, 2023

Opening Remarks and Keynote Session

PRESENTER

JOEL TICKNER

Executive Director at Change Chemistry (formerly GC3)

Dr. Joel Tickner is a Professor of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is founder and Executive Director of the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3); Executive Director of the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4), a professional association. He is a leading expert on application of green chemistry and alternatives assessment in science and policy. He has served on a number of EPA and National Academy of Sciences advisory committees and advises government agencies around the world. He holds a Masters of Science degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a Doctor of Science Degree from the Department of Work Environment at University of Massachusetts Lowell.

KEYNOTE PRESENTER

LYNETTE CHUNG

Chief Sustainability Officer at Covestro

Lynette Chung has been Chief Sustainability Officer, responsible for Sustainability, Circular Economy and Government Affairs, at the materials manufacturer Covestro in Leverkusen since July 2020.

Chung was born in Sweden in 1977. She studied law at the University of Gothenburg and the National University of Singapore as well as China studies in Beijing.

Chung began her professional career in 2001 at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken in customer service and legal tax advice. In 2004, she moved to Brussels to work for BusinessEurope, the voice of European business, in the field of corporate social responsibility. She joined Eurometaux, the European association of non-ferrous metals industry, in 2005. There she held various positions related to environmental, trade and industrial policy.

Following this, Chung took on various positions at the specialty chemicals group Clariant International from 2011. Her most recent position there was Head of Corporate Sustainability Strategy and Advocacy. In this position, Chung was responsible for the company's sustainability strategy as well as the positioning in important policy areas and represented the company in trade associations.

SESSION 1: Leveraging the Chemical Industry Transition Pathway to Accelerate

Growth of Sustainable Chemistry

	MODERATOR JOEL TICKNER Executive Director at Change Chemistry (formerly GC3) Dr. Joel Tickner is a Professor of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is founder and Executive Director of the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3); Executive Director of the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4), a professional association. He is a leading expert on application of green chemistry and alternatives assessment in science and policy. He has served on a number of EPA and National Academy of Sciences advisory committees and advises government agencies around the world. He holds a Masters of Science degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a Doctor of Science Degree from the Department of Work Environment at University of Massachusetts Lowell.
	PRESENTER ROBERTO RINALDI Policy Officer at DG Grow Roberto Rinaldi is an economist who joined the European Commission (Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) as policy officer in December 2021. Here, he is working on the EU chemical industry’s transition pathway, as well as on the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) of classification and labelling of chemicals developed by the United Nations, and on the Good Laboratory Practice. His former professional experience includes working as a policy officer on environmental and climate change issues at subnational level in the European Committee of the Regions and in a not-for-profit think tank. He holds a MSc in environmental economics & environmental management, and a MSc in European economy & business law; following bachelor studies in business administration.
	PRESENTER TOMAS RYDBERG Assistant Director at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute Tomas Rydberg, IVL Swedish Environmental Institute, is Senior Researcher at IVL in the areas of Sustainable production, Energy and resource efficiency, LCA and Environmental Management. He is one of the pioneering researchers in Sweden in Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Management, and Chemicals substitution, from the 1990-s and onwards, with over 30 peer-reviewed publications. He currently leads the Technical Secretariat in the ProScale consortium, in addition to being Activity leader for SSbD case studies in the EU-wide PARC project and senior advisor in the Swedish Mistra Safechem research program.
	PRESENTER DIRK THELEN Regional Director EU Green Deal at PPG In his current role, Dirk Thelen manages the European Union’s Green Deal initiative across all PPG’s Strategic Business Units and operations in the EMEA region. The Transition Pathway for the Chemical Industry is a key element of the cross-functional teams that he is leading. He has been with PPG for over 26 years, starting as product stewardship manager Coatings & Resins. He then moved into the Automotive and OEM Supply, Consumer Electronics and General Industry Coatings business with increasing responsibilities, before leading the Lean and Six Sigma initiatives in Europe. Over the last decade he has been in multiple business management and transformation roles in PPG’s Aerospace products (Coatings, Sealants, Transparencies) in EMEA. Prior to joining PPG, he was a safety advisor in the nuclear industry. Dirk and holds a Chemical Engineer Diploma from the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, Germany.

SESSION 2 (BREAKOUT DISCUSSIONS): Applying Consistent and Actionable Criteria

to Drive Innovation in Safe & Sustainable Chemicals

MODERATOR

AUDE BECHU

Chemist & Post Doc Research Associate at UMass Lowell

Aude Bechu is a safe and sustainable chemistry post doc at the Sustainable Chemistry Catalyst. A sister organization to Change Chemistry, the Catalyst works on research and strategy to accelerate the transition to safer, more sustainable chemistry. Aude has translated sustainable chemistry for regulators, investors and businesses in her role at the Catalyst. She has also examined the field of alternatives assessment and how the method can be adapted to account for innovative materials. Aude holds a PhD in Green Chemistry from McGill University and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to support a sustainability assessment of biobased and biodegradable plastics.

PRESENTER

JAVIER SANFELIX

Policy Officer at European Commission DG Research and Innovation

Javier Sanfelix, PhD in engineering science in the field of analysis of environmental and economic impacts of batteries for electric vehicles. It is currently working as a research policy officer in the European Commission’s Industrial Transformation Unit (DG Research and Innovation) dealing, among other activities, with research policies in the area of safety and sustainability of chemicals and materials. He has previously worked at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, providing scientific support for sustainable product production and consumption policies, focusing on circular economy aspects.

SESSION 3: Advancing Safe and Sustainable Materials for Circularity – Lessons Learned

	MODERATOR ANNA ZHENOVA Founder & CEO at Green Rose Chemistry Anna Zhenova is the CEO of Green Rose Chemistry, a mission-driven consultancy working to accelerate the sustainable chemical transition. She started her career in the US, working in labs at MIT, Caltech, and Carnegie Mellon before applying her chemistry expertise to advance green chemistry at the GC3. After earning her Ph.D. at the University of York, she founded Green Rose Chemistry in 2019 to provide unbiased expertise to companies transitioning to sustainability. She works with clients in industries ranging from fragrances to construction manufacturing, bringing green chemistry out of the lab and into practical use.
	PRESENTER MARIA AKERFELDT Chemical Regulatory Affairs and Strategy at H&M Dr Maria Akerfeldt is a Chemical Regulatory and Strategy Lead at H&M Group, with a PhD from the University of Borås in Textile Materials Engineering and over 15 years of experience in textile finishing.Maria’s current key interests are regulatory affairs and overseeing present and upcoming chemical legislation globally while securing that H&M Group’s chemical agenda remains progressive. Throughout her career, Maria has used her experiences and knowledge to contribute to safe and sustainable chemicals management within the planetary boundaries and continues with this by focusing on safe chemical management in the textile value chain at the H&M group.
	PRESENTER SASCHA BLOEMOFF Marketing Director Niaga® at Covestro Sascha is an experienced non-linear transition leader with a background in climate change, renewable energy, circular economy and data science in both business, government and higher education. She passionately works on systemic change and applies a landscape and network approach. Her specialty is covering unknown territory and bringing people and organizations together to find innovative solutions for societal challenges. As Marketing Director at Niaga®, she leads the development and implementation of a circular infrastructure that enables material transparency through product passports, product return for material reuse and a discernible brand and scannable tag to distinguish circular products from the pack and really get them back for product-to-product reuse at the end of each use-cycle. Niaga is your circular go-to innovation partner that provides product design principles, material innovations & technology. Niaga sets itself apart through material stewardship, transparency, and closing the material loops. Together with partners, everyday products are designed with clean and infinite materials and reversible connections only. The Niaga® tag supports partners in the transparency of the materials used in their products, and facilitates the return, refurbishment and reuse of components and products again and again.
	PRESENTER FABIEN DEWARTE Strategic Partnerships for Sustainability Group Leader at L’Oréal Fabien Deswarte is head of the Strategic Partnerships for Sustainability Group within L’Oréal’s International Innovative Ingredients Department. Amongst other things, he is heavily involved in the implementation of the Group’s sustainable development strategy L’Oréal for the Future and, in particular, the transformation of its portfolio of ingredients. He has over 15 years of experience in the area of green chemistry and has worked in a variety of roles in academia, government and the start-up sector.
	PRESENTER STEFAN SCHEUER Chief EU Policy Advocate at CHEM Trust Stefan Scheuer has been working with CHEM Trust as Chief EU Policy Advocate since December 2019. Stefan Scheuer has extensive experience of shaping and influencing EU energy and environmental policies, including chemical and water policy. He works with his consultancy team to develop advocacy strategies for forge alliances to win political majorities for effective action. Since 2015, he has represented the environmental, health and consumer interests as a member of the Management Board of the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki. Since 2011, he has headed up the Coalition for Energy Savings, the cross-sector stakeholder alliance, which helped to put the energy efficiency target. In the past, he led the REACH and water campaigns as Policy Director at the European Environmental Bureau, the largest network of environmental citizens' organizations in Europe. By academic background, Stefan Scheuer is a hydrologist.
	PRESENTER SOFIE VERGUCHT Circular Economy Advocacy & Stewardship - Global Team Lead at Eastman Sofie holds a Master in BioScience Engineering, option Environmental Technologies from Ghent University, Belgium. She joined Eastman 7 years ago and is the Circular Economy Advocacy & Stewardship Lead within Eastman’s Product Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs Department, where she has responsibility for our European Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Engagements, and is an Eastman spokesperson for circular-economy related projects within Europe. In her team, she has people engaging with Trade Associations and Standardization Bodies, following up legislation related to the EU Green Deal and Circular Economy, and advocating at policy level in Brussels.

SESSION 4: Driving Climate Neutrality Through Sustainable Chemistry

	MODERATOR PETER NIEUWENHUIZEN Chair of the Board, Change Chemistry (formerly GC3) Dr. Peter Nieuwenhuizen is Chair of the Board of Change Chemistry (formerly GC3, the Green Commerce & Coalition), founded in the US. Peter holds a PhD in chemistry from Leiden University. He started his career in AzkoNobel, the coatings & chemicals company, where he held positions in R&D sales & marketing, supply chain, as CTO, and in sustainability. Peter also worked as a strategy consultant for Arthur D. Little, and was co-founder of ECBF, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund. Peter lives in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, with his spouse and two children in Amersfoort.
	PRESENTER MICHAEL CARUS Founder and Managing Director at nova-institute & Executive Manager at RCI Michael Carus, Physicist, is one of the leading European experts, market researchers and policy advisers of the renewable carbon economy – including bio-based, CO2-based and recycling. At the end of 1994, he and five other scientists founded the private and independent nova-Institute for Ecology and Innovation. Ever since the beginning, Carus has been involved in the company as owner and one of two Managing Directors. Today nova-Institute has 45 scientists from a wide range of disciplines, covering markets, technologies, sustainability, communication and policy. In the year 2020, Carus founded the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), which has today more than 50 members from the chemical and other industries by the end of the year 2022. Carus is today one of the two executive managers of RCI.
	PRESENTER MARK STALMANS Director Global Product Stewardship and Sustainability, Fabric & Home Care at P&G Dr. Mark Stalmans obtained a degree in Agricultural and Chemical Engineering (1983) and a Ph.D. in Colloidal and Interphase Chemistry at KULeuven University (1986, Belgium). He joined Procter & Gamble in 1987 and has managed global and regional safety, regulatory, lifecycle analysis and sustainability programs for household and professional product categories across laundry, cleaning, cosmetic products and in corporate assignments. He is presently Director in P&G’s Global Product Stewardship & Sustainability team for the Fabric & Home Care Business Unit where he coordinates P&G’s internal and stakeholder programmes around sustainability and innovation for laundry and cleaning products. He has been an active member of industry sustainability networks (A.I.S.E., Cosmetics Europe, AIM, CEFIC) and has helped to develop and deploy voluntary sustainability initiatives, such as the A.I.S.E. Charter for Sustainable Cleaning, www.cleanright.eu, the CEFIC Sustainability Charter and campaigns such as ‘I prefer 30^o’ (www.iprefer30.eu).
	PRESENTER JEROEN VERHOEVEN Vice President Value Chain Development, Neste Renewable Polymers & Chemicals at Neste Jeroen Verhoeven is Vice President Value Chain Development at Neste Renewable Polymers & Chemicals. Jeroen looks back on more than 20 years in the chemicals and polymers industry. Prior to joining Neste, Jeroen held several leadership positions at GE Bayer Silicones, Momentive and Hexion after starting his career at DSM. He holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering and management Science from the University of Twente and an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management.

June 15, 2023

KEYNOTE

MODERATOR

JOEL TICKNER

Executive Director at GC3

KEYNOTE PRESENTER

KRISTIN SCHREIBER

Director at the European Commission, DG Grow, Chemicals, Health, Retail and Agrifood

Prior to her current Director position, she served as Director for Governance of the Single Market and International Affairs in DG MARKT (until 2015) and Director for SME policy in DG GROW (until March 2021).

Kristin Schreiber was Head of Cabinet of Employment Commissioner Vladimir Špidla, Deputy Head of Cabinet of Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier and member of the Cabinets of Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen and Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert. She also served as Head of Unit for International Affairs in DG Employment and Social Affairs and was a member of the Merger Task Force of DG Competition.

SESSION 5: Addressing Challenges to Informed Chemical Substitution Across the

Value Chain: Case Study of PFAS

	MODERATOR JENNY MACKELLER Program Director at Change Chemistry (formerly GC3) Jenny is responsible for coordinating the expansive portfolio of GC3 member offerings that include projects, work groups and more. She works closely with the GC3 membership to help organizations optimize their GC3 engagement. Jenny is also lead on all GC3 events, including the annual Innovators Roundtables and European Forums. Before joining the GC3, Jenny spent nine years at the ACS Green Chemistry Institute coordinating green chemistry education initiatives, awards programs, and events, including the annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference. Prior to that, Jenny worked with various U.S. government agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. In these roles, she focused on science communication, science policy, federal grant management, and information technology solutions. Jenny holds a M.Sc. degree in molecular and integrative physiology from the University of Michigan and received her B.S. from the University of Denver in molecular biology with minors in chemistry and Spanish.
	PRESENTER RÜDIGER FOX CEO at Sympatex Dr. Ruediger Fox is CEO of Sympatex Technologies, University Lecturer, Author, experienced crisis manager and innovative rethinker. As an aerospace engineer and business economist with a doctorate on the topic of "Corporate Happiness," he has spent his life searching for crucial pieces of the puzzle for a sustainable, humane and successful economy in the 21st century. Since over 30 years, he serves CEO of medium and large corporations in Aerospace, Telecom, Textile and Engineering/Innovation. With Sympatex, he currently engages to pioneer the accelerated transformation process of the textile industry towards sustainability and "closing the loop."
	PRESENTER JONATAN KLEIMARK Senior Chemicals and Business Advisor at ChemSec Dr Jonatan Kleimark has background as a PhD in organic chemistry and experience from working as a project manager within different sectors, including MedTech, automotive and pharmaceutical industry. At ChemSec, he leads the work on PFAS, including PFAS Movement and identification of safer alternatives to PFAS, is project manager for ChemSec Marketplace, and is responsible for the ChemSec Business Group.
	PRESENTER HIRAM MOERMAN Managing Director at Apeiron At Apeiron they call him the “Master of out-of-the-box thinking’. Hiram has worked in the chemicals/polymer industry for over 20 years in several positions. He knows the ins and outs of industrial processes; he has managed several multi-million engineering projects and was responsible for the compliance to several legislations, REACH being one of them. Since then, Hiram has been active as a REACH consultant, helping several companies, in various industry sectors, with a pragmatic approach to implementing REACH with a specific attention to the substitution processes and the impact of REACH on circular business.

Session 7: The Role of ESG Reporting in Driving Growth of Sustainable Chemistry Investment

MODERATOR

JOEL TICKNER

Executive Director at Change Chemistry (formerly GC3)

PRESENTER

CECILIA FRYKLÖF

Head of Active Ownership, Nordea

Cecilia Fryklöf started in Nordea 2007 and has over 15 years of experience from the financial industry both in Capital Markets and Asset and Wealth Management. Before taking up the position in Nordea Asset Management as Head of Active Ownership she focused on develop and integrate sustainability in business strategy and also in new and existing products and solutions within Nordea Asset Management and Nordea Life and Pension. Cecilia holds a BA in Economics from Stockholm University and has a SA8000 Standard certification from Social Accountability International, a pioneer in protecting workers rights around the world.

PRESENTER

WIBKE LÖLSBERG

Sustainability Strategy Developer, BASF

Dr. Wibke Lölsberg studied chemistry at the Universities of Cologne (DE) and Bristol (UK). She conducted her PhD in Organic Chemistry from the Universities of Cologne (DE) and Harvard (US) in 2012. She joined BASF as a laboratory manager in the field of aerogel research. Thereafter, headed the global marketing and business development for SLENTEX within the Performance Materials Division. Currently, she is leading projects around Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) and Portfolio Sustainability Assessment (PSA) within BASF’s Corporate Sustainability unit.

Closing Remarks

PRESENTER

JOEL TICKNER

Executive Director at Change Chemistry (formerly GC3)