Presenter: Cory Martin, IBWA

Title: “EnergyStar 3.0”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward with new energy-reduction specifications for water coolers, known as Energy Star 3.0. These changes will have a wide ranging impact on everyone who rents or sells water coolers in the United States. ENERGY STAR 3.0 specifications will be finalized in early 2021, so be sure to attend this session to receive an overview of how ENERGY STAR 3.0 specifications will differ from those currently in place.

Presenters: Glen Davis, Absopure Water Co.; IBWA Audit Program Evaluation Team; Bob Hirst, IBWA, 

Title: IBWA and Regulatory Audits: Looking Back at 2020 and Planning for the Future

Audits of food processing facilities are a critical piece of the nation’s food safety objectives and regulations. The COVID-19 pandemic caused almost everyone to step back and reevaluate the safety of continuing with such audits, considering the safety of the auditors and the plant employees. The logistics of traveling to bottling facilities also became a challenge. This session will cover how those challenges were faced and how the pandemic has changed the way audits will be completed for the foreseeable future. Attendees will also be updated on FDA and state regulatory audits and how they are changing to accommodate new challenges for keeping everyone safe and healthy. If the plan for reinstating the IBWA annual audit program is finalized by the time of this session, it will also be introduced to attendees.

Presenters: Glen Davis, Absopure Water Co.; Bob Hirst, IBWA; Al Lear, IBWA

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire U.S. economy, and the bottled water industry is no exception. During this session, we will review the issues that have affected the bottled water industry since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020. Panelists will discuss how they addressed and overcame new challenges created by COVID-19—and a public very alarmed by it, and attendees will be encouraged to contribute to the conversation by providing examples of how their companies coped with the rapidly evolving work landscape. We will  review the impact on  both home and office delivery and small package segments of the bottled water business. Topics include, but are not limited to meeting the demands of retail clients and the public during the “hoarding” weeks, protecting both clients and employees in delivery of water to businesses and private homes, policies on outsiders at the plant, suspension of IBWA and regulatory inspections/audits, and novel approaches to retaining business clients.

Presenter: Damion Michaels

Title: Brand Marketing, Staying Relevant

The power of storytelling can move your brand from a consumer’s mind, where the purchase consideration is based on cost, to a consumer’s heart, where the purchase is based on rationalized need. Such storytelling is key when your brand is in a crowded category. Finding your customer: Using consumer behavioral profiles for targeted, well-crafted content, when deployed in digital and social media, increases sales, creates cost savings, and finds/cultivates better customers who have more loyalty.

Speaker: Tim Wallisch, Antea Group

Title: “Diving Deeper” into Water Use Ratio (WUR) / Energy Use Ratio (EUR) Reductions

This session will provide attendees with practical examples of how to achieve resource and cost savings at bottled water facilities. The key issues that will be discussed include the true cost of water, water use reduction through reuse, and specific optimization opportunities for bottled water processors.

Presenter: Gary Hemphill, Beverage Marketing Corporation

Title: Bottled Water Sales Figures and Trends

Bottled water widened its lead in 2019 as the most popular packaged beverage in the United States, and growth has continued into 2020. Category growth has been especially driven by PET single-serve and sparkling water segments. In this fast-paced session, learn how PET and HOD categories are performing in 2020, how the industry has been impacted by the pandemic, what the key trends are, and the outlook for the future. Also, get perspective on competitive categories like carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks and more.

Presenter: Steve Alexander, Association of Plastic Recyclers

Title: PCR Recycling

This session will provide an overview of the plastics recycling industry efforts to increase supply and enhance the value of PET post-consumer resin (PCR), with a focus on design for recyclability, testing protocols, PCR certification, market demand programs, and federal and state regulatory efforts. An overview of broader industry coalition activities will also be presented.

Presenter: Neil Mairs, Solutions Recruiting, Inc. 

Title: Inclusivity in the Workplace

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the workplace is a term you’ve probably heard before—but it is more than just a buzzword. D&I needs to be taken seriously and understood in the workplace. This session will explore the current environment, identify some of the issues you may or may not be aware of, and offer some directions or solutions that will help you successfully nurture and develop D&I in your organization.

Presenter: Grant Price, ByRivers Tech, LLC

Title: 5 Things Every Great Website Needs

The landscape of the web is changing every minute.  It is more important now than ever to make sure your web presence is meeting your current and potential customers’ needs. Attend this session to learn about the five things you should be doing to make your website engaging for your customers and increase your search engine optimization (SEO).

Presenters: Rae Mindock, SCS Global Services, and Jillian Olsen, Cherry Ridge Consulting, LLC

Title: Topics in Water Stewardship: Conducting Stakeholder Engagement and Remote Audits in our New Normal Stakeholder Engagement is valuable during implementation of the Alliance for Water Stewardship International Water Stewardship Standard (AWS Standard) and is required by several steps of the AWS Standard. It is also the one aspect of the Standard that creates the most hesitation from implementors. Now, there’s another consideration—stakeholder engagement in the “new normal.” This session will walk you through how to achieve stakeholder engagement, including stakeholder identification, evaluation of the information obtained, and how to find value during the process. Finding value is especially important during times when conversations on water stewardship may not be a priority. Remote audits are another aspect of the new normal. We’ll discuss conditions to be considered prior to the use of remote audits to avoid compromising the integrity of the assessment.

Presenter: Bridget Croke, Closed Loop Partners

Title: The Impact of COVID-19 on Plastics Recycling and Building a Circular Supply Chain

In spite of COVID-19 and market challenges in recent years, 2020 could be a year of major innovations in the recycling industry. Attend this session to learn about the most recent recycling innovations and the central role recycling plays in transitioning U.S. manufacturing to circular supply chains.