The World Economic Forum (WEF), founded in Davos Switzerland almost 50 years ago, brings together business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. For the past 20 years, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Tent has become an additional opportunity to address the topic of sustainability. Mary Wagner, CEO iMFLUX, was proud to represent iMFLUX on a panel in the SDG Tent entitled “Scaling Sustainable Tech – Greater Collaboration for Greater Impact” in January 2023.
“Over the years, my view of the WEF was primarily shaped by media outlets which broadcast daily from Davos. I would watch a parade of CEOs, Presidents/Prime Ministers, and industry thought leaders address some of the world’s most pressing issues,” explained Mary Wagner. “While not an official delegate with access to the main congress, it was a true honor to receive an invite to attend the event at Davos and be part of the SDG Tent. It was an amazing opportunity to connect with people from all over the world – all there to shine a light on world issues, from the humanitarian crisis in the Ukraine, to cybersecurity, to trade and investment, to sustainability. “
The “Scaling Sustainable Tech” panel was hosted by Alex Keith, CEO Procter & Gamble (P&G) Beauty and Executive Sponsor of P&G Corporate Sustainability, and moderated by Kristin Hughes, Director, Resource Circularity and Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum. The panelists included Michelle Gibbons, Director General AIM, European Brands Association Holy Grail, Dustin Olson, CEO PureCycle, and Mary Wagner, CEO iMFLUX. The panel collectively represented technologies that P&G has either developed or driven – all which bring sustainability solutions to the world.
The panel discussed challenges and opportunities associated with scaling the intelligent sorting of plastic waste (Holy Grail), to transforming polypropylene waste streams to ultra-pure recycled resin (PureCycle), to offering manufacturers ways to process higher levels of post-consumer recycle or bio resins while reducing energy and waste (iMFLUX). “We addressed the importance of partnerships as small start-up companies trying to disrupt the current plastics ecosystem and drive scale,” Mary noted. “We intersect the plastics supply chain at different points, but we found many ways to support each other’s efforts as we collectively work to improve availability of post-consumer recycle and reduce dependence on virgin resin.”
The audience stayed highly engaged, far after the panel was over, asking questions, passing around samples, and better understanding how they might play a role to influence the scaling of these technologies. Given the challenges that exist across all industries to meet ambitious sustainability goals, offering pragmatic solutions to brand owners and those recommending sustainable technologies to manufacturers was seen as highly relevant and highly needed. Mary says “My view of Davos and the conversations that occur in the SDG Tent each year has forever changed as a result of this opportunity!”
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