April 16-19, 2024 | Miramar Beach, FL

Schedule

*Subject to change

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

7:30 am – 12:30 pm

Fishing Charter | Networking Event

Chairs: Suzanne Dill, Clean Water Technology and Arnell Bell, Aquacycl Environmental

 

Join us for an unforgettable fishing charter and enjoy a morning of fishing, sightseeing, and relaxing.  

7:30 am – 3:00 pm

Chairs: Scott Jay and Justin Olson, World Water Works

The Links Golf Club

A winding layout against the backdrop of the Baytowne Marina and the Choctawhatchee Bay designed by renowned architect Tom Jackson, The Links is the ultimate in risk-reward golf. A shot-makers course, accuracy, and proper club selection are key if you want to outfox the prevailing Gulf Coast winds. With five holes that run along the bay, this is a one-of-a-kind links-style golf outing on the Emerald Coast with spectacular views. And a heart-pounding challenge. Sandestin’s original course is a must-play for golfers of all skill levels.

 

The $125 player fee includes participation in the golf event and lunch with other FBEC golfers.

10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Health & Wellness | Networking Event

Chair: Joan Giuliani, 2024 FBEC Chair, Molson Coors


FBEC has partnered with Spa Lilliana, at Hotel Effie to promote health and wellness during the conference. Spa Lilliana offers unique treatments designed to rejuvenate, restore, and relax. Facials, scrubs, massages, manicures, and pedicures will leave you feeling calm and refreshed with a renewed perspective.


The spa is located on the second floor of Hotel Effie.


Enjoy 10% off your treatment and retail products from April 14-21, 2024. To schedule your appointments directly, contact the Spa Lilliana at 850-351-3020 or visit the website here.

Hotel Effie 

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Registration

Juniper Ballroom Foyer

4:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Session Chair & Co-Chair Meeting

5:00 pm – 5:30 pm

First Timers Reception | Networking Event

Is this your first time attending FBEC? Join the FBEC Steering Committee, Conference Chair and past chairs to learn more about what to expect from the conference and get insider tips.

Hotel Effie Rooftop

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Welcome Reception | Networking Event

The Welcome Reception at FBEC kicks off the conference and sets the tone for four successful days of education and networking. Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres with your fellow attendees.

Hotel Effie Rooftop

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Hospitality Suite | Networking Event

Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres while catching up with old friends and making new ones at the Hospitality suite, hosted by Gannett Fleming, Inc. 

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

7:15 am – 12:00 pm

Registration

Juniper Ballroom Foyer

7:15 am – 8:15 am

Breakfast

Juniper Ballroom

8:15 am – 8:45 

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Juniper Ballroom

Joan Giuliani, 2024 FBEC Chair, Molson Coors

8:45 am – 9:30 am

Keynote Session | Education

Laura Bowie, Executive Director, Gulf of Mexico Alliance

Juniper Ballroom

9:30 am – 10:45 am

Session 1: Sustainability | Education

Chair: Katlyn Gonzalez, Idahoan Foods
Co-Chair: Justin Olson, World Water Works

Juniper Ballroom

Gain insights from industry leaders who have successfully defined and accomplished sustainability goals through their own operations and supply chain selection. The strategies they have employed continue to have a positive impact for their companies and customers.

Building a Sustainability Strategy for a Sustainable Future 

From setting science-based targets to establishing robust governance models, creating or rethinking a sustainability strategy can be overwhelming for any organization, especially with new compliance structures and frameworks quickly approaching. How do you set impactful, measurable, and obtainable goals? What internal and external processes are critical, and who are the right stakeholders? In this session, Kim Marotta, Vice President, Global Head of Environmental Sustainability at Beam Suntory, will share her expertise in how companies can go from ambition to materiality to organizational design to target-setting to reporting so that building a more sustainable future is an achievable goal.

Speaker

  • Kim Marotta – Global Vice President, Environmental Sustainability, Beam Suntory

Additional Speakers

  • Kathryn Novak – Biodiversity & Nature Director – Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
  • Diane Stevenson – Director of Sustainability – CSC Sugar

10:45 am – 11:00 am

Break

Juniper Ballroom Foyer

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Session 2: Compliance Trends | Education

Chair: Kevin Sobnosky, PepsiCo
Co-Chair: Katie Jeziorski, Trinity Consultants, Inc.

Juniper Ballroom

Join us for an action-packed discussion of the latest compliance and enforcement trends at the federal and state level, including EPA’s new national enforcement initiatives for the next four years, key enforcement cases directly and indirectly affecting the food and beverage industry, and emerging developments involving environmental justice, ESG and greenwashing.

 

Speaker

  • Brooks M. Smith, Managing Partner, Richmond Office, Troutman Pepper

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm

Session 3: Networking Lunch

Juniper Ballroom

1:45 pm – 3:15 pm

Ad-hoc Session: Sustainability | Education

Chair: Dennis Leikam, Idahoan Foods

Co-Chair: Charlie Quann, FBEC Planning Committee

Join us for an engaging and heated discussion as we dive into the (dis)connect between financial returns and sustainability.  We will collectively peek behind the curtain and explore both tenuous and solidly justified projects then discuss strategy to close the gap.

1:45 pm – 3:15 pm

Ad-hoc: USEPA Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) Action 5.7/Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) – Water Reuse Opportunities in the Beverage Industry | Education

Chair: Paul Bowen, Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER)

Co-Chair: Peter J. Capponi, A GHG Principal, GHD

Join us for a follow-up to last year’s FBEC Session discussion on tackling barriers to water reuse in the beverage industry.  We have incorporated your feedback from last year’s conference into a comprehensive work product (White Paper) within USEPA’s Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) Action 5.7 entitled “Advancing Water Reuse Within the Beverage Industry.” Members of the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER), industry partners such as the Water Environment Foundation (WEF) and the WateReuse Association, and regulators, including USEPA, USFDA, and others, evaluated the topic. The team identified key challenges and recommended actions to advance water reuse at beverage manufacturing plants. In this session, we will not only summarize these challenges and recommendations, but also discuss direct producers insight on additional needed steps and associated potential opportunities for the beverage community to support those next steps. Included will be opportunities to apply findings from the beverage space into the food industry, to help advance water reuse in the food and beverage industry as a whole.

4:45 pm – 5:45 pm

Poster Sessions & Social Hour | Networking Event

Chair: John Meyer Smithfield Foods
Co-Chair: Domagoj Gotovac, Woodard Curran
Conference attendees are invited to a poster session and happy hour Wednesday and Friday evenings at FBEC. A broad array of technical subjects will be poster presented to conference attendees through discussion that promotes mutual learning and help in developing professional contacts.eyer

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Dinner and Session 4: Enforcement Horror Stories | Education

Chair: Josh Milleson, Land O’Lakes
Co-Chairs: Ted Holt, Fluke Corporation and Michele Frozena, Foth Infrastructure & Environment, LLC

Juniper Ballroom

We all care about environment compliance, and do our best to comply with the ever-changing mass of environmental regulations. But sometimes, things go wrong. Speakers in this session will share their bizarre and shocking horror stories of environmental enforcement gone wrong. The presentation promises to be entertaining and educational, providing the audience with real life examples.

 

Speakers

  • Ted Palmer, Partner, Practice Group Co-Chair, Regulatory Sub-Practice Leader, Environmental & Natural Resources, Michael Best
  • Ted Winkelman, Environmental Director US Operation, Agropur inc
  • Dennis Leikam, Senior Manager of Health and Safety,  Idahoan Foods

8:00 pm – 8:45 pm

Poster Sessions & Social Hour | Networking Event

Chair: John Meyer, Smithfield Foods
Co-Chair: Domagoj Gotovac, Woodard Curran
Conference attendees are invited to a poster session and happy hour Wednesday and Friday evenings at FBEC. A broad array of technical subjects will be poster presented to conference attendees through discussion that promotes mutual learning and help in developing professional contacts.

9:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Hospitality Suite / Networking Event

Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres while catching up with old friends and making new ones at the Hospitality suite, hosted by Gannett Fleming, Inc. 

Thursday, April 18, 2024

7:00 am – 12:00 pm

Registration

Juniper Ballroom Foyer

7:00 am – 7:45 am

Breakfast

Juniper Ballroom

7:45 am – 8:45 am

Session 5: Packaging | Education

Chair: John Meyer, Smithfield Foods
Co-Chair: Laura Huff, POWER Engineers
 

Sustainable Packaging at Saputo:

While packaging is vital to ensuring the integrity and safety of food products, we recognize that it can also pose significant environmental impacts. In this session, Emilie Nadeau will share Saputo’s journey to accelerate their packaging performance and challenges met along the way to deliver packaging initiatives.

 

Speaker

  • Emilie Nadeau, Director, Sustainability, Saputo Dairy Products Canada G.P.
Case Study: A Brand’s Journey to Sustainable Packaging:

We know the way products are packaged – from bottles to boxes – is part of the experience that consumers enjoy. We also know that packaging is one of the main contributors to Scope 3 emissions, and companies are putting greater emphasis on reducing Scope 3 emissions. In this deep-dive session, Lauren Eisenmenger will share examples of some of Beam Suntory’s most successful brands in their journey to sustainable packaging and how its teams are working to produce less waste overall while still delivering a premium brand experience to consumers.

 
Speaker
  • Lauren Eisenmenger, Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability, Beam Suntory

Juniper Ballroom

8:45 am – 9:45 am

Session 6: Air | Education

Chair: Lauren Hill, Molson Coors

Co-Chair: Jasmine Sodemann, Gannett Fleming

Juniper Ballroom

Engage with food & beverage processors to hear about current air quality issues related to permitting and regulatory compliance. Case studies will provide food & beverage industry experience and results.

 

Speakers

  • Rachel Schneider , VP Sustainability & EHS, Molson Coors Beverage Company
  • Lauren Hill, Environmental and Sustainability Engineer, Molson Coors Beverage Company
  • Todd E. Palmer, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Partner & Practice Group Co-Chair, Regulatory, Sub-Practice Leader, Environmental & Natural Resources

9:45 am – 10:00 am

Break

Juniper Ballroom Foyer

10:00 am – 11:00 am

Session 7: PFAS | Education

Chair: Brett Whittleton, TreeHouse Foods
Co-Chair: Anthony Urciuoli, Veolia Water Technologies

Juniper Ballroom

The use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is under global scrutiny across multiple authorities and industries. PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” are a wide-ranging class of chemical compounds known for their heat resistance, durability, and waterproof qualities. With ongoing restrictions and bans entering into force at an accelerating pace, it is necessary to be knowledgeable of (and compliant) with the latest regulatory trends. This Session will provide a platform to discuss current regulatory, risk-management, and communications challenges (and opportunities) within the PFAS sector.

 

Speakers

    • Kathleen Cantillon, Principal, Environmental Stakeholder Strategies
    • Mary Gade, Principal, Environmental Stakeholder Strategies
    • John Peichel, Global Market Developer – PFAS, Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions
    • Joseph Quinnan, PE, PG / Senior VP/Director of Emerging Contaminants – North America / ARCADIS

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Ad Hoc: | Education

Chair: Hannah Bradish, Leprino Foods

 Co-Chair: Erik Schut, Azzuro

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Ad Hoc: Resource stress management – How to Plan and Adapt to a Changing Environment | Education

Chair: Wesley McGhee, Campbell’s

Co-Chair: JP Pasterczyk, Envirozyme

How do you stay on top of everything with ever changing regulations, limited funding and a consolidated workforce?  Our financial, human and material resources are being stressed across all areas of operations. So, we need to get creative about how to not let things slip through the cracks and remain good environmental stewards and partners. Join this innovative session to explore options and share stories on how we can maintain good standing in an ever-changing environment.

 

Speaker:

  • Mary Morgan, Environmental and Sustainability Engineer, Molson Coors

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Community Event / Networking Event

Chair: Ann Marie Gathright, Environmental Standards, Inc.

The community event during FBEC is historically an opportunity for attendees to join together and give back through a local service project that supports networking amongst participants. FBEC is excited to partner with Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles (FOSWST) for our 2024 Community Event! 


FBEC Community Event participants will head to Hotel Effie’s Beach to participate in a beach walk clean up and learn more about how their efforts have helped support FOSWST’s mission and protect the local sea turtles.

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Networking & Business Time / Networking Event

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Women’s Networking Event / Networking Event

Inspired by the increasing number of women attendees, FBEC 2024 is honored to host a women’s networking event for female food industry environmental professionals to connect and network. 

Friday, April 19, 2024

7:00 am – 11:00 am

Registration

Juniper Ballroom Foyer

7:00 am – 8:00 am

Breakfast

Juniper Ballroom Foyer

8:00 am – 9:00 am

Session 8: Water Conservation/Water Reuse | Education

Chair: Steve Bryant, Dairy Farmers of America

Co-Chair: Arnell Bell, Aquacycl and Erica Pann, Antea Group

Juniper Ballroom

Food and Beverage Producers are focusing in on water from a variety of sources, then treating and reusing this water for beneficial purposes as a means to reach sustainability targets and improve watershed health in high-risk regions around the globe. This session will incorporate the overarching conference theme of ‘Better Together’ in a discussion about water conservation and reuse pathways. We will be joined by three Food & Beverage producers as they share initiatives they have undertaken, as they look towards being better stewards in the communities where they operate.

 

Speakers

  • Kevin Roepe, Business Unit EGS Manager, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA)
  • Kendall Vanderhoof, Sustainability Analyst II, Niagra Bottling

9:00 am – 10:00 am

Session 9: Wastewater | Education

Chair: Joe Herrud, Fairlife

Co-Chair: Henry Probst, The Probst Group

Juniper Ballroom

Almost every food company across the globe uses some form of sanitizer or surfactant in their cleaning process.  In the F&B wastewater world, toxic sanitizing or cleaning products may be our biggest challenge for nitrification and anaerobic treatment of wastewater.  Learn how the different families of sanitizers work to kill bacteria and the mitigation practices you can implement to negate their impact at your WWTPs.

Speakers

  • Cliff Lange, Director, Effluency Lab
  • James Frazier, Senior Environmental Scientist, Leprino Foods

10:00 am – 10:15 am

Break

Juniper Ballroom Foyer

10:15 am – 11:15 am

Session 10: Food Waste | Education

Chair: Lindsey Hughes, Amazon

Co-Chair: Houston Flippin, Brown and Caldwell

Juniper Ballroom

Session will address managing food wastes for best diversion method and highest value. Speakers will present practical and current examples of how this is done across various industries and areas of the country as well as globally. Furthermore, each speaker will offer perspectives on the current state of the practice and current regulations as well as innovations and what they see as near-term and longer-term changes expected and how we should prepare for them.

11:15 am – 12:15 pm

Session 11: Nutrients/Bio-Gas | Education

Chair: John Kirkpatrick, Basic American Foods

Co-Chair: Brian Arnsten, Veolia

Juniper Ballroom

Continuing the learning journey in the Biogas space, this year we will again look at policy trends, begin to explore residual wastes from processing facilities including full life cycle example of raising cattle to bioproducts generation, and dig deeper into nutrient recovery from digestate/waste processing. Specifically, the full life cycle presentation on beef cattle will look both at energy from digestion of cattle manure and renewable prairie and the resulting nutrients from the digestion process to replace commercial fertilizers. We will also look at the options to minimize the significant impact beef processing residuals have on capital and operation expenditures. This will include understanding options to monetize those streams when planning future plant upgrades. Finally we will look at a nutrient recovery from hog residuals in operation for 6 years in the Netherlands or Nutrient Recovery from food waste digestion in the US.

Speakers

  • Heather Dziedzic, VP of Policy, American Biogas Council
  • Mark Ritsema, Head of Environmental Sustainability, JBS
  • Bryan Seivers, Director of the Horizon II Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities Grant Program 

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm

Networking Lunch

Juniper Ballroom

1:15 pm – 1:30 pm

FBEC 2025 Location Announcement

Time to find out where we’re headed in 2025!

Juniper Ballroom

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Session 12: Hazardous and Regulated Waste | Education

Chair:  Dylan Ramey, Niagara Bottling

Co-Chair: Jessica Myer, EHS Support LLC

Juniper Ballroom

Join this session to learn about the latest trends in hazardous waste management from a seasoned environmental auditor. We’ll cover the newest topics, from aerosol cans and the Generator Improvements Rule to PFAS disposal guidelines. Find out what the regulators are searching for during inspections, and what you can do to keep your facility in compliance in 2024. Additionally learn about the complexity of storing and batching hazardous ingredients. A significant amount of food and beverage ingredients are corrosive, flammable or ignitable, which requires special handling and storage requirements. Join the discussion on fire/building codes, High- Hazard Occupancy rooms and the implications they have on safety systems. Examples and solutions will be discussed! Can’t wait to see you there!

Speakers

  • Chris Unangst, PE, CSP, PMP, Manager – Industrial & Process Safety, Jensen Hughes
  • Kyle Barfield, Senior Consultant – Industrial & Process Safety, Jensen Hughes
  • Amy Bauer, CPEA, Senior Compliance Specialist, EHS-Support

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

FBEC 2025 Planning Meeting

Juniper Ballroom

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Poster Sessions & Social Hour | Networking Event

Chair: John Meyer, Smithfield Foods
Co-Chair: Domagoj Gotovac, Woodard Curraneyer

Conference attendees are invited to a poster session and happy hour Wednesday and Friday evenings at FBEC. A broad array of technical subjects will be poster presented to conference attendees through discussion that promotes mutual learning and help in developing professional contacts.

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

FBEC Closing Event | Networking Event

Let’s close the conference out with a bang. Enjoy drinks and food with your new and old friends and see who will take home the conference’s biggest awards!

Grand Lawn, Hotel Effie

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Hospitality Suite | Networking Event

Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres while catching up with old friends and making new ones at the Hospitality suite, hosted by Gannett Fleming, Inc. 
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