Clemson alumnus David Beasley, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, will give the keynote presentation at the Food, Packaging & Sustainability Summit hosted by Sonoco FRESH at Clemson University. The virtual Summit will take place February 24 – 26.

FRESH says the content-rich program reflects its unique approach to evaluating the entire food value chain, with the Summit covering topics and insights regarding supply chain disruptions and innovative technologies to optimize the food value chain and protect the environment through safe, secure and sustainable solutions. According to The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), it received the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to prevent and combat hunger.

The Summit will lead with presentations from Clemson president Jim Clements and Sonoco president and CEO Howard Coker, followed by Beasley, who will speak on the industry’s ability to make positive changes for the future of sustainable food systems. Additional presentations will cover designing and delivering cradle-to-cradle packaging solutions, advanced recycling practices, launching sustainable packaging innovations and a case study using sugar cane fiber for food packaging. A social hour hosted by Joel Gamoran, founder of Homemade Classes LLC and Richard Crawford, host of Amazon Prime’s Leave No Trace, will focus on eco-ethics in travel and food. Speakers from Deloitte Consulting will discuss the current state of the food value chain. Caue Suplicy, the founder of Barnana, a banana-based snack company that has upcycled 100 million bananas, will speak on innovative approaches to circularity. Ron Gonen, co-founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners, will present on collaboration for the greater good.

“The need for collaborations and innovative approaches to protecting the safety, security and sustainability of the food value chain has never been greater,” says Anne Barr, executive director of Sonoco FRESH. “Networking and interaction are the cornerstones of our event and we will be using a dynamic virtual conference platform that will allow attendees to join interactive and engaging programs – all while connecting from the comfort and safety of their homes or offices.”
 
Proceeds from the Summit will support future activities of the FRESH initiative at Clemson University.
 
Visit www.SonocoFRESHSummit.com and www.clemson.edu for more information.