Scaling Future-Fit Innovation 

April 15th, 2026 | 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

April 16th, 2026 | 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM ET

In-Person & Virtual Registration

Hosted by: Braskem

 

 

Meeting Overview

Join the April SB Member Meeting for a dynamic exploration of how consumer brands are scaling future-fit innovation in practice. From next-generation materials and circular design to using AI to accelerate learning, decision-making, and scale, this meeting surfaces what becomes possible when sustainable innovation is treated as a source of real competitive advantage.

Built for participation, the agenda blends case studies, data, peer exchange, and workshop-style activities designed to test ideas, challenge assumptions, and share lessons learned. Expect candid conversations, practical takeaways, and clear signals on what it takes to successfully scale innovation across teams, markets, and value chains.

Participants will: 

• See where future-fit innovation is gaining traction across consumer brands, including materials, AI-enabled tools, and resilience-driven approaches.
• Review insights from a new SB Member Playbook created with the support of Target, The Estee Lauder Companies, Braskem, Eastman, IFF, and Change Chemistry on Scaling Future Fit Materials.
• Workshop with peers to explore how insights from this playbook can inform your innovation roadmap.
• Explore how data, case studies, and shared frameworks are used to evaluate readiness, risk, and return when scaling innovation.
• Understand how AI and digital tools accelerate progress, remove internal, operational, and time-to-market barriers, and strengthen the confidence and credibility of environmental claims.
• Learn how sustainability-led innovation translates into competitive advantage, strengthening brand relevance, resilience, and long-term growth.

 

This SB Member-exclusive gathering is part of our Member Meeting series, intended to create a safe and productive space for discussion, raise shared obstacles and insights, and enable the co-creation of solutions that drive progress for all.

Agenda

Day 1 - Wednesday, April 15, 2026

8:30 am - Tour of Remark Glass Meetup  (In-person attendees only) Tour Details to be provided.


9:00 - 11:00am - Tour of Remark Glass (In-person attendees only)
Through Circular Philadelphia , SB Member Meeting attendees are invited to experience an immersive tour of Remark Glass , Philadelphia's first zero-waste certified business. In this working studio, poste consumer bottles and jars, collected through Remark's sister nonprofit, Bottle Underground, are transformed into hand-crafted barware, tabletop pieces, lighting, and custom glass objects—demonstrating how waste streams can become high-value design feedstocks.

Participants will witness the full zero-waste process—from cleaning and precision cutting to reheating and hand-forming—and explore what this model means for consumer brands. The tour brings circular material flows to life, highlights the power of local ecosystem partnerships to close loops, showcases custom collaborations for zero-waste packaging and product design, and offers insight into how craft, transparency, and systems thinking translate into compelling brand storytelling and measurable impact.

Tour Details to be provided.

11:00 - 11:15am - Tour attendees return to Braskem (In-person attendees only)


11:00am - 12:00pm - Arrival, Registration and Networking (In-person attendees only)


12:00 - 12:15pm - Welcome & Framing the Conversation
Speaker/s: Sustainable Brands Leadership


12:15 - 1:15pm - Host Kickoff: Materials Innovation as a Foundation for Scale
Speaker/s: Braskem Team
This opening session from our meeting hosts at Braskem will explore the role of materials innovation in scalable product systems, with a focus on how bio-based plastic solutions are creating sustainable carbon cycles to power a circular economy.


1:15 - 2:15pm - Lunch Break and Networking (In-person attendees only)


2:15 - 3:30pm - Scaling Future Fit Materials: SB & Change Chemistry Working Group Insights and Playbook Review
Speaker/s: Rui Resendes, PhD, Change Chemistry and Working Group Members
Michael Hershkowitz, Director Global Sustainability & Sustainable Innovation, IFF 
A cohort of Sustainable Brands Members, including P&G, Target, Eastman, The Estee Lauder Companies, and IFF have come together through the SB Scaling Future-Fit Materials Working Group to tackle one of the most complex challenges in sustainable product / brand transformation: how to transition away from harmful chemicals and legacy inputs toward materials that are safer for people and planet without sacrificing performance, and while building the business case and a path to delivering enhanced business value.

This interactive session will introduce the working group's mandate and share out core insights surfaced during the development of its first deliverable, the Scaling Future-Fit Materials Playbook. The playbook includes a walkthrough of business value drivers, insights surfaced via the SB Business Transformation Roadmap (BTR), decision frameworks, case examples, and priority actions companies can take now to advance materials innovation. Designed as a practical guide for sustainability, product, innovation, procurement, and R&D leaders, the playbook translates ambition into actionable operational next steps.

Ample time will be dedicated to discussion, inviting participants to reflect on how the findings apply within their own organizations, where roadblocks remain, and what collaborative action may require next.


3:30 - 3:45pm - Networking Break (In-person attendees only)


3:45 - 4:30pm - Panel: Designing Circular Consumer Products: EPR, Packaging Materials, and Reverse Logistics
What does it take to make circular consumer products and packaging work in practice—not just in theory? This panel and interactive discussion brings together Philadelphia-based leaders across beauty, electronics refurbishment, local ecosystem building, and materials recovery to explore how circularity is designed into products, packaging, and systems from the start.

Moderated by Circular Philadelphia , the discussion will highlight how stakeholder alignment and pilot programs help move circular solutions into the market. AER Cosmetics will share its journey as a refillable beauty brand, including hard-won operational and supply chain lessons, while Sycamore International offers a future-of-packaging perspective, drawing parallels between electronics refurbishment and packaging return systems—from design for disassembly and modularity to reverse logistics at scale. And through the lens of Remark Glass , we will examine how post-consumer materials can be transformed into high-value products through local partnerships and zero-waste principles. Together, the session surfaces practical insights on packaging innovation, reverse logistics, and the collaborative infrastructure required to scale circular consumer products.


4:30 - 5:00pm - Day 1 Reflections & Group Discussion


Evening (Optional - In-person attendees only)
Informal Member Dinner / Networking (details TBA)

Agenda

Day 2 - Thursday, April 16, 2026

8:30 - 9:15am - Breakfast and Networking (In-person attendees only)


9:15 - 10:15am - Panel Discussion: Aligning Innovation, Operations, and Marketing to Scale Good Growth 
Exploring how internal alignment, incentives, and storytelling either enable or stall innovation momentum—and what leading teams are doing differently.


10:15 - 10:45am - Sustainable AI: Measuring Environmental Impact Deploying Generative AI and Agentic AI - Part I
Speaker/s: Franco Amalfiand Aidan Altman, Capgemini
This conversation will include an overview of key environmental impact areas for consideration when deploying generative and agentic AI, and how to measure and track impacts.


10:45 - 11:15am - Sustainable AI: Measuring Environmental Impact Deploying Generative AI and Agentic AI - Part II
Interactive discussion / Q&A around impact mitigation strategies and how to track and address them over time.


11:15 - 11:45am - Networking Break (In-person attendees only)


11:45am - 12:15pm - AI for Sustainability: Leveraging AI to Advance Scale and Sustainability - Part I
Speaker/s: Franco Amalfiand Aidan Altman, Capgemini
This discussion will identify opportunities and share case studies to support brands in understanding where AI can make the biggest impact in their organization, where to invest, and how to find the right partners for success.


12:15 - 12:45pm - AI for Sustainability: Leveraging AI to Advance Scale and Sustainability - Part II
Interactive discussion / Q&A around scaling strategies and how to track impact outcomes.


12:45 - 1:00pm - Networking Break (In-person attendees only)


1:00- 1:15pm - SB Member Cohorts: Update and Feedback Survey
This brief discussion will spotlight Sustainable Brands' Member Cohorts: member-exclusive, peer-to-peer groups designed to foster candid exchange, practical problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration around priority topics. Cohorts provide structured opportunities for members to learn from one another, pressure-test ideas, and accelerate progress on shared challenges. Members will have the opportunity to respond to a Cohort Feedback Survey, gathering insights into what Members most value in a peer cohort experience, which topics should be prioritized next, and where deeper collaboration is needed.


1:15 - 2:15pm - Lunch and Networking Break (In-person attendees only)


2:15 - 2:45pm - Stay Tuned - additional content to be announced soon!


2:45 - 3:30pm - Innovating for Resilience
Hear case studies of business model innovation designed to deliver growth by meeting the need for more resilient cities and communities and supply chains.


3:30 - 4:00pm - Reflection and Closing Conversations
A synthesis of shared insights, emerging opportunities, and implications for Members' innovations roadmaps heading into SB'26 for continued learning. Updated on Member events at SB'26 (June 8-10) and cohort opportunities.

Who should attend
 

Sustainable Brands curates Member-exclusive experiences for our network to help guide their journeys toward becoming truly sustainable brands. This meeting is available to the SB Member community networks only.
We encourage brand leaders across innovation, growth, brand voice and values, internal engagement and transformation, as well as consumer communications and marketing to join this interdisciplinary dialogue.
*All SB Member Meetings operate under the Chatham House Rule. By registering for the event, I grant permission for Sustainable Brands Media to use video or photographs of me for promotional purposes.
 

Bring A Guest
Our SB Member Meetings rely on deep cross-sector partnership, collaboration, and alignment. Do you have a colleague at another company who would make a great addition to the SB Member Network? If so, bring them as a guest to this Member Meeting! Together, we can co-create sustainable solutions to support a more regenerative ecosystem.
Contact us at engage@sustainablebrands.com for details.

Member-Exclusive In-person Experiences: 

Wednesday, 4/15, SB Member Network Dinner
Details to be announced

In-Person Travel Details

The April Member Meeting will be held at the Braskem Headquarters in Philadelphia, PA.

Please use the link below to reserve your room at a discounted rate. This rate will expire on March 16, 2026.

Sonesta Philadelphia, Rittenhouse Square
1800 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Registration details:

 

Space is limited - be sure to register for your member-exclusive admission!
 

Registration will close on Thursday, April 9, 2026.

Miss the deadline? Reach out to your account director for availability.

We hope to see you there!