Is Sustainability Sustainable?
[This is a talk in Changemaker Gear Up Training Series (GUTS)*]
With creativity, everyone can turn waste into something valuable, and even profitable.
In this talk, Consultant of Drink without Waste, Helga Vanthournout, will share how we can reduce plastic ocean waste and Kevin Shi from Green Paws Limited will share his entrepreneurship journey and how it will promote sustainability. Prof. Davis Bookhart from HKUST Sustainability Unit will be the moderator to facilitate the discussion.
Speaker:
Helga Vanthournout
Drink without Waste
Applying 20 years of professional experience to helping organizations find the straightest path towards circular models. Lead author on critically acclaimed reports on Circular Economy. Deep and broad client service in the space of Circular Economy and sustainability strategy and transformation built up over 13 years at McKinsey & Company.
Before joining McKinsey, Helga worked as a scientific officer on REACH and Life Cycle Assessment issues with the European Commission’s European Chemicals Bureau. She was also a product manager in the high-tech and B2B software industry in Canada and Germany. Helga holds an MBA from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland; an MSc degree in Environmental Management and Policy from Lund University in Sweden; and a Master’s in Environmental Engineering from Ghent University in Belgium.
Speaker:
Kelvin Shi
Founder
Green Paws Limited
Kelvin Shi is the founder of Green Paws Limited, established 2017. It is the only company in Hong Kong that recycles wood waste and upcycles into cat litter; the entire process from recycling wood waste, to producing and packaging is a hundred percent made in Hong Kong. Our mission is to reduce Hong Kong’s wood waste and upcycle them into a product that can be used and consumed by our own people.
Green Paws’ motto is “Love Hong Kong, Love our Furry Friends”. Kelvin brought this idea to live by introducing new technology and setting up local manufacture. Wood waste collected from different industries in Hong Kong went through series of manufacturing processes, and upcycled to wooden cat litter; giving them a second life and at the same time reduces landfill consumption in Hong Kong.
Moderator:
Prof. Davis Bookhart
Senior Manager and Head
HKUST Sustainability Unit
Davis Bookhart joined HKUST in 2013 to develop the university’s first comprehensive sustainability master plan (the HKUST 2020 Sustainability Challenge). After adoption by University Council, Bookhart now serves as the steward of the Plan’s implementation, and has an academic appointment in the Division of Environment and Sustainability. Bookhart came to HKUST after eight years as the founding director of the Office of Sustainability at Johns Hopkins University, following six years as Senior Research Director at the Consumer Energy Council of America. He is Chair of the Task Force on Sustainability Progress of the HK Sustainable Campus Consortium, and serves as Advisory Board member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Remarks:
- Priority will be given to HKUST Connect registrants (Start your changemaking journey with HKUST Connect: https://connect.ust.hk/get-involved/register-with-hkust-connect/register)
- Faculty and staff who would like to join the event can email us at connect@ust.hk.
- To avoid interruption and hindering the progress of session, instructors may not admit new participants who are late for more than 15 minutes.
- Participants who are away from the session for 15 minutes or more may not be able to attain the HLTH1010 course hours.
* Complete 3 GUTS workshops to get a certificate of participation.
HLTH1010 Course Hours:
Upon complete attendance of the workshop, participants may attain a maximum of 1.5 hours in "Wellness & Personal Enrichment Events" in the "Activities" module.