Driving Plant-Based Product Feedstock Diversity

Just as the range of available plant-based products continues to expand, so does the use of more unique feedstocks. This session will feature speakers representing a variety of diverse feedstocks being used to make plant-based products, including hemp, seaweed, and grasses. Panelists will share their perspectives on the promise of those feedstocks, where and how they may be used, and what can be done to further support broader adoption and understanding of those respective feedstocks.

The Role of Rural America in Plant-Based Products

Agriculture is essential to America’s leadership in plant-based chemicals and the bioeconomy. The efficiency and productivity of the nation’s corn farmers drives the economic and sustainability engines we have committed to at the national and global level. Without widespread transformation of carbon dioxide into practical and useful forms, which can be done using solar energy, it will be difficult to achieve carbon negative products as well as energy, chemical, and material independence for the U.S. Corn and the other feedstocks that make up those practical and useful forms are true miracle crops – what else captures carbon dioxide using the sun and can be stored for years until it is needed for fuel, chemical, or material production? Let’s see how agriculture can continue to be America’s super tool.

Bottlenecks in the Scale-Up of the Bioeconomy

The scale-up of the bioeconomy depends on a strategic and comprehensive web of resources including infrastructure, capacity, and the workforce. This panel showcases the not-for-profit BioP2P Network that is focused on supporting scale-up of the bioeconomy through a connected community. Moderated by Matt Gardner, Board President of BioP2P Network and Head of Life Sciences Americas at CBRE, panelists will highlight bottlenecks on each of these key issues.

Organics Diversion and Compostable Products: A Review of Current Opportunities and Challenges 

Using BPI’s Roadmap as a guide, a panel of experts will discuss the current challenges and opportunities associated with an organics diversion system that includes compostable products. In this session, hear about a 2022 study looking at the correlation between the use of compostable products and food scrap collection, first-of-its-kind consumer research that measures the effectiveness of different on-item labeling techniques, the effort to create a standardized field testing protocol at ASTM, EPR as a mechanism to support composters, and other topics pertaining to the broader acceptance of compostable products.