Vinyl > 2020 Vinyl360 Conference Recap

Vinyl360 Conference: Building Resilience

Thank you for joining us for the 2020 Vinyl360. We hope you enjoyed the presentations and were able to leave with some new knowledge about the vinyl and PVC industry. Below, you will find speaker presentations that were made available to VI and recordings linked below, so that you may reference them in the future.

Wednesday, November 11, 2020:

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Vinyl Institute Board of Directors Meeting.
1:10 pm – 1:30 pm Advancing the Vinyl Industry’s Sustainability Initiative with Jay Thomas, VP of Sustainability for the VI and Executive Director of the Vinyl Sustainability Council. Thomas shared an update on where they vinyl industry’s sustainability journey is heading. Click here to view recording.
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm COVID Impacts on Municipal Water Utilities and Future Infrastructure Improvements with Richard Anderson, Managing Director, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Water Council. Anderson presented research indicating the Great Recession (December 2007-June 2009) caused municipal water and sewer utilities to pare budgets, shift resources to continue service for public health protection, and ultimately stifle up to $105 billion in utility infrastructure investment over more than a decade. Utilities charge customers for service through direct billing or through property taxes (or combination) and recessions with high unemployment threaten the revenue streams so budgets shift resources to accomplish priority missions. These lingering effects on infrastructure spending are important and may offer an insight into what the COVID-19 recession impacts might look like. Anderson also made several whitepapers available to attendees. Click here to download a zip file. Click here to view recording.
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Challenges and Opportunities for Wastewater Treatment Facilities in the Era of COVID with Christina Davenport, Program Manager, Environment Compliance, City of Bend, OR. A Bend, Oregon, employee shares how a Bend Wastewater Treatment facility is assisting in predicting COVID outbreaks as well as future opportunities for PVC piping materials in the city’s vibrant craft brewing industry. Click here to view recording.
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Sustainability Trends in Codes and Standards with David Purkiss, Vice President with NSF International, Global Water Division. A codes and standards expert discusses the shift in codes and standards to address sustainability issues. Click here to view recording.
3:15 pm – 4:00 pm Vinyl Institute Awards Presentation. The VI recognized the T.T. Chao Family, of Westlake Chemical Company, with the VI Lifetime Achievement Award, and presented 36 facilities with 52 awards for outstanding health, safety, and environmental performance.

Thursday, November 12, 2020:

12:00 pm – 12:25 pm Election Outcomes and the Road Ahead. A conversation with Michael Bell, Hogan Lovells, and his perspective on the next four years.
12:25 pm – 12:55 pm Moving Toward a Lower Carbon World with Dr. Robert Zeller, Vice President of Technology for Oxy Low Carbon Ventures. Hear how Oxy is advancing their vision of a low carbon world. Learn how they are focusing on reducing their total carbon impact by decreasing operational emissions, increasing energy efficiency, and capturing and retiring more carbon then their products create – and providing solutions to others looking to do the same. Click here to view recording.
12:55 pm – 1:15 pm Election Outcomes and the Road Ahead. A conversation with Fred Turner, Chief of Staff for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his perspective on the next four years.
1:15 pm – 1:30 pm VI Award Presentation. The VI recognized Richard Church, Executive Director of the Plastic Pipe & Fittings Association as the Industry Partner of the Year.
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Bonus Session: What to Expect During the Next Administration? A conversation with Former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Bob Kyle, Partner at Hogan Lovells.

Depending on the outcome of the election, we’ll get the inside scoop on what to anticipate with the next Administration. What will be the focus for various agencies? Who will be likely cabinet prospects? What will be the priorities in the first 100 days? Join us for an interesting and lively session.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020:

12:00 pm – 12:40 pm Current and Future Trends Affecting Product Sectors. Hear from Kate Offringa, President and CEO of the Vinyl Siding Institute and Bruce Hollands, Executive Director, PVP Pipe Association about the trends that will provide opportunities and challenges in their members’ market sectors. Click here to view recording.
12:40 pm – 1:20 pm How to Talk about Sustainable Attributes of PVC with your Customers. A panel discussion with Stan Graveline, Sika Corporation, Eric Anderson, Halstead Towers, and David Brennan with AZEK, moderated by Jenna Rowe. The panel discussed how to approach life-cycling thinking, embodied carbon, and the role of LCAs and Environmental Product Declarations and discussing other sustainability attributes in the sales process. Click here to view recording.
1:20 pm – 2:00 pm Current and Future Trends Affecting Product Sectors. Hear from Marci Kinter, Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs, United Printing Alliance and Dean Thompson, President and CEO of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute about the trends that will provide opportunities and challenges in their members’ market sectors. Click here to view recording.