This year’s Sustainable Brands Conference in Monterey featured a panel discussion this morning on the urgent need for responsible recycling of electronics and how take-back programs can benefit both the environment and the bottom line. John S. Shegerian, Chairman and CEO of Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the nation’s leading recycler of electronic waste, organized and moderated the panel discussion, which also featured Brenda Mathison, Director of Environmental Affairs for Best Buy, and Tatyana Kjelberg, Director of Product Recycling Solutions for Hewlett-Packard.
Shegerian argued that it is now “far too late to sweep this problem under the rug” and urged his fellow industry leaders to work with regional legislators to establish effective systems to correctly dispose of the massive amounts of unwanted electronics currently flooding the waste stream.
He also explained the mounting environmental problems caused by the glut of our nation’s e- waste as well as the forthcoming “tsunami-like” increase of e-waste with the impending national television switchover to digital.
The theme of this year’s packed Sustainable Brands Conference was the exploration of the changing landscape of challenges and opportunity for tomorrow’s business and brands. Sustainable Brands ’08 was hosted by Sustainable Life Media, a home for business professionals seeking to build value and competitive advantage by innovating more sustainable strategies, practices and products.
“It has been an honor and privilege to be a part of this extraordinary conference,” said Shegerian, “where many of the country’s foremost innovators and business leaders gather to discuss potential solutions to some of the ways businesses can discover their own sustainable DNA – for everyone’s benefit. Electronic waste is certainly a challenge with dramatic global environmental and human rights implications, but with very real solutions. It’s exciting to share the stage with Best Buy and Hewlett-Packard, two amazing brands taking proactive measures to help solve the e-waste problem.”