Michigan's Great Southwest Sustainable Business Forum is working to expand opportunities for Michigan businesses and institutions to participate in the development of a circular economy and decarbonize through investments in recycled content and lower carbon products and components. 

This event will feature two of the state's most exciting current investments in recycling infrastructure and circular design, and highlight additional work from Michigan Sustainable Business Forum and Whirlpool to advance the use of recycled content and other lower carbon materials.

• Darwin Baas, Director of Kent County Department of Public Works will introduce the Kent County Sustainable Business Park, a generational investment in the development of a circular economy in the region.  The $370 million project recently signed an anchor tenant that in the near future will begin manufacturing building products and producing renewable energy from municipal solid waste at a 250-acre site in Allegan County. 
• Brianna Meeker, a project manager for the PADNOS Sustainability City, will introduce how the initiative is piloting new strategies to process post-consumer recycled content for use by local manufacturers. She will highlight specific examples from automotive and durable products, and discuss how this work supports the company's investments in Southwest Michigan.
• Whirlpool will provide an introduction to its efforts to incorporate recycled content and lower carbon materials into its products as part of its sustainability strategy.
• Michigan Sustainable Business Forum will introduce its own efforts to create a framework to provide expertise on the use and practical limitations of recycled content in manufacturing operations, supply chains, procurement and other end uses.

Tuesday, June 14, Noon - 1:30 pm