All Routes Lead to Water

July 20-22, 27-29

9-11 a.m. CST (Virtual)

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The road to water innovation and stewardship starts here.

Sometimes that means talking about literal roads. On our first two days, we’ll talk about the intersection of roads and water in light of rising water levels, more extreme weather events and proposed infrastructure spending. Other topics on the six-day agenda include environmental, social and governance reporting (ESG); healthy buildings; and lessons from the Texas winter storm. We’ll even talk to a member of the White House Council on Environmental Quality about how water fits into the Biden administration’s climate change plans. Read on for the full agenda, and click here to see all speaker bios.

As deputy director of the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s Highways Division, Ed Sniffen is responsible for 2,500 lane miles of highway and 741 bridges across six Hawaiian Islands. But rising sea levels threaten all of that, with hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate and infrastructure at stake. Instead of waiting for the water to rise, Ed is making plans now to help Hawaii increase its resilience, keep the roads open and preserve its slice of paradise.

Roads and water are deeply intertwined, from the water required to create roads to the stormwater running off them when it rains. Hear from three experts – Susanne DesRoches, deputy director for infrastructure and energy at the New York City Office of Climate Resiliency and Office of Climate and Sustainability; Aimee Flannery, program analyst for the U.S. Department of Transportation; and Johnny Olson, Colorado director of transportation and operations for Horrocks Engineers and president of Move Colorado – about what we should keep in mind as the nation discusses some of the largest infrastructure packages in history, with water and roads intersecting at the center.

Today’s session is brought to you by the letters E (environment), S (social), and G (governance) and the number $51 billion. That’s how much net new money was invested in ESG funds last year. But what does ESG really mean, how is it measured and where does water stewardship fit in? We’ll talk to two experts – Julie Gorte, senior vice president for sustainable investing at Impax Asset Management, and Pat Ackerman, senior vice president for corporate responsibility and sustainability at A. O. Smith – about the ESG landscape, recent steps toward ESG regulation and what it all means for companies large and small.

Sara Gonzalez-Rothi made history as the White House’s first adviser focused solely on water, serving as senior director for water on the Council on Environmental Quality, which advises the President on climate change and coordinates the federal government’s efforts to improve, preserve and protect America’s environment. She’ll tell us where water stewardship and water technology fit into the administration’s plans as the U.S. gets serious about climate change. Afterward, Emilio Tenuta, Ecolab’s senior vice president for corporate responsibility, and Claudia Toussaint, chief sustainability officer at Xylem, will offer their response from a sustainable business perspective.

The world watched, stunned, as a historic snowstorm knocked out power and water for millions of Texans for days or even weeks. Carol Haddock, director of Houston Public Works, and Steve Clouse, COO of the San Antonio Water System, walk us through those harrowing days and discuss what they learned and what needs to be done to prepare for more extreme weather events caused by climate change.

Although the worst of the pandemic appears to be over, we’re finding there is no “getting back to normal,” especially when it comes to the workplace. Workers are demanding employers take their needs into consideration, including health and safety in the workplace, and consumers are demanding companies prioritize sustainability. Water technology and stewardship have a role to play on both sides. Matt Howard, The Water Council’s vice president of water stewardship and director of the Alliance for Water Stewardship North America, talks to Rodolfo Perez of the International WELL Building Institute and Patrick Boyle, director of corporate sustainability at Sloan Valve Company, about making buildings healthy in a post-pandemic world.

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OUR MODERATORS

Dean Amhaus President & CEO at The Water Council	Charles Fishman New York Times Best-Selling Author and Journalist	Matt Howard VP Water Stewardship at The Water Council & Director of AWS North America

Presenting sponsors

water warrior of the year sponsor

water leaders sponsors

water leaders Champions

Our thanks to Circle of Blue/Vector Center, Michael Best, The Nature Conservancy, Ramboll, SCS Global Services and VISIT Milwaukee.

podcast

Since we couldn’t hold our event in 2020, we created a podcast instead. You can find it here.