Meet the Judges

Sustainable Innovations LLC John Bernardo is the manager of Sustainable Innovations LLC, and former Sustainable Packaging Coalition executive committee member. He consults with businesses to identify, strategize, implement and monitor process and technological improvements designed to increase operating efficiencies, reduce environmental and societal impacts, and enhance employee morale, customer perceptions, and investor relations.

Bernardo has more than 13 years experience in providing pollution prevention, energy conservation, recycling and sustainable operations assistance to large and small businesses ranging from grocery retailers to copper smelters to packagers and coaters to the U.S. Air Force. He was instrumental in many of the packaging initiatives launched by Albertsons Food and Drug to enhance container recycling and resource conservation.

Associate Director of Sustainability, The Procter & Gamble Company Tony joined Procter & Gamble in 1988 after graduating from McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada with a degree in Chemical Engineering and Management.  Tony has worked in virtually every area of Product Development including Products Research, Process Development and Package Development.

His assignments have spanned a diverse portfolio of product categories including:  Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, New Business Development, Beauty Care, Baby Care, Family Care, Market Development and Corporate Research.

Currently, Tony has responsibility for Procter & Gamble's overall global packaging sustainability efforts.

Managing Director, European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN) Since Julian Carroll's appointment in 1993, EUROPEN has grown under his leadership to become the recognized voice of industry on issues of packaging and the environment in Europe. EUROPEN acts as a catalyst of stakeholder dialogue to promote greater understanding and acceptance of the function and vital contribution of packaging to resource efficiency and sustainable development.

Before assuming responsibilities at EUROPEN, Carroll was director of corporate affairs/ Europe for Lawson Mardon Group, a Canadian company now part of Alcan Packaging. He had responsibility for group corporate environment policy where together with several other industry executives he saw the need for a pan-European industry body such as EUROPEN and helped to found it in 1991.

Carroll was born and grew up in Australia and later studied business administration at the University of Oregon.

Packaging Sustainability Director, Unilever Steph has been Packaging Sustainability Director for Unilever since April 2007. He joined Unilever in 1992 as Country Packaging Manager (Personal Care) for the UK,  but soon began to specialize in deodorants, first for the Europe region, and ultimately globally, before moving to the newly created Sustainability Director role in 2007.

Before joining Unilever, Steph worked for Bristol Myers Toiletries Division. He joined Bristol Myers from the brewing industry having worked for Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, one of the UK's largest brewers.

Steph has a degree in Biochemistry.

Executive Director of Sustainability, Sealed Air Corporation In his position as Executive Director of Sustainability, Ronald Cotterman is responsible for the Sealed Air company-wide strategy for sustainable business practices. Sealed Air is a leading global innovator and manufacturer of a wide range of packaging and performance-based materials and equipment systems that serve an array of food, industrial, medical, and consumer applications. He has over 20 years of industrial experience in technology and business development across a diverse range of industries.

Cotterman has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Environmental Specialist, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Sara Hartwell is an environmental specialist in the EPA Office of Solid Waste (OSW). She is leading the OSW program to increase the recycling rate of packaging, in support of the EPA goal to increase the recovery rate of materials from the municipal solid waste stream to 35 percent in 2008.

Prior to joining the EPA, Hartwell spent 18 years as an environmental chemist conducting and managing hazardous waste methods development for the EPA and other federal agencies, some states, and for industrial clients. Hartwell was also a development chemist with a flexible packaging converter. She conducted problem-solving research on polymers, coatings, adhesives, inks, and aluminum foil.

Hartwell earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Guilford College.

Professor, Kobe University, Graduate School of Economics Masanobu Ishikawa has worked as an expert in the areas of recycling, energy savings, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, and packaging for more than 20 years. Among his many research activities, he has introduced quantified ecoefficiency analysis, methodologies for impact assessments of plastics waste management options, theoretical models of sorted collection of post-consumer waste that predict the cost and environment loads of recycling, logistics models for post consumer waste recycling, and models for predicting future emissions based of characteristics of stocks.

His recent activities extend from package recycling to food waste recycling to recycling of used home appliances. In 2006, he established Gomi-jp, a nonprofit organization, which aims to reduce waste through social redesign. He is president of Packaging Science and Technology, Japan, and is an advisor to the Japan Containers and Packaging Recycling Association. He is also a member of the Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, the Japan Society of Energy and Resources, and The Japan Society of Chemical Engineers.

Ishikawa is a 1977 graduate of The University of Tokyo and earned an M.S. from the Faculty of Engineering there in 1979.

Manager, Packaging Consumables and Quality, Target Corporation Kim Lymn is the manager of owned brand foods and consumables at Target in Minneapolis. She has worked for both Kraft Foods and General Mills in packaging development where she lead the package engineering teams for national brands such as Big G cereals and Kraft cheese.

Kim has an M.S. degree in packaging from Michigan State University.

Strategic Business Leader, Packaging and Technology Integrated Solutions (PTIS) Michael Richmond is a strategic business and technical leader with 25 years experience at PTIS, Kellogg's, Kraft and Michigan State University. During the last eight years, PTIS has helped more than 140 companies achieve better results through strategic organizational work as well as developing new growth, productivity and sustainable packaging initiatives across the value chain.

Prior to building PTIS, Richmond successfully developed, staffed, and led packaging organizations at both Kellogg's and Kraft. At Kellogg's, Richmond was responsible for developing and implementing start-up departments including Technology Discovery and Global Packaging Innovation.

Richmond was an assistant professor at Michigan State University in the School of Packaging. His Ph.D. in food science and his tenure in the packaging discipline have helped him better understand and provide enhanced integrated solutions for product and packaging systems.

Director, The Sustainable Packaging Coalition; and Senior Program Manager, GreenBlue Institute Anne Johnson joined GreenBlue in 2005 as senior program manager. She also is director of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, an industry working group inspired by cradle to cradle principles and dedicated to transforming packaging into a system that encourages economic prosperity and a sustainable flow of materials. Previously she was a senior environmental engineer and project manager at MBDC, a sustainable product consultancy. In 2003, she managed the EPA-sponsored Cradle to Cradle Design Challenge for E-Commerce Shipping Packaging and Logistics and helped form the Sustainable Packaging Coalition.

Johnson holds a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College, an M.S. from the University of Arizona, and a Master of Engineering degree in civil engineering from the University of Virginia.