Executive Roundtable Salons


October 22, 2014 Salon, Sustainable Chemicals & Materials Roundtable – Sleuthing the Supply Chain: Capturing Chemical & Material Content

Building on a professional commitment to non-partisan collaboration and results, working with all levels of government, NGOs, and industry, THG redefined how it reveals and shares information to its clients, colleagues, and partners through the creation of its Executive Roundtable Salon Series. THG utilizes each roundtable to foster a meaningful conversation among trusted practitioners, subject matter experts, and decision-makers with the objective of engaging, sharing information, and examining barriers and opportunities for problem solving or game-changing innovation.

  • Superfund Initiative Roundtable
    August 10, 2017 / Washington, DC

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched an initiative to promote expeditious remediation and revitalization of Superfund sites. The goal of the initiative is to dramatically improve the progress of cleanups across the country by incentivizing stakeholders, encouraging private investment in cleanups, and applying best practices that lead to full beneficial use of properties across the country. A Superfund Task Force established by the U.S. EPA Administrator published a set of recommendations on July 25, 2017 to meet this goal.

    To foster an effective response to this initiative, THG in partnership with HSW Engineering convened a Roundtable workshop on August 10, 2017 with federal and state agencies, private and public responsible parties, and nongovernmental organizations to exchange ideas and identify creative, workable solutions to mitigate administrative, technical, and financial barriers to completing environmental cleanups and returning properties to productive use.

    Download Roundtable Overview Materials
    Download Roundtable Summary Report

  • Great Lakes, Rivers, and Gulf CESU Inter-Unit Scoping Roundtable
    March 29-30, 2016 / East Alton, IL

    On March 29-30, 2016, in cooperation with the Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit (CESU) Program, THG helped to organize a scoping roundtable of CESU Directors and member institutions to discuss the potential for a Great Lakes, Rivers, and Gulf Inter-Unit (GLRG) Research Consortium. Hosted at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers in East Alton, IL, the purpose of the scoping effort was to identify pathways to optimize collaboration on complex system-scale challenges and reveal an institutional arrangement and integrative synergy in support of Federal Agencies whose missions and programs contribute to informed policy and management of our nation’s most critical and iconic large aquatic ecosystems.

    In preparation for the scoping roundtable, a foundational document was developed to elaborate the Consortium concept, its focus, and mission.

    Download Foundational Planning Report
    Download Proceedings Report

  • United States–Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council Roundtables
    September 17, 2015 / Washington, DC and September 22, 2015 / Toronto, Ontario

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada/Health Canada are working together under the next phase of the Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC). The goal of RCC generally is to increase regulatory transparency and coordination between the two countries. RCC will have as one of its areas of focus a comparison and alignment of U.S. EPA’s Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) and Canada’s Significant New Activity (SNAc) programs.

    In an effort to compare the SNUR and SNAc programs and identify and facilitate areas of compliance promotion and transparency, THG, on behalf of U.S. EPA, convened stakeholders throughout the supply chain and facilitated two roundtable discussions focused on opportunities to enhance supply chain chemical communication and improve SNUR/SNAc compliance.  One roundtable was held on September 17, 2015, in Washington, DC, and the other on September 22, 2015, in Toronto, Canada.  Each roundtable focused on its respective regulatory framework, and the final proceedings report summarizes these discussions and includes recommendations for more consistent and effective approaches to SNUR/SNAc compliance promotion activities.

    Download Background Report
    Download Roundtable Resources
    Download Final Proceedings Report

  • Sustainable Chemicals & Materials Roundtable – Sleuthing the Supply Chain: Capturing Chemical & Material Content
    October 22, 2014 / Washington, DC

    The Sustainable Chemicals & Materials Roundtable comprised a group of stakeholders from government, private industry, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties and provided a forum for discussion on the opportunities, challenges, and existing efforts underway for reporting the chemical and material contents through working with suppliers. The roundtable provided a unique opportunity for mutual learning, information gathering, and sharing of views among a diverse group of seasoned stakeholders.
    • Marianne Horinko, President, THG (Moderator)
    • Drew Rak, Senior Principal Scientist, Noblis Inc. (Moderator)
    • Paul Yaroschak, Deputy for Chemical & Material Risk Management, Office of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (I&E) (Presenter)
    • Tim Sheehan, Regulatory and Risk Manager, Global Substances Program, Raytheon Company (Presenter)
    • Brenda Baney, Product Stewardship Manager, Delphi Automotive (Presenter)
    • Amy Lilly, Senior Environmental Regulatory Engineer, Hyundai-Kia (Presenter)
    • Richard Leahy, Vice President, EH&S Compliance, Walmart (Presenter)
    • Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety & Pollution Prevention, U.S. EPA (Keynote)
  • Green & Sustainable Remediation Roundtable
    June 3, 2014 / Washington, DC

    Convened by the Sustainable Remediation Initiative and hosted and moderated by THG, the Green & Sustainable Remediation Roundtable comprised a dynamic and experienced group of public and private sector leaders in environmental remediation, convening an informed discussion on the current process for implementing Green and Sustainable Remediation (GSR) across the federal and state cleanup programs, and how to begin improving the opportunities for the advancement of GSR concepts.
    • Marianne Horinko, President, THG (Moderator)
    • Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. EPA (Keynote)
    • Nick Garson, President, Sustainable Remediation Forum (Keynote)

  • Sustainable Chemicals & Materials Roundtable – An Information Exchange: Moving From High Risk to Low Risk Chemicals
    December 6, 2013 / Washington, DC

    The Sustainable Chemicals & Materials Roundtable comprised a group of stakeholders from government, private industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties debating the current state of laws, policies, and procedures to integrate sustainable chemicals and materials into systems and products. The roundtable included discussions on processes for developing, testing, and implementing sustainable alternatives and provided a unique opportunity for mutual learning, information gathering, and sharing of views among affected stakeholders.
    • Marianne Horinko, President, THG (Facilitator)
    • Drew Rak, Senior Principal Scientist, Noblis Inc. (Moderator)
    • Maria Doa, Director, Chemical Control Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. EPA (Keynote)
    • John Conger, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Installations & Environment (Keynote)

  • Financing Water Infrastructure through Public-Private Partnerships: Finding the Right Model
    April 30, 2012 / Washington, DC

    This program explored non-traditional financing models through public-private partnerships to address the pressing water infrastructure challenges facing our nation. Thought leaders from drinking and wastewater utilities, state and federal government, interstate commissions, economists, lenders, and community planners will test old assumptions and seek innovative solutions to the mounting backlog.
    • G. Tracy Mehan, Principal, The Cadmus Group (Moderator)
    • Brendan McGinnis, Water Division Director, THG (Opening Remarks)
    • Brent Fewell, VP of Environmental Compliance, United Water (Featured Presenter)

  • The Next Farm Bill: New Opportunities for Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability
    March 15, 2011 / Washington, DC

    THG partnered with the Northeast-Midwest Institute on a scoping effort to forge a better understanding among representatives of the environmental and farming communities with respect to their Farm Bill interests; understand and help improve the level of trust among those parties; and, develop a consensus centered upon common Farm Bill interests.
    • Mark Gorman, Policy Analyst, Northeast-Midwest Institute (Moderator)
    • Patrick McGinnis, Water Resources Team Leader, THG (Opening Remarks)
    • Ann Mills, Deputy Undersecretary, Natural Resources and Environment, USDA (Keynote)

  • Engaging the Public for River Sustainability and Livable Communities
    October 25, 2010 / National Great Rivers Museum, East Alton, IL

    Hosted along the iconic Mississippi River, THG partnered with the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center to continue the exploration of civic engagement as a means for river sustainability and livable communities. Innovative leaders in the field made inroads with models and lessons learned that could be applied to rivers and whole water systems.
    • Anne Lewis, Founder, America’s Waterway (Moderator)
    • Todd Ambs, President, River Network (Opening Remarks)
    • Theo Brown, Senior Associate, AmericaSpeaks (Closing Remarks)

 

  • Addressing Water Issues and Finding Common Direction through a Social Capital Framework
    August 31, 2010 / Washington, DC

    A new model for assessing system-wide water issues was presented through a “social capital” framework. The power of social networking and the value of human, natural, and financial/built capital were examined as a means for addressing water problems and improving water resource awareness.
    • Dr. Stephen P. Gasteyer, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Michigan State University (Moderator)
    • Marianne L. Horinko, President, THG (Opening Remarks)

 

  • Water Managers and Decision-Makers: Searching for Synergy
    June 15, 2010 / Washington, DC

    The “Water Box Dilemma” was deconstructed, whereas water professionals (inside the box), are disconnected from decision-makers (outside the box) that influence the allocation of human and financial resources necessary to meet water challenges.
    • Dr. Gerald E. Galloway, retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Brigadier General (Moderator)
    • Bob Pietrowsky, Director, Institute for Water Resources, USACE (Opening Remarks)