Your ally in energy management

ClimateWork Maine's Sustainability Council presents this session. Most sustainability conversations focus on doing less harm: using less energy, emitting less carbon, wasting less. But what if we aimed higher? What if we could design waste out of our systems entirely, and create lasting value in the process? In this highly interactive session, you’ll experience the circular economy in action with a tour of a workplace intentionally designed around circular principles. Through dynamic small-group engagement, you’ll discover how circularity is not just about materials. It’s a way of thinking that can be applied to any industry: manufacturing, professional services, technology, retail, food service, and more. From re-imagining resources to reinventing business models, you’ll leave with fresh insights, practical inspiration, and a mindset shift that expands how you define sustainability and success. Presenter: Lisa Whited, a certified circular economy specialist, author of Work Better. Save the Planet, and a consultant to organizations ranging from global corporations to local nonprofits. A current doctoral student in organizational development and change, she led the circular strategy and workplace redesign for the host location of this session and is passionate about using systems thinking and inclusive practices to drive climate-positive transformation. Please pre-register here.

Maine has its first Green Schools Program that works to promote energy savings, efficiency, and pollution reduction in Maine Schools. Schools are one of the largest polluters in our public infrastructure thus making issues of energy options in facilities and transportation crucial factors in a sustainable future. Our speaker is Glenn Cummings, Director of the Maine Green Schools Program, who will describe the program’s action plans for 2025-2026 and beyond. Glenn formerly served as president of the University of Southern Maine and Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. His doctoral dissertation researched effective strategies for schools to improve environmental principles in facilities and curriculum.