Panelists:             

• Tom Schuler, CEO, Solidia Concrete
• Jan van Dokkum, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Beyers - Greentech
• Jonathan Porter, Chief Scientist, Federal Highway Administration
• Peter Quail, VP Precast Concrete, Innovation Division Lafarge

What are the biggest obstacles to disruptive innovations? Ease and cost of adoption. Innovations that fail to offer a competitive edge—that don’t make bottom-line sense with a clear focus on profits—are doomed to fail.

How can a sustainable innovation stand on its own two feet?  Sustainability is about competitiveness. Companies that don’t adopt sustainable technologies will struggle to compete, but added value must accompany a smaller footprint for sustainability to sell.

Join panel moderator Tom Schuler, CEO of start-up Solidia Technologies, who will share his vision that: “It can't just be green, it has to be better."

The panel will explore real-life case histories of shepherding innovation to industry adoption, including Solidia’s challenge of introducing its CO2-curing concrete technology that reduces the carbon footprint of cement and concrete up to 70% to an industry that hasn’t changed in nearly 200 years. Tom will be joined by key players along Solidia’s value chain, including an investor, a regulator, and an executive from an industry giant in Solidia’s target sector: Jan van Dokkum, Kleiner Perkins’ co-leader of their Geentech practice, will offer insights into how sustainable technologies are identified and funded; Jonathan Porter, Chief Scientist for the Federal Highway Administration, will share his experience evaluating new technologies and working to convince 50 state DOTs to climb on board; and Peter Quail of industry giant Lafarge will give a first-hand account of the balancing act juggling asset limitations with a market demanding innovation.

Bounce your questions and technology ideas off the panel as they outline the trajectory of innovation, from discovery to identification, funding to application development and eventual adoption by large, conservative industries reluctant to change.   

Featuring

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  Tom Schuler, CEO of Solidia Technologies

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  Jan van Dokkum, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield &...

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  Jonathan Porter, Chief Scientist, Federal Highway...

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  Peter Quail, VP of Precast Concrete, Lafarge