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CO Chapter: Reducing Plastic Waste: Lessons from Germany and Opportunities for Colorado Businesses

  • Event

April 16, 2026 | 4:00PM MST

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Event Details:

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Germany recently reported a significant achievement: a reduction of approximately 4 kg of plastic waste per capita from 2023 to 2024. What drove this success? And what can we learn from it here in Colorado?
Join us for an engaging session that explores:

German Best Practices – Discover the regulations, incentives, and innovative approaches that helped Germany curb plastic waste.
Colorado’s Current Landscape – Understand where we stand in comparison and what policies or initiatives are shaping our progress.
Actionable Strategies for Businesses – Gain practical ideas and real-world examples to help your organization reduce plastic waste and improve sustainability.

This event is designed for businesses committed to environmental responsibility and eager to take meaningful steps toward reducing plastic waste. Whether you’re just starting your sustainability journey or looking to enhance existing efforts, you’ll leave with insights and tools to make a measurable impact.
 

Event Speakers

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    Nivedita Biyani, Ph.D.

    Strategic Energy Analysis Center - National Rocky Mountain Laboratory (NRL) Nivedita Biyani is a civil and environmental engineer with 14 years of international experience across five continents, specializing in waste reduction, resource recovery, and circular economy solutions. Her work spans engineering biogas systems in India, to designing packaging take-back schemes and extended producer responsibility policies at the National Environmental Agency in Singapore, to shaping global plastics waste policy at the United Nations in Vienna, to advising governments and industry executives on waste reduction pathways at international forums in Bangkok, Singapore, and Nairobi. She is currently a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where she works on circular economy models diverting waste from landfills. She is currently exploring the ways AI can aid recovery of critical materials from waste streams. Holding a Ph.D. in Civil, Environmental & Sustainable Engineering and a Master's in Sustainability, she has published in Science and Nature and is fluent in English, German and 3 other languages. Nivedita brings a rare global perspective to the topic of waste.

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    Ivan Rodrigo Balseca

    DHL Global Forwarding – Director of Sales, West Region (U.S. Ivan Rodrigo Balseca is a global logistics strategist with extensive experience supporting organizations across the United States, Latin America, and Europe through optimized, efficient, and forward-thinking supply-chain solutions. At DHL Global Forwarding, he partners with companies to design tailored logistics models that reduce complexity, enhance operational reliability, and advance long-term sustainability goals within international trade flows. With a career spanning air, ocean, and multimodal operations, Ivan has led solution-design and customer-engagement initiatives that emphasize efficiency, waste reduction, and data-driven decision-making—core pillars of sustainable logistics. He holds a degree in Economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and is fluent in English and Spanish. Ivan is passionate about helping companies strengthen their environmental impact through more responsible and transparent freight strategies. In today’s roundtable, Ivan brings the perspective of a global forwarder committed to building resilient, sustainable transportation solutions that support both environmental responsibility and economic performance.

Moderator

Dr. Samuel Gage (Sam) directs strategic analysis and modeling for industrial efficiency and decarbonization at CLEAResult Energetics LLC, exploring the impact emerging technology deployment may have on industrial competitiveness and transformation. His core expertise resides in energy and resource efficiency, electrification, and alternative fuels and feedstocks in energy-intensive manufacturing sectors. Sam is an interdisciplinary consultant with more than a decade of experience in industrial process modeling, energy impacts analysis, carbon accounting and reporting, cost analysis, lifecycle assessment, roadmapping, and project and program management. His day-to-day involves collaboration across interdisciplinary teams and driving strategic initiatives for clients, including the U.S. Department of Energy, State governments, national laboratories, and utilities.

 

Sam’s hold a Ph.D. in Applied Chemistry from the Colorado School of Mines. His professional background has been greatly shaped by German institutions. He completed a master’s degree in Applied Chemistry at the Clausthal University of Technology in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany and worked as a researcher at the German Aerospace Center of Networked Energy Systems and the Max-Planck Institute for Coal Research. Sam joined the GACC-CO board of directors in 2023 and was selected to participate in the 43rd American Council on Germany Young Leaders Conference in Berlin.

Sam Gage Speaker info

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