Since 2008, Bea Johnson and her family are dedicated to living a zero waste lifestyle; they generate a mere quart size jar of waste per year. Through her blog and her book Zero Waste Home, Bea launched a global movement and continues to inspire a growing community to take a stance against needless waste with the application of the 5R's: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot. She shatters misconceptions, proving that zero waste can not only be "stylish," but also lead to significant health benefits, and time and money savings.
Bea Johnson manages to talk about her personal journey with humour and without preaching. She brings an intimidating topic down to a manageable scale, lending a unique perspective and making Zero Waste less daunting. Her non-judgmental approach will inspire self-reflection and change. Bea talks about her lifestyle with passion and provides many practical solutions to living simply and reducing waste, but more importantly, finding happiness in our consumerist society.
Lauren Singer is an Environmental Studies graduate from NYU and former Sustainability Manager at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and the amount of trash that she has produced over the past three years can fit inside of a 16 oz. mason jar. She is author of the Zero Waste blog, Trash is for Tossers and founder of organic cleaning product company, The Simply Co.
In response to the increasing scarcity of raw materials, and inspired by Cradle to Cradle, the architect Thomas Rau founded Turntoo, a company which, by means of a new business model, acts as a driver for the circular economy.
Michael Braungart -- German chemist who is trying to reinvent the productive model of humanity. Along with the American architect William McDonough (his partner at McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry), wrote the book "Cradle to Cradle", which attempts to design a system in which there is no waste in industrial production.