Racing to the Top: Accountability, Transparency, and Sustainability in Global Trade

In a remarkably short period of time, supply chains have grown to dominate global trade as all manner of consumer products are increasingly made across multiple countries rather than within a single country. Supply chains have become increasingly long and complex. As companies seek to maximize profits and efficiencies in their supply chains, shifting consumer preferences are also driving companies to be more transparent in the composition and sustainability of their supply chains.

Join the World Affairs Council for a discussion with industry leaders and NGOs to explore how and why companies are taking a proactive approach to sustainability and transparency in their sectors.

Please email RSVP@world-affairs.org if you are registering as a high-school student (free) or university student ($5).

About the Panelists: 

Robin Barr serves as a Global Director with The Forest Trust (TFT). She has over 15 years international experience developing and managing successful projects for poverty alleviation, community empowerment, environmental conservation and fulfillment of human rights in some of the most challenging and remote regions of the world. Robin also serves as the Global Director of the Center for Social Excellence, an initiative of TFT aimed at training social practitioners to work with companies, governments, and civil society organizations. Prior to becoming a Global Director, Robin served as Regional Lead for the Americas, Country Manager for TFT U.S., and Social Specialist in TFT's SE Asia and Indonesia operations.

Her work with TFT has focused on coaching multi-national corporations to address social challenges in their own operations and their supply chains, especially at the farm, plantation, and forest level. She has worked extensively with smallholders and large-scale producers across SE Asia, North America and Latin America, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, USA and Brazil. Prior to joining TFT in 2004, Robin has lived and worked in Kenya, Belize and India. She holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Everette Anderson is the MSC's (Marine Stewardship Council) Senior Commercial Manager for the Western U.S. He is originally from Dillingham, Alaska — home to the world's largest wild sockeye Salmon run. Everette is a former Bristol Bay commercial fisher and worked on pollock catcher/processors in the Bering Sea. Working for the State of Alaska's Department of Commerce, Western Alaska CDQ (Community Development Quota) groups and Tribal seafood enterprises in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, Everette brings community development, stakeholder engagement, advocacy, domestic and international marketing/sales and seafood product development experience. The MSC is an international non-profit organization - recognizing and rewarding efforts to protect oceans and safeguard seafood supplies for the future.

Katie Cava, as the Corporate Sustainability Analyst at Weyerhaeuser, supports the company's forest and procurement certification program. This program provides assurances that Weyerhaeuser is managing its forests according to third-party sustainability standards and that its wood products are made with responsibly sourced fiber. Additionally, she works with the Corporate Sustainability team to help Weyerhaeuser measure and communicate their progress toward achieving company-wide sustainability goals. Before joining Weyerhaeuser, Katie worked on community-based urban forest restoration programs at both the City of Kirkland and Forterra, a Washington-based non-profit. Outside of work, Katie enjoys exploring the mountains and coastlines of the Pacific Northwest and attempting to grow food year-round in her backyard garden. Katie holds a B.S. in Biology from Boston College and is currently pursuing an M.B.A. at Seattle University with a focus on Sustainable Business.