SLS Attends the 19th Annual RLA Conference & Expo
Sims Lifecycle Services (SLS) just wrapped up another successful year as Diamond Sponsor and exhibitor at RLA Conference & Expo. The 3-day event took place in Las Vegas from February 7-9, encompassing discussions and networking within the reverse logistics space. Many conversations focused on the importance of sustainability and the circular economy.
SLS global president, Ingrid Sinclair kicked off the conference by speaking at the RLA Women’s Luncheon. With over 100 women in attendance, she spoke about women executives finding their voices in a male centric field and overcoming habits that can affect success. Ingrid also mentioned co-creating Women Leading at Sims, a 10-month program designed to specifically address the unique learning needs of women leaders at Sims. It was wonderful seeing the audience engaging with Ingrid by asking thoughtful questions during the Q&A. As she finished her speaking session, Ingrid raffled off copies of the book “How Women Rise” by Sally Helgesen, a book she recommends to women looking to achieve their goals. Every woman in attendance received a gift card to use on the nonprofit fund lending website Kiva, to go towards a woman-led business in an underserved community.
On day two of the conference, SLS chief commercial officer, Sean Magann moderated the panel “The Circular Economy”, a discussion about circularity and how it intersects with sustainability. On the panel, he hosted Susan Krautbauer of Digitunity, Shawn Stockman of Onepak Inc, and Mark Petruzzi of SERI. Each panelist provided insights on how circularity and sustainability are independent of each other, but essential together to provide both a circular business model and improvement of environmental, social and economic factors. It was a pleasure hosting the panelists and discussing such a hot topic for the reverse logistics industry.
To conclude the event, SLS raffled off two refurbished laptops to encourage the sustainable reuse of electronics. As a leader in sustainability, it was important that it was reflected in the company’s contributions. It’s not the only way SLS pushed sustainability at RLA this year, as the company also opted out of material giveaways. Instead, SLS encouraged attendees to visit the company’s booth for a newly developed verified carbon offsetting program. Attendees filled out a survey about where they traveled to the event from and how they traveled. Upon completion of the survey, their event travel was offset.
SLS also featured its award-winning sustainability calculator at the booth (see here). The calculator provides clients with transparent sustainability reporting suitable to contribute to corporate carbon accounting. Attendees at the conference enjoyed interacting with and seeing the valuable information it provides to clients.
It was great connecting with fellow industry leaders in the reverse logistics space. We appreciate the amazing opportunities we received this year to push the sustainability discussion and inspire fellow women to achieve their goals. We look forward to our attendance at the 20th Annual RLA Conference & Expo in 2024!