Sarah O’Brien
Director of Programs and Acting CEO, SPLC
As SPLC’s Director of Programs and Acting CEO, Sarah is responsible for ensuring that SPLC’s many programs empower procurement and supply chain professionals around the globe to successfully implement high-impact sustainable purchasing practices. Sarah is an expert on sustainable purchasing and specifically on the procurement of more sustainable electronics. Prior to joining SPLC she was Director of the multi-stakeholder Clean Electronics Production Network (CEPN) working on the elimination of worker exposure to toxic chemicals in the electronics supply chain. For more than a decade previously, Sarah led global purchaser engagement with the EPEAT sustainable procurement tool for the Green Electronics Council. Earlier, Sarah developed and managed the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program of the nonprofit Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (now renamed Practice Greenhealth) and served as a Senior Outreach Associate for INFORM’s PBT-free purchasing program, working with states across the country on reducing their procurement of products containing mercury and other persistent toxics. Sarah has a BA from Yale University and a Masters degree in anthropology from Temple University.
My Sessions
Sustainable Purchasing 201: Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
Atrium BallroomTo get your company to invest staff time and other resources in your sustainable purchasing program requires making a business case to leaders in your organization. The blueprint for building that business case is now available thanks to research conducted by the SPLC. We will present key learnings from that research. Then, to highlight and … read more >>
Transforming the sustainability of local economies and global supply chains requires a lot of coordination and innovation by many stakeholders. Today, global frameworks are increasingly enabling organizations to align their sustainability transformation efforts with deep system-change. One such framework is the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were signed by 190 nations at the UN … read more >>
Sustainable Purchasing 102: Uncovering Policy Alignment and Engaging Internal Stakeholders to Support Your Sustainable Purchasing
Atrium BallroomLiana Alvarez
Madalyn Cioci
Sarah O’Brien
Lauren Zimmerman
Though your sustainable purchasing program may be small, by collaborating with, supporting and being supported by other individuals, teams and programs in your organization you can multiply your capability and impact. With sharing of success stories, individual work and discussion, we will help you think through some of the key resources you can leverage to … read more >>
Fahmida Ahmed Bangert
Sravan Chalasani
Sue Chiang
Sarah Church
Karen Cook
Denise Curtis
Mikhail Davis
Patricia Dillon
Tim Dombeck
Chris Erickson
Jeff Frost
Claire Kells
Kealy Herman
George Hodge
Rebecca Holliday
Alison Kinn Bennett
Billy Linstead Goldsmith
Michael Jones-Bey
Mary Ellen Mika
Molly Morabito
Josh Nothwang
Anastasia O’Rourke
Sarah O’Brien
Douglas Pilgrim
Joan Prummel
Jonathan Rivin
Gerald Robinson
Andrew Savini
Stephen Schulman
Toby Simpson
Parker Townley
Trisha Taneja
Cuno Van Geet
Liyang Wang
Chip Wood
This session is for innovative projects that are ready to be LAUNCHED, JOINED, EXPANDED, or REPLICATED! Presenters give an overview of new and innovative projects that advance sustainable purchasing. Attendees claim a seat at a roundtable with a topic of interest to them. Topics are repeated three times. Read more here about what to expect … read more >>