BIOFOR Opening Session

Room: Square Dorchester

- Welcome address by Dr. Marzouk Benali, Conference Chair
- Opening Address by The Honorable Paul Lefebvre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources

Market Development

Room: Square Dorchester
Session Chair: Marzouk Benali, CanmetENERGY, Natural Resources Canada

"Resolute Forest Products’ vision for the future of the Forest Products Sector " 
Keynote Speaker: Richard Tremblay, Senior Vice President – Pulp and Paper Operations, Resolute Forest Products

Room: Place du Canada

Luncheon Panel: Next Generation Fibre-based Packaging – An Effective Way to Reduce Plastic Waste?
Emballage de nouvelle génération à base de fibres - un moyen efficace de réduire les déchets plastiques ?

This timely panel will discuss the latest advancements and projections for the increased use of sustainable fibre-based packaging in consumer markets as an alternative to single-use plastic products.

Panel Moderator: Stéphane Renou, CEO, FPInnovations

Panelists:

Stéphane Renou,
CEO, FPInnovations

Julien Bras,
Head of Department – Senior Expert
Insitute of Packaging Sciences, Nestlé

Frédéric Lévesque,
Product Development Deluxe Paper, Novolex

Lars Sandberg,
Innovation Leader, Innovation & Strategic Projects,
BillerudKorsnäs

Research Advancement & Innovation - Panel 1: Lignin-based biorefinery value chains: Added-value products and the transition towards a low carbon economy

Room: Square Dorchester

Moderator: Michael Paleologou, FPInnovations 

Goals: The global lignin market size is anticipated to reach US $1 billion by 2025, representing an average increase of 40% in comparison to 2014. Continuation of this trend will hinge on the successful implementation of biorefineries into kraft pulp mills and other biomass processing operations. A few standalone biorefineries that valorize agricultural and/or forestry residues are also contributing to the market growth of lignins. Therefore, with the surge of interest in lignin as a potential renewable raw material, new, cross-industry lignin-based value chains are emerging. The panel will walk us through the most recent progress in the science of lignin and its emerging valorization pathways and applications. The strategies for market development and the critical challenges associated with commercialization will be reviewed. In addition, the strategic, tactical and operational challenges along the lignin value chain will be discussed in an effort to identify successful synergies with various industries that will be potential uptakers of lignin-based products.

Panelists:
Ludo Diels, Research Leader, Vito 
Eddie Peace, Leader, Corporate Bioproduct Development, West Fraser Mills
Jussi Manninen, Executive Vice-President, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
Armand Langlois, President, Enerlab

Market Development – Panel 2: Opportunities for a growing Canada’s forest bioeconomy

Room: Square Dorchester
Moderator: Jean-François Levasseur, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada  

Goals: Building on the momentum from the launch of Canada’s Bioeconomy Strategy, and the Forest Bioeconomy Framework for Canada, opportunities are being harnessed to accelerate the growth of forest bioeconomy. Canada has the potential to become a global leader in the use of forest biomass to advance bioproducts and innovative solutions. The objective of this session is for governments, academia/research organizations and industry to provide an update on its current activities in realizing that vision. Presentations will be followed by a facilitated discussion on what is needed to fully achieve this vision, and how to maintain engagement and align stakeholders to fully realize the benefits that arise from the bioeconomy. The panelists will introduce the BioDesign and bioeconomy cluster perspectives and will discuss the importance of effective communications, the needs of the industry, and hurdles for the implementation of the Canadian bioeconomy as well as the gaps and barriers for accessing markets. In addition, the panelists will walk us through the bioeconomy innovation ecosystem, the opportunities to advance the bioeconomy in Canada, as well as the importance of strengthening policy coherence and collaboration across jurisdictions.

Panelists:

Robert Larocque, Senior Vice President, Forest Products Association of Canada
Paul Stuart, Professor, Polytechnique Montréal
André Denis, Managing Director, Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, Government of Quebec