NatureWorks announced the fourth biennial Innovation Takes Root Ingeo biopolymer users’ forum will be held February 17-19, 2014, at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Fla. The 2012 forum drew more than 300 attendees of which approximately 50 percent were from outside the continent like Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Ingeo fibers and plastics are derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources with performance and economics that compete with oil-based materials, and provide brand owners’ new cradle-to-cradle options after the use of their Ingeo based products. Ingeo was the world’s first commercial-scale biopolymer and is the world’s leading 100 percent biobased polymer today.

The Innovation Takes Root users’ forum presents the latest information on Ingeo research and development projects, applications, processing/converting, blends and additives, lactide developments, and discussions on related social and environmental issues. This is a users’ forum in every sense of the word with ample time for attendee discussions.

The 2012 forum featured the latest developments in technology from an impressive group of speakers, including organizations such as ConAgra Foods, IBM, Kimberly-Clark, Nissan Chemical Industries and Schlumberger.

There were a broad range of discussions on sustainability and cradle-to-cradle thinking from such organizations as the Association of Postconsumer Recyclers, the Biodegradable Products Institute, and Californians against Waste, General Mills, Stonyfield Farms and the USDA. National Geographic Adventure contributing editor Tom Clynes and Susan Freinkel, author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story, presented keynote and plenary session addresses at the forum.

On Monday, February 17, 2014, Innovation Takes Root begins with a day of pre-conference workshops. The forum’s presentations commence on Tuesday, February 18 and conclude the afternoon of Wednesday, February 19. More than 25 organizations exhibited products and services during the 2012 forum, and even more are expected to participate in 2014.

The Innovation Takes Root webpage provides in-depth information on the event. A sampling of current Ingeo solutions can be found online in NatureWorks’ COP 17 Ingeo LookBook.

About NatureWorks

NatureWorks LLC is a company dedicated to meeting the world’s needs today without compromising the earth’s ability to meet the needs of tomorrow. NatureWorks LLC is the first company to offer a family of commercially available, low-carbon-footprint Ingeo lactides and biopolymers derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources with performance and economics that compete with oil-based intermediates, plastics, and fibers, and provide brand owners’ new cradle-to-cradle options after the use of their products. NatureWorks is jointly owned by Thailand’s largest chemical producer, PTT Global Chemical, and Cargill, an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial, and industrial products and services.