New Podcast Series on Collaborating to Solve Packaging Sustainability Challenges

Six years ago, I wrote “Sustainability Will Change Your Business,” an article for our January 2012 issue. It discussed how within the few previous years, the position of Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) had appeared at a wide range of companies—from big-box retailers and brand owners to smaller privately-owned suppliers of film and bottles. The addition to the C Suite indicated that sustainability was no passing fancy, and instead suggested that the greening of America would continue to influence the way plastics processors do business in the future.

Among the key contributing sources to my education on the topic and resulting article was David Clark, then director of sustainability at Amcor Rigid Plastics. It was obvious that the company was one of the pioneers in sustainability efforts and today, the global packaging giant Amcor Ltd. is in the lead. Amcor joins Klöckner Pentaplast, among global packaging companies making green promises, pledging to make all its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. It has also committed to significantly increasing its use of recycled materials and driving greater recycling of packaging. Now, it has launched a new original podcast series to further broaden its efforts. And, David Clark, now v.p. of sustainability is hosting it.

The focus of twice-monthly “Big Ideas” series is how collaborative innovation is making consumer packaging and the products inside them better for the environment. The series will feature interviews with thought leaders from global consumer-goods companies, sustainability organizations and Amcor itself. Guests will describe sustainability challenges, real-world experiences and practical solutions to the world’s most pressing issues, including marine debris and food insecurity.

Said Clark, “Urgent global problems are best solved collaboratively. The podcast is another way we are sharing the knowledge of global sustainability experts—from Amcor customers, suppliers, colleagues and others—with the resolve to better protect the environment.”

The first “Big Ideas” guest is Procter and Gamble’s Steve Sikra, who leads the company’s global material-science and technology program. Said Sikra in this first installment of the podcast, “We believe that Procter & Gamble will be successful by being sustainable. Our ‘Ambition 2030’ goals include a commitment that no P&G plastics will enter the ocean by 2030. To deliver on this goal, we must drive and deliver innovation and collaboration across the entire value chain.”

Future guests will include Patty Moore, president of Sustainable Materials Management for the State of California; Andrea Haas, from the not-for-profit Earthwatch Institute; and Dave Cornell of Eastman Chemical Company. Each episode will be 10 minutes long. The conversations will be published in all major podcast stores under “Amcor Big Ideas”.