Momentum is building towards 2025 sustainable packaging goals. Companies are unifying behind the New Plastics Global Economy Commitment, industry partnerships are tackling difficult challenges and business support for policies such as extended producer responsibility — previously unthinkable — is gaining steam.
“We’ve really seen 2025 become this big date in our industry,” noted Taylor Price, manager for global sustainability at AptarGroup, a product delivery and consumer packaging company. “It’s the year to get a lot of things done.”
There is still, of course, a very long way to go to eliminate plastic waste, and an urgent need for both investment in recycling infrastructure — and for more attention to reuse. Here are some key takeaways from three breakout sessions about sustainable packaging goals at Circularity 2021.
1. Packaging goals need to move into action
While the commitment and intensity around sustainable packaging goals is greater than ever, companies need to internalize their goals and maximize the actions that are within their control, said Emily Tipaldo, executive director of the newly formed U.S. Plastics Pact.
Nina Goodrich, director of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and executive director of GreenBlue, echoed Tipaldo’s sentiment. Summarizing the big picture of where companies are in their goal setting, Goodrich noted, “There’s a real difference between an actual goal, and a statement of support. Some folks have target dates, baseline data, and measurements and metrics, and other folks talk about striving to … or giving preference to.”
Goodrich said that about half of the sustainability and packaging commitments in SPC’s database of 152 brands and retailers, and 226 converters and manufacturers are actual goals versus statements. Most come from brands and retailers.
2. New tools are helping companies turn goals into action
Last month, the Recycling Partnership launched a free, online tool called PlasticIQ to help companies of all sizes, no matter where they are on their journey, act on their sustainable packaging goals. Created with a grant from Walmart and the help of SystemIQ, the tool enables companies to input their plastics footprint and go through a series of steps to prioritize actions, Sarah Dearman, vice president of circular ventures at the Recycling Partnership, told attendees.
“What I especially love about it,” she said, is that it enables companies to visualize the impacts of different solutions, such as focusing on reuse, improving recyclability or increasing recycled content. “As you choose the different options within the tool…you can visually see what the impact is going to be on your plastic footprint as you move into the future, and that helps you develop your strategy.”
Other valuable resources include the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Report: Upstream Innovation: a guide to packaging solutions, and the foundation’s 2020 Report Card, where companies can learn about the commitments and progress of their peers.