Driving Packaging Sustainability Now

The lifestyle, actions, and behaviors that my parents exhibited while I was growing up in India comes full circle today as we think about the two biggest issues dealing with packaging sustainability i.e. minimizing waste and lowering carbon footprint. As an example, growing up, my parents utilized reusable cloth bags to pack and bring home a lot of everyday living essentials. Those bags were washable and would last us forever. According to World Bank, a global plastic waste volume which stood at 242 million tonnes in 2016 is expected to significantly increase over the next decade.

We need to do our part not only in our personal lives but also in our professional ones to strive towards zero waste and reducing carbon footprint. Sustainability conversations at a Company are never easy and more than ever they require bold leadership to elevate and push the sustainable packaging agenda.

Here’s what I think can help accelerate a company’s goal towards sustainability:

1. Seat At the Table:A collaborative effort between several departments i.e. Technical, Supply-Chain, Procurement, & Marketing functions to come up with a bold vision for sustainability. It helps to organize the thinking and layout the vision in Objective, Goals, Strategies, &…