{"id":4644,"date":"2021-02-03T03:16:56","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T03:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.halo.science\/?p=4644"},"modified":"2021-05-03T16:26:50","modified_gmt":"2021-05-03T16:26:50","slug":"balancing-act-how-dan-felton-and-ameripen-improve-the-data-dialogue-and-policy-around-sustainable-packaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.halo.science\/blog\/balancing-act-how-dan-felton-and-ameripen-improve-the-data-dialogue-and-policy-around-sustainable-packaging\/","title":{"rendered":"Balancing Act: Data, Dialogue and Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of his scheduled talk at <\/span><\/i>Sustainability in Packaging 2021<\/span><\/i><\/a>, we caught up with Dan Felton, Executive Director of the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN). We discussed his busy first year at the institute, how collaboration improves policy and his thoughts on the future of sustainable packaging practices and policies. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Tell me a bit about the mission at AMERIPEN and your role there.<\/b><\/p>\n

AMERIPEN was 10 years old last year. We were primarily founded as a trade association to advocate on behalf of the packaging industry. It means we work on policy\u2013it\u2019s the primary thing we do at the state level, at the federal level. We have a mission that is material neutral. That was part of the reason we were founded\u2013to represent all materials. The second mission of AMERIPEN is to represent the entire packaging value chain; not only those who manufacture packaging and the people who supply the materials to manufacture the packaging, but then those who use the packaging. Finally, what makes us even more unique is we represent those who are dealing with the <\/span>end-of-life packaging<\/span><\/a>; those who recycle, recover, reprocess packaging into other materials.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Workers sort waste from recyclables at a recycling facility owned by Waste Management, an AMERIPEN member (Source: USA Today<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In year one in this new role, what did you perceive to be the biggest challenges facing sustainable packaging? What are some of the things you\u2019ve been focused on?<\/b><\/p>\n

We have some issues which we are being pressed on, particularly at the state level, and it\u2019s around the concept of <\/span>producer responsibility<\/span><\/a>. Lots of states have laws in place that require the producers of a product to help pay for the recovery of it. But what we don\u2019t have are laws around packaging producers helping to pay for the recovery of their materials. That\u2019s a growing dialogue in the U.S., particularly over the last couple of years. We know that\u2019s <\/span>the<\/span><\/i> primary issue we\u2019ll be working on in the coming years, and marrying that up with the concept of sustainable packaging can be a bit challenging. <\/span><\/p>\n

As sustainable packaging is advancing, we have member companies, both from the packaging perspective and the brand perspective, trying to establish and state public goals on making sure their packaging is recycled, recyclable or has recycled content. But the challenge is marrying that up with the concept of producer responsibility when some policymakers would prefer to ban materials rather than to find a vehicle to make sure those materials can be recovered and recycled. We need to find a way to put those two together so companies can continue to develop sustainable packaging but not be prohibited or hobbled by policy that moves forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conversely, what has you excited or optimistic for the future?<\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

The pandemic changed a lot of things around the discussion around packaging. For instance, there\u2019s been a push to <\/span>ban certain types of plastic<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>ban single-use products<\/span><\/a>. Now COVID happened, suddenly people are looking at single-use plastic and products that they know they need to continue to use because of the pandemic. We\u2019ve been having a really interesting dialogue about how the consumer does the tradeoffs\u2013are they willing to recognize sustainable packaging and sustainability initiatives, and how do they weigh that with packaging restrictions? Is it more important to them that packaging doesn\u2019t exist, or do we make sustainability go away all together because we just need to be safe and hygienic? <\/span><\/p>\n

I think the two can exist. That\u2019s the discussion we\u2019re having and our members are exploring\u2013the two can exist together. It\u2019s an exciting time because it has caused companies to look more closely at sustainability but also understand consumer concerns around that versus safety because of the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now COVID happened, suddenly people are looking at single-use plastic and products that they know they need to continue to use because of the pandemic. We\u2019ve been having a really interesting dialogue about how the consumer does the tradeoffs.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"
Packaging machine at Novolex, an AMERIPEN member company (Source: Novolex<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How do you see AMERIPEN shaping the future of sustainability in packaging\u2013both in dialogue and in practice? What are some of those building blocks already in place that will help you get there?<\/b><\/p>\n

We\u2019re obviously going to continue the dialogue with all stakeholders looking specifically at sustainability. The one thing we did very late in 2020 was establish the new sustainability committee for AMERIPEN. We have what\u2019s called <\/span>standing committees<\/span><\/a>\u2013we work on policy, communication, membership growth and retention. <\/span>We decided that we also wanted to have a sustainability committee, recognizing that this is a growing component within packaging companies. A lot more companies are bringing on sustainability directors, vice presidents, teams, and we wanted to make sure they had a voice within AMERIPEN.<\/span><\/p>\n

We started this committee with a charter and had a couple meetings at the end of the year. What\u2019s exciting about that is talking with those members about how we can take the sustainability initiatives and interests that they have and potentially transforming those into policies. How do we take a look at the things they\u2019re working on and develop policy positions for AMERIPEN specific to sustainability issues that impact the packaging industry? We don\u2019t have those policies set yet; we\u2019re starting to kick around different ideas. The point is to make sure the voice around sustainability for packaging is heard and that we are moving forward as an advocacy organization with policy that marries up with those sustainability initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

We decided that we also wanted to have a sustainability committee, recognizing that this is a growing component within packaging companies. A lot more companies are bringing on sustainability directors, vice presidents, teams, and we wanted to make sure they had a voice within AMERIPEN.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What have you found to be some of the keys to effective, productive discourse on the topics of sustainability and packaging?<\/b><\/p>\n

We really have to do our best to involve all stakeholders. That can be difficult sometimes, to be talking with the environmental groups, to be talking with the policy makers who are dug in on a particular topic that might not align with what we are interested in. We\u2019ve had some great conversations recently about the waste industry, about how they feel about producer responsibility. While they\u2019re not the ones who are going to pay to recover packaging, they are intimately involved in that because they\u2019re the ones at that end-of-life-part of the chain and so they have a voice in the process. <\/span><\/p>\n

That is what\u2019s fun about having these policy discussions and advocating, but it really is incumbent upon us. We get really good feedback on making sure we\u2019re including as many different stakeholders as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other thing I would add is we want to make sure that we always have sound data, science and research behind what we are working on. That can be difficult sometimes, too, because it means putting some more work on the table to really understand the dynamics around the things we\u2019re working on, but it does create a better, more robust dialogue at the end of the day. It\u2019s really important to make sure we stay focused on backing up our policies and advocacy with good research and data.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is what\u2019s fun about having these policy discussions and advocating, but it really is incumbent upon us. We get really good feedback on making sure we\u2019re including as many different stakeholders as possible.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"
Toilet paper production at Kimberly-Clark, an AMERIPEN member company (Source: Dallas Morning News<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shifting gears to the conference specifically, what will be the theme of your talk?<\/b><\/p>\n

We have taken on a study that may be wrapped as soon as the end of this month to look at supply and demand issues around recycled content. If a company is saying, \u201cWe want 25 percent recycled content in our products by 2030,\u201d how are they going to get there? Is the supply there? If the supply isn\u2019t there, how might we get there? That\u2019s a study that we will have done by the time I speak in March at Sustainability in Packaging. <\/span>I\u2019ll be ready to talk about it and present some of the results from the study and also within that say, \u201cHey, here are some policy things we might consider in order to advance those goals and help the supply and demand marry up with each other.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What speakers are you looking forward to or topics you’re excited to learn more about?<\/b><\/p>\n

I will tell you one thing that was really great last year was a consumer panel. They brought up a whole bunch of consumers onstage for one session and they presented their thoughts on packaging and had the audience offer some questions and insight. In some respects, it was a difficult conversation because consumers have a lot of thoughts about packaging; some are correct, some are not. I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re planning to do it again, but I hope they do because, from our perspective, we can always be engaging more with consumers. They\u2019re the key to a lot of it. <\/span>If you\u2019ve got consumers requesting companies to be more sustainable\u2013whatever that may mean\u2013they have a strong voice in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ahead of his scheduled talk at Sustainability in Packaging 2021, we caught up with Dan Felton, Executive Director of the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN). We discussed his busy first year at the institute, how collaboration improves policy and his thoughts on the future of sustainable packaging practices and policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":4854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[215],"tags":[30,118],"class_list":["post-4644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-packagin","tag-featured","tag-packaging"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBalancing Act: Data, Dialogue and Policy - Translation | Halo Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.halo.science\/balancing-act-how-dan-felton-and-ameripen-improve-the-data-dialogue-and-policy-around-sustainable-packaging\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Balancing Act: Data, Dialogue and Policy - Translation | Halo Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ahead of his scheduled talk at Sustainability in Packaging 2021, we caught up with Dan Felton, Executive Director of the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN). 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