Actions bring confidence: How Amcor is moving forward with its EnviroAction program

How did your professional journey lead to a role as a Sustainability Specialist within Amcor Flexibles – and what inspires your commitment to this topic?

Sometimes, you need a bit of good luck to guide your path to the perfect job. That’s how it happened for me. A couple of years after I joined Amcor’s Finance team, I won a contest in a magazine and got the chance to attend a sustainability conference with Kofi Annan in 2007. He was the UN Secretary General from 1997 to 2006 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. It was a truly inspirational day that made me think very deeply. So, when Amcor launched its EnviroAction program in 2008, I was excited to join the Sustainability team just one year later.

Back then, some friends and colleagues warned me to be careful about accepting the job. They felt worried because the targets expired in 2030 – and I wouldn’t be ready to retire by then. I think that shows how mindsets have changed during my career so far. It also gives me hope that more change is possible going forward. Hope brings action and action brings hope. I really believe positive progress is achievable if people, businesses and governments join together to take action. In my role at Amcor, I make a real-world contribution toward that progress every day. And I won’t retire anytime soon…

Can you give some examples of the real-world progress you’ve experienced since Amcor launched the EnviroAction program?

So much has happened in the last 15 years. We split our EnviroAction program into target periods of three to five years to make sure our efforts reflect the latest science and circumstances. That helps us make measurable and tangible progress toward specific improvement areas for our operations. At all times, we’re aiming to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, waste, and water use.

For GHG emissions intensity, one of my earliest projects involved creating a network of EnviroAction Champions at all Amcor sites. They enter data about energy, waste treatment and water into a global database so we can monitor progress and identify potential improvements. At the moment, we’re putting a heavy focus on the energy transition. We successfully increased our global use of renewable electricity by 244% compared to fiscal year 2022 by purchasing green power and installing on-site solar panels. Amcor’s commitment to set science-based targets in 2022 was another big milestone.

For waste disposal reduction, 92% of Business Group sites in our EMEA region have now achieved the goal of sending zero waste to landfill or incineration without energy recovery. That’s truly amazing. And for reducing water use, our facilities have stepped up the focus on reviewing consumption levels and checking for opportunities to save water. That includes maintenance to avoid leaks, shutting down cooling towers and much more.

What do you think is the key success factor for those achievements?

I’m so proud of what we’ve done together so far. And I believe our shared spirit of commitment to sustainability has an incredibly positive impact on our daily work. We cannot leave anybody behind on our EnviroAction journey. That’s why it’s so important to have everybody feeling motivated to keep searching for all possible opportunities to push our company forward.

Amcor takes a lot of action to make sure our employees understand the value of sustainability for our business. Commitments to environmental and social progress are proven to cut costs, support talent recruitment and boost competitive power. That means sustainability is a key factor for the future of our company. So, it’s natural that our people are dedicated to this topic.

How do you feel about the challenges and opportunities involved in making Amcor’s operations more sustainable in the future?

I feel optimistic. There are some big challenges, sure. But there is so much we can achieve together if we take a hands-on approach and embrace our responsibility to future generations. Based on the findings published in the article "Constraining human contributions to observed warming since the pre-industrial period," published in Nature Climate Change, the planet’s temperature is already 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. So, it’s time for action.

Looking ahead, there are big opportunities to keep driving forward with reducing Scope 3 emissions in our supply chain. That will require teamwork at Amcor – and it also requires us to work closely with our suppliers to capture potential improvements and efficiencies. Like I said earlier, individuals and organizations need to join forces for sustainability. We need to take action together. And I’m convinced that action brings hope, and hope brings more action… So I feel positive about the future.