On the road to progress: Reflecting on Sustainability LIVE 2022

This was evident at the Sustainability LIVE conference held in London last week, where I was able to meet with a multitude of sustainability leaders from all corners of the global economy and learn about how businesses are taking action.

It is clear that businesses are increasingly focusing on sustainability and thinking about the concrete implementation of science-based targets, net-zero commitments and the circular economy. This is true not only for packaging, but for a wide array of sectors, including food, retail and fashion, real estate, energy, and transportation.

This big picture of change, with a vast number of organizations all pushing in the same direction, is cause for optimism in our global community.

It was a great pleasure to be able to deliver a keynote speech on the event’s Sustainability Stage on the importance of education and collaboration in making sustainable change. The talk, and subsequent question and answer session, allowed me to highlight Amcor’s sustainability ambitions, as well as our vision for the packaging industry as the global leader in responsible packaging.

It provided me with the opportunity to explain Amcor’s three-pronged approach to sustainability, focused on packaging design and innovation, the development of waste management infrastructure, and consumer engagement. All in the aim of creating more sustainable packaging and building a circular economy where materials stay in the economy and out of the environment.

By discussing programs such as the New Plastic Economy Global Commitment, the Consumer Goods Forum’s Golden Design Rules, our 2025 pledge to develop all our packaging to be recyclable, reusable or compostable and our most recent commitment to science-based targets to reach net zero, the audience heard about the concrete actions Amcor is taking. Concrete actions to both harmonize approaches across the value chain to address plastic waste and to develop more sustainable Amcor packaging.

A final point that seemed to resonate strongly was that the twin objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and packaging waste in the environment are self-reinforcing – developing more sustainable packaging and a circular economy will actively accelerate decarbonization.

It was great to see other representatives of the packaging industry present at the two-day event. Jenny Wassenaar of Trivium Packaging gave a speech highlighting the importance of packaging for protecting food hygiene standards and consumer health. She also discussed how organizations can engage with their supply chains to make progress on sustainability objectives, a common theme running throughout the conference.

There were plenty of other fantastic speakers and topics during the event, including Charlotte Wolffe-Bye of Petronas on how businesses in-hard-to-decarbonize industries are becoming more sustainable, and Asif Din of Perkins&Will on rethinking traditional development methods to create a more sustainable built environment, beginning again with a truly holistic approach.

A particular highlight for many was the presentation given by Andrea Vena of the European Space Agency – a fascinating, and frankly extraordinary, discussion on how even industries such as aerospace are taking action to become more sustainable.

Amcor is proud to be the global leader in responsible packaging. As an organization striving for a circular economy for packaging materials and making headway on decarbonization, Sustainability LIVE served as a reminder of the excellent progress other businesses across the world are making when it comes to sustainability. Let’s continue to learn and collaborate together as we take on this great challenge – and opportunity – of the 21st century.