As the packaging industry is moving from the Australian Packaging Covenant into the next generation of Government/Industry agreement, the Packaging Council of Australia (PCA) is working on behalf of its membership to negotiate the best way forward and how to handle the many facets of packaging such as packaging design, material usage, litter reduction and end of life recycling.
David Carter, president of the PCA and newly appointed CEO following the resignation of Gavin Williams, notes that an extension of 12 months has been given to the current Covenant to allow time to work through issues and find solutions that community, governments and industry need to address and believe can find meaningful and measurable outcomes to.
“The PCA is working closely with other parts of the industry through the National Packaging Industry Association in a collaborative way, which we believe will move us forward while taking into account the challenges facing our industry today,” Carter tells PKN.
“At the PCA we believe we need to deliver best cost and most effective services to our membership,” he says. One of these is running the now well established and widely recognised awards programs for industry and tertiary institutions.
“Our team will continue to co-ordinate the Australian Packaging Design Awards, which recognises innovation and sustainable design from the industry, and the Southern Cross Packaging Design Awards, which encourages new talent and thinking into Australian packaging innovation from tertiary students, he says.
“We will also continue to provide our members with access to all parts of the packaging industry and its supply chain through our Industry Leaders Forums, where participants can meet and exchange opportunities and perspectives that provide value to their companies,” Carter adds.
Carter pays tribute to the recently retired CEO Gavin Williams, who had held the position for over 22 years and whom he says “leaves us in a great position to move forward”.
Carter brings to the table over 25 years’ industry experience with food and beverage giant Lion, with over ten years as group environment director. He has worked in Australia, New Zealand and China.
“We look forward to providing the packaging industry in Australia with an association that is valuable – and we recognise that this means different things to different members.
“For smaller companies, for instance, they derive value from gaining exposure to the learnings of larger companies, and for larger companies, the value in membership lies largely in enabling the industry to speak with one voice in its negotiations and partnership with Government."
