Against the backdrop of the recent 2014 APC Awards announcements, APC CEO Stan Moore considers the value of recognition, sustainability, and signing up.
PKN: Why was this awards program established?
Stan Moore: It is important to recognise good performance. Our awards recipients are leaders in packaging product stewardship and companies and their staff deserve the recognition. We value their contribution and their willingness to share great outcomes. This is an integral part of the Packaging Covenant approach of collaboration to achieve good stewardship outcomes and the realisation that individual company efforts leads to better overall industry outcomes.
PKN: What does this recognition bring to the winning company, and to the wider peer group of signatories?
SM: The winning company gets recognition for their efforts and their staff get the satisfaction of achievement. Our winning companies set the bar for future industry achievement and while there is a level of competition amongst signatories, the important industry outcome of high performance is the shared learning amongst signatories.
PKN: Much has been said about the business case for sustainable packaging - what's your view?
SM: Packaging has three roles: containing and transporting the package contents, protecting and preserving the contents, and minimising the environmental impact of the packaging's contents. When developing packaging that meets the requirements of each role, the three pillars of sustainability need to be taken into account. These are: environmental impact minimisation, social and community acceptance, and financial viability.
PKN: How do you think Australian innovation/advances in packaging sustainability compares with that in other developed markets?
SM: The Australian packaging market is only a small part of the world packaging market, however we have the world’s best practice packaging product stewardship approach which embraces flexibility of solutions and therefore encourages innovation.
PKN: How many signatories does APC have to date and what's your target number of signatories?
SM: Currently the APC has 939 signatories.
We do not have a target for the number of Covenant signatories as we work on the basis of ensuring we have as members those companies that have obligations under the National Environment Protection Measure. Of course, we encourage companies to participate although they may not have obligations, on the basis that we add value to their business.
PKN: What are the benefits of being a signatory?
SM: By signing, the APC companies become part of a business community committed to a culture of packaging sustainability, get access to resources to design cost-efficient and sustainable packaging, and membership to a network of progressive organisations that share ideas and actions.
PKN: What tools do you offer signatories to assist them with their reporting processes and encourage innovation?
SM: The APC has a dedicated member services team who support signatories through their APC journey. Since 2011 the APC has invested more than half a million dollars into developing the capacity of signatories to design and procure more sustainable packaging. The resources available to signatories include online guides, packaging assessment tools, instructional videos, workshops and case studies. Sharing the stories from the high performing signatories is a great example of this, all our signatories are able to learn from the actions and achievements of our award winners.
PKN: Do you believe the APC itself is a sustainable organisation? How do you see the APC's role evolving over the next five to ten years?
SM: The APC is a world best practice model delivering packaging product stewardship. The industry association provides management and administrative support under the agreement that is the APC. The APC has been assessed as the best model for future product stewardship of packaging and is likely to be industry led and funded in the future.
