Page 6 - Packaging News Magazine Sep-Oct 2019

6
COMMENT EDITOR
www.packagingnews.com.au September-October 2019
Every step counts
MANAGING EDITOR
Lindy Hughson
(02) 9213 8239 lindyhughson@yaffa.com.au
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Jake Nelson jakenelson@yaffa.com.au
Doris Prodanovic dorisprodanovic@yaffa.com.au
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Changing the world one burger and sauce at
a time: PKN journalist Doris Prodanovic, Cameron Prowse from The Alternative Meat Co, and Craig Wellman of Wellman Packaging.
THERE'S a new wave of stress impact- ing the collective human psyche called eco-anxiety, or climate anxi- ety. It’s defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) as “a chronic fear of environmental doom”. While not yet clinically defined, it’s recognised by psycholo- gists as a real condition – so much so that APA has created a 69-page climate change guide to help mental health care providers.
The condition is fuelled by a growing despair about the state of our environment and inaction on climate change, and I think it would be fair to assume that plastic packag- ing waste is one of the triggers.
We’re bombarded daily with images of plastic waste in oceans and waterways around the world, and repeated messaging about how there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish in under a decade.
It is a problem our industry is acutely aware of, and taking steps to alleviate – you’ll find ample evidence on the PKN website and in this issue.
Progress made by the packaging industry was outlined in a panel discussion at our LIVE event last month (see page 12-18), at an APCO feedback evening (page 26), and at an AIP panel discussion (page 28)
Brand owners are stepping up too. Just across the PKN news desk is an announcement from Nestlé that it has invested in a packaging research
institute to accelerate its efforts to address the plastic waste challenge.
Earlier this month, PKN attended the launch of Activate, a six-part doc- umentary video series which Procter & Gamble has co-produced with Na- tional Geographic and the Global Cit- izen organisation. We were privy to the first video, called ‘Activate: End- ing plastic waste’. The overarching message was that as a society we can find a solution, and every positive ac- tion makes a difference. By backing this project P&G is using its voice and influence to contribute to a sustainable planet through eliminating waste.
The company says it has already met its 2020 plastic waste targets, and is now working towards its 2030 tar- gets, which include having 100 per cent of its plastic reused or recycled.
In other exciting news, local play- er Wellman Packaging has launched an Australasian first, 90 per cent re- cycled content, food grade PE ‘squeezy’ sauce bottle. For more detail on the hows and whys of its development, you can turn to page 54 – but what I'd like to share here is the serendipitous event were able to create for its launch.
When CEO Craig Wellman called me up to share his news, I suggested we should take photos of the new bottle in action – like squeezing some sauce onto a burger. He quipped that it would need to be a vegan burger, having made an eco-con- scious choice to shift to plant-based proteins. As it happened, I’d just been talking to The Alternate Meat Company, a brand owner making brave moves and kicking goals in the plant-based meat space. Co-founder Cameron Prowse is a panellist at our upcoming LIVE breakfast forum (see page 2), and he was keen to share the taste of his burgers on the menu at Bar Luca, a popular Sydney burger joint. The result, as Craig put it, was a “sensational alignment of sympa- thetic developments – a low carbon footprint lunch”.
These are the stories that make my job so rewarding, give me hope that change can be wrought, and keep my eco-anxiety at bay.
Every step counts. No matter how small. As long as it’s in the right direction.
Lindy Hughson – Managing Editor
The result was a sensational alignment of sympathetic developments – a low carbon footprint lunch.”