Page 22 - Packaging New magazine Jan-Feb 2023

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New CEO at the helm of Planet Ark
As building a circular economy for Australia moves sharply into focus, leading environmental foundation Planet Ark has a new leader to drive the transition. Lindy Hughson spoke to Rebecca Gilling shortly after her appointment as CEO in November last year.
L toR: Rebecca Gilling, Tanya Plibersek and Paul Klymenko.
widely used by industry to evalu- ate the sustainability credentials of packaging and enabling designers to design waste out of packag- ing. The PREP tool is also used to inform the recycling informa- tion brand owners convey through the Australasian Recycling Label, another initiative Planet ark was integral in developing.
Today the ARL is owned out- right by APCO, and, as Gilling explains, Planet Ark’s role is to support APCO in its promotion of the ARL to consumers, along with promoting sustainable packag- ing generally. Planet Ark’s strong affiliation with APCO includes participation in the Collective Action Group.
Gilling says that at the Circularity conference she was “surprised and delighted by the breadth and depth of the knowl- edge and determination of the
80 per cent of the waste in packaging is built in at the design level, so the work has to be done to encourage design for circularity.
REBECCA GILLING, CEO, PLANET ARK
Coalition of the Willing present in the room”, noting that the con- ference provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to weigh in on the change that needs to happen.
“With Planet Ark’s world-class sustainability thought leaders, and our established and trusted educa- tion programs, we are excited to help even more businesses, consumers and governments to come together and take action,” Gilling said.
For Gilling, and indeed many others present, a highlight of the Circularity conference was the announcement by Minister for Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek, of the formation of a Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group.
Plibersek said, “This group will advise me and my colleagues on opportunities and challenges for Australia’s transition towards a circular economy.”
Gilling said what was hearten- ing was that the group will look at how products are designed, manufactured, and used across all sectors of the economy and identify meaningful and direct changes government and industry can make to drive the transition.
“The Planet Ark team is pas- sionate and committed to helping everyday Australians take posi- tive environmental actions,” Gilling said. “I’m proud to be leading them in this new chap- ter, which is arguably the most important for the wellbeing of the planet and our communities. These past few months we have all seen the effects of climate change and resource depletion brought to life with devastating effects in our own backyards. If there was ever a time for people to rally and take this matter seri- ously, it’s now.” ■
*Planet Ark was rated by Australians as the #1 organisa- tion for operating in an ethical, responsible and environmentally friendly manner in 2018 (Mobium Group, 2018 Living LOHAS 6).
ASTALWART OF THE Planet Ark team for more than 20 years, Gilling has played an integral role in building the organ- isation’s credentials as Australia’s most trusted environmental group. She takes the helm from Paul Klymenko who has headed the organisation for 30 years as founding director and CEO, and who will continue supporting the team as a strategic advisor.
The former actress graced tele- vision and cinema screens for more than two decades, starring in iconic Australian TV programs including The Young Doctors and Return to Eden. In the last twenty years, however, she has turned her focus to matters environmental.
In her time at Planet Ark, Gilling and the wider team have delivered some of Australia’s most successful and effective envi- ronmental programs, including recycling more than 50 million printer cartridges through the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program, and the launch of the Australian Circular Economy Hub, which in November last year ran its inaugu- ral Circularity conference.
Gilling tells PKN that, under her 22 ❙ JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2023
leadership, Planet Ark will target three critical areas that Australia must act on – the circular econ- omy, how we use energy, and our connection to nature.
Packaging fits squarely in the circular economy piece. Gilling says: “A lot of our work involves educating consumers, and plastic packaging is high on their list of concerns, especially single-use plastics that ends up in the envi- ronment. Our focus on the one hand is on educating consumers to avoid and reduce their use of unnecessary packaging.”
Gilling says consumers have a poor level of understanding of what circular economy means. “Recycling does not equal circu- lar economy – this was one of the key messages to emerge from our Circularity conference. Another important fact reinforced at the conference was that 80 per cent of the waste in packaging is built in at the design level, so the work has to be done to encourage design for circularity,” she said.
Gilling points to Planet Ark’s pioneering involvement, in collab- oration with PREP Design, in the development of the PREP tool, now
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