Category Archives: USA

Webinar: Sustainable Packaging: Will We Ever Close the Loop?

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Liz Shoch, Closing the Loop Project Lead of GreenBlue’s Sustainable Package Coalition
Thursday, May 10, 2012
2 p.m. ET | 11 a.m. PT
FOR A RECORDING OF THIS EVENT, please contact us.

As a measure of sustainability performance, packaging’s end-of-life fate has become a topic of great interest to the packaging industry. Accordingly, Extended Producer Responsibility schemes for packaging are attracting attention in the U.S. Material recovery is also a highly visible issue to the general public and a financial burden to local and state governments. Despite this high level of interest, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in 2009, packaging materials and printed paper represented, by weight, just under half of all the municipal solid waste generated in the U.S. Where is the disconnect?

GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition is partnering with Industry Intelligence to present a complimentary webcast on this topic, covering the latest research findings from the Closing the Loop project. This webcast session is designed to add extra insights to the original presentation given at the Sustainable Packaging Symposium 2012, with a focus on material value recovery systems. This webinar will be presented by Liz Shoch, Closing the Loop Project Lead of GreenBlue’s Sustainable Package Coalition and a featured speaker at the Sustainable Packaging Symposium 2012. This presentation will benefit all companies along the packaging supply chain who are interested in sustainability, good stewardship of materials, learning from the experiences of others, and who see value in “waste.”

ABOUT “CLOSING THE LOOP” PROJECT

Supported by a research grant from CalRecycle and funding from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, GreenBlue set out to determine the barriers to an effective material value recovery system in the U.S. and use that information to dramatically increase the quantity of materials recovered. The resulting suite of “Closing the Loop” reports covers topics, including establishing a clear and consistent packaging vocabulary, providing design guidance for recyclability, proposing an effective recycling label to communicate to consumers, and analyzing the best (and worst) packaging recovery practices, infrastructure, and policies around the world. Efficient and modern recycling infrastructure is critical, but a systems approach to waste management policy is a prerequisite to putting effective packaging recovery into action.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Liz Shoch joined GreenBlue in 2008 as a Project Manager for both the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and the Closing the Loop project, coming from a natural resource conservation and policy background. Liz’s work primarily focuses on packaging end of life, including recovery system infrastructure, recycling, and composting, as well as Extended Producer Responsibility and other influential packaging legislation. Liz was previously Invasive Species Program Specialist at the U.S. Geological Survey and Program Coordinator for the Global Invasive Species Initiative at the Nature Conservancy. She has also consulted on issues relating to both non-native invasive species and migratory species for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America. Liz has a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University, where she focused on the growing environmental issue of non-native invasive species, and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. While completing her Master’s research, Liz learned to identify all of the terrestrial plants of Bermuda. Liz was also a White House intern during her undergraduate studies.

 

Webinar: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) & its impact on brand owners of paper, board packaging

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Victor Bell, president of Environmental Packaging International
Thursday, January 26, 2012
2 p.m. ET | 11 a.m. PT
FOR A RECORDING OF THIS EVENT, please contact us.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an effort to shift responsibility for packaging and printed paper recycling and disposal from local governments to private industry.  Adopting EPR is an ongoing trend throughout the world and almost every OECD country except the U.S. has EPR on packaging.

Victor Bell, president of Environmental Packaging International, will share his understanding of EPR models around the world and the future of an EPR scheme in the U.S. in this i2live webcast. He will also discuss the implications for brand owners of paper and board packaging and the CPG industry.

To get real-time market intelligence on “Packaging” provided by Industry Intelligence, please click here.

Victor Bell’s presentation will address these questions:

  • What is EPR? How does it impact CPG and brand owners?
  • What are the packaging fees around the world?
  • What are the key assumptions of EPR models?
  • EPR in the U.S., Latin America, and Canada
  • What is the future of EPR?

To read more about EPR, please click here.

To network with other participants of this event, please join our Linkedin group Packaging Industry Intelligence

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Founder and president of Environmental Packaging International, Victor Bell is a Certified Packaging Professional with more than 20 years of experience with environmental issues associated with packaging and products. He has MMA (Marine Affairs) and BS (Natural Resource) degrees from the University of Rhode Island and an MS (Urban and Environmental Studies) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

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Webinar: U.S. inflation risk outlook

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Brendan Lowney, senior economist at Forest Economic Advisors (FEA)
Thursday, August 4, 2011
2 p.m. ET | 11 a.m. PT
FOR A RECORDING OF THIS EVENT, please contact us.

To get real-time market intelligence provided by Industry Intelligence, please click here.

Should we fear a return to 1970s-style inflation or does a Japan-style deflation lurk around the corner?

Though the outlook for U.S. inflation is uncertain, according to Brendan Lowney, senior economist at Forest Economic Advisors (FEA), one possible scenario could put the U.S. economy into a deflationary spiral. Japan has been dealing with a similar tailspin since the mid-1990s. Indicators pointing to deflation in the U.S. economy include 10-year government bond yields below 3% and continued sluggish economic growth a full two years after the “official” end of the recent recession.

Lowney says U.S. policymakers may resort to printing money to offset the tremendous private- and public-sector debt burden created over the past several years. He also points to the recent surge in gold prices as an indicator investors are hedging against deflation.

In this presentation, Lowney shares his insights into inflation risk in the U.S. and its implications for timber prices. After the presentation, Lowney will take audience questions during the Q&A.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Brendan Lowney is principal and macroeconomist of Forest Economic Advisors. He has been a featured speaker at forest products conferences in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. He authors FEA’s Macroeconomic Advisor and is a contributing author to FEA’s Quarterly Forecasting Service publications. Lowney earned a master’s degree in economics from Boston College where he also completed all coursework toward a PhD. He holds a B.S. in mathematics and economics from Union College.

THIS EVENT IS SPONSORED BY