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“Not All e colabels Are What They Seem”, Warns Sara Jackson, Founder, Green Ethics | |
| Staff Writer |
The conversation around sustainable packaging is a challenging one. When we look at ‘packaging’ the consumer list is wide and varied. From a housewife to a hotelier to a media house, they are all consumers, which doubles the challenge of coming up with a packaging mode that can be customised without a fuss and a question on its workability.
It is at this intersection of legal accuracy, designing perfection, and responsible innovation, that Sara Jackson, the founder of Green Ethics, comes in. Sara Jackson has a broad cross-functional experience in a leading FMCG multinational in the Middle East and Africa, leading diverse multifunctional teams, across multiple countries. Sara has a vast experience in leading cross-sectorial industry initiatives in sustainability with a particular focus on packaging neutral and addresses CE for any type of packaging. Recently Sara has been co-ordinating and facilitating the work of the CIRCLE Coalition to develop the circular economy for packaging in the UAE. She currently represents the CIRCLE Coalition in the UAE’s Circular Economy Council’s Policy Committee.
In this exclusive with Thirty to Net Zero, this passionate industry leader talks to us about how the law defines so much of the packaging industry and how we as consumers can be aware of the concept of greenwashing in all its practicality.
She further highlights the importance of the key combination of the diversity of solutions, innovative approaches, and commitment of various companies in bringing the best of sustainable packaging to our homes and offices.
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Q: Given your decades of work in the FMCG industry as well as your current field of expertise as the founder of Green Ethics, could you please tell us what is the current situation with recycling of packaging in the region and where you see opportunities for ‘Innovation in Recycling towards a Closed Loop Economy’?
A: Countries in the Middle East generate significantly more per capita per day waste than the global average and today, almost without exception this is going to landfills. There is growing awareness by both legislators and private industry of the urgency to find more sustainable solutions to protect both the environment and society. Despite the huge volume of secondary materials going to landfills, the recycling infrastructure in the GCC countries is limited and the ecosystem necessary to collect high-quality clean segregated materials at the source is not available. This means that many recyclers and converters are forced to import feedstock from elsewhere. The opportunity is to work with legislators to develop the ecosystem to support local recycling and conversion initiatives and ensure the significant economic opportunity that can be developed by closing the loop locally, at the same time addressing diversion from landfill and reduction of emissions. A caveat though, recycling is the longest and most costly loop in the technical circular model and efforts need to focus on eliminating waste at the source through re-design and reduction, the use of alternative materials that are sustainable, and by developing re-use and repair service models for goods.
It's clear that the solutions will come from cross-sector collaboration between FMCG manufacturers, packaging producers and suppliers, environmental service providers, recyclers, and converters working together. This is the opportunity that the CIRCLE Coalition is seeking to address.
Q: There are a lot of instances of ‘greenwashing’ when it comes to companies, both small and sizable. How does one first enhance the perception of sustainability in a way that the end-users are aware of sustainable practices and terms such as a Closed Loop Economy?
A: As with all things related to environmental impact, it’s complicated and can be very confusing. To avoid greenwashing you need to look at the science. It may be that on the surface, an initiative ticks the sustainability boxes but it’s only through comparative Life Cycle Assessments, that the true impact of an initiative versus the alternative solution can really be evaluated. Like the plastic vs paper debate, there are no easy solutions or substitutions, and ultimately human behavior through the mechanism of consumer choice, as well as reducing and managing waste will make the biggest difference.
There are verified global standards such as the Environmental Performance Standard which is used to certify a product's potential environmental and human health impact. Similarly look for the EU Ecolabel, or the Cradle-to-Cradle Certified Label. Beware not all ‘ecolabels’ are what they seem. An example would be oxo additives which are labelled biodegradable. These are non-recyclable and will degrade plastic without composting resulting in microplastics that will remain in the environment for years.
Q: Green Ethics is working with several major companies to bring about innovation in recycling. Do you find companies outside the coalition more concerned with profitability? Please tell us more about the Extended Producer Responsibility how this will help mitigate and/or eliminate some of the current challenges.
A: In today’s difficult economic situation, businesses are under pressure from fast-rising input costs and post-pandemic challenges. At the same time, it’s clear that the economic impact of climate change is growing with droughts, floods, and fires and its impact on the societies in which business operates. Sustainability is no longer simply a Corporate Social Responsibility but is now a matter of risk management and business continuity. Addressing the business and environmental challenges, whilst meeting shareholder expectations is certainly difficult. However, many of the world’s largest FMCG manufacturers have made significant commitments toward sustainability whether it be the 2025 Target of 100% of packaging is recyclable, the reduction in virgin plastic usage, or the commitment towards Net Zero or Net Positive Goals. The progress towards these public commitments is closely scrutinized and reported.
These challenges are all the more acute for SME’s who may not have the resources, profit margins or technical expertise to develop their own internal approaches to solving these problems. Extended Producer Responsibility is a mechanism whereby companies can participate financially and or physically in the collection, recovery and recycling of post-consumer waste. Costs are then amortized equitably with the largest volume contributors taking an equivalent financial responsibility for the recovery and recycling of materials. However, there is no one size fits all solution to EPR and there are more than 200 EPR models across Europe. EPR solutions for the GCC countries would have to take into consideration the local regulatory status, the availability of infrastructure and the recycling eco-system to develop a local framework. This is not a short-term solution, but I’m confident that by 2030, EPR will be established whether in the UAE or KSA.
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Q: What are the parameters expected to go into an optimised waste management system and what is the outcome you expect? And practically how easy would it be to roll it out to the rest of the Middle East?
A: Diversion from landfill, as a process, requires as a priority, segregation at source. Households need to be educated as to the process of sorting and cleaning materials in the home. These then need to be collected as a separate stream to organic and non-recyclable waste by waste management companies under contract to the facilities management companies and municipalities. The materials are further sorted by Material Recovery Facilities and sold as 2nd materials to recyclers. It sounds simple but without the right regulations mandating segregation and harmonizing waste contracts, without the data management systems to record materials by type, without regulations controlling scavenging, littering, and dumping, the entire loop is compromised. In addition, the use of recycled content is often not cost competitive compared to virgin materials once the cost of adapting the manufacturing process is taken into consideration. Tax incentives and other incentives to use recycled content can help businesses make the transition to more sustainable approaches. What is encouraging is that the recent publication of integrated waste management laws in KSA and UAE provides for the development of the right infrastructure and processes.
Q: When it comes to sustainable packaging does size really matter? How practical is sustainable packaging in this region when a large number of petrochemical and packaging suppliers have their manufacturing units here, whereas all paper and other sustainable products will have to be imported?
A: Many of the largest petrochemical suppliers are developing sustainability strategies that include recycled content in polymer supplies, or the development of chemical recycling which allows the pyrolysis of plastic back to its virgin state. A key point is obviously that recycling needs to be local to optimize the carbon footprint. The recent development of substituting paper for plastic bags is a case in point. Where there is a segregated recovery of clean paper materials (not those already contaminated by foods such as fast-food containers), the paper can be recycled up to seven times by UAE-based paper recyclers and converters. Similarly, the elimination of non-recyclable plastics, as well as the recovery and collection of recyclable plastic materials with local recycling and conversion, is as good a solution. Ultimately, the LCA will define which material might be the most sustainable for use by a particular business in a local context for a specific application.
Q: Everyone seems to be weighing in on the idea of sustainability. Who according to you is the one leader who practices what he/she preaches? How has he/she helped you to look beyond the horizon?
A: Sustainability must be embedded in every step of a company’s business process, from design to procurement to manufacturing, the sales and marketing process and more recently the post-consumer recovery process. It is led by the CEO and embedded as a business principle to the lowest level of the organization and impacts its supplier and customer networks. As mentioned, most of the largest multinational FMCG players have been on this journey for several years with publicly reported commitments and monitored progress. Increasingly these initiatives are being adopted by the largest of the regional manufacturers so local awareness is growing. The momentum is supported by the work of the packaging providers, recyclers, converters, and environmental service providers. It’s the combination of the diversity of solutions, innovative approaches, and commitment by these companies, supported by local governments that are inspiring and gives me hope for real solutions for the Middle East in the not-too-distant future.