A growing number of consumer brands are exploring new packaging types, whether in response to direct pressures or in pursuit of new business models and revenue streams. But doing so is not without peril. First and foremost, companies must maintain their brand integrity and value proposition while they tweak or transform one of their principal assets: their branded packaging. In this half-day, invitation-only event, representatives from the plastics and packaging value chains, along with leading packaged goods companies, will explore the promise and pitfalls for brands seeking to transition packaging to circular materials and models.

Request an invite to the summit here. 

Join us for a tour of Target Field! During your guided 90-minute tour of Target Field, you'll see areas of the ballpark many guests normally don't see. These spaces may include the Herb Carneal Press Box, clubhouse, dugout, suite level, Bat & Barrel, Delta SKY360 Club, Budweiser Roof Deck, and Thompson Reuters Champions Club. Guests will be exposed to the art work, displays of memorabilia, environmental and sustainability features of Target Field, as well as Twins history. Sign up for the tour here. 

The United States throws away 63 million tons of food annually. The financial impact translates into a loss of $218 billion — or 1.3 percent of the GDP — that is wasted from growing, processing, transporting and disposing of food that is never actually eaten. As more companies work to prevent food waste, however, they are faced with challenging trade-offs, sometimes swapping one problem for another. Enter plastic packaging. By both prolonging a product’s shelf life and by allowing customers to purchase only what they will consume, an increase in packaging offers a promising solution to combat food spoilage. But given the politically charged dialogue (and dogma) around plastics and plastic waste, navigating these trade-offs can be both contentious and counterintuitive.

Learn about how the dynamic tension between food waste and plastic waste, the cumulative impacts and systemic implications of each and understand how companies are navigating conflicting priorities in their journey towards circularity. 

Circular delivery models will require not just innovation in packaging but a reimagination of supply chains, partnerships and the consumer experience. Learn about new approaches to reusing packaging and hear about the promise and pitfalls from experts in the field.  

How can bioplastics and compostable materials be a part of a circular economy solution for plastics? This breakout session will hear from organizations that are actively working in the bioplastics and plastics supply chain and are involved in commercializing bioplastic resins, products and/or circular solutions for plastic pollution. The panelists will discuss the potential of bioplastics and why they believe compostable materials and organics recycling are a necessary component to unlocking a viable circular economy and a part of the solution to global plastic pollution. The audience would learn the basics of bioplastics - definitions of terms, differences between materials, current and future applications, end-of-life characteristics, challenges to greater market adoption, and failures/successes - as well as the challenges in developing, implementing and scaling circular solutions for the organics loop.

What's the role of advanced recycling technologies in keeping materials circulating through our economy and creating circular plastics? 

There’s been a noticeable uptick lately in buzz around chemical recycling, and the promise of technologies that can fix the broken recycling system. However, the technologies, terminology and applications can be confusing and are not widely understood. This session will build on the findings from a recent report by the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners, and explore the landscape of transformational technologies that stop plastic waste, keep materials in play and grow markets. Speakers will discuss the state of the market and highlight the potential for transformational technologies to turn waste plastics back into new materials, decrease reliance on fossil fuels and curb the flow of plastics into marine environments.

Difficult to ship. Large items. Fragile. Liquids. Over-packaged goods that cause consumer frustration. Complex logistics. All combined with a massive growth in e-Commerce. Damage to a product is a worst-case sustainability outcome, but at the same time, we want to use packaging materials sustainably. How do we evolve packaging to meet the performance needs of hard-to-ship items while also promoting sustainable, circular use of materials? This panel will explore sustainability trade offs, pressure points, and success strategies for the rapidly growing field of e-Commerce.