How can brands and retailers achieve ambitious circular and sustainable packaging goals amidst a volatile oil market?

A great onus has been placed on brands to design, manufacture and sell more sustainable packaging. Thanks to increased consumer awareness, sporadic regulatory influence and proactive corporate engagement, numerous companies have set ambitious goals to rethink their packaging approach. But creating a holistic packaging strategy comes with complex and sometimes contradictory considerations. From material selection and availability, to recyclability and regional challenges, to financial implications and carbon footprints, companies face a complex landscape of deliberations. This is all the more true with the recent plummeting of oil prices that promise bargain prices for virgin plastics and threaten the economics of recycled materials. Hearing from brands with ambitious commitments to recyclability and recycled content, this breakout panel will uncover how they are staying the course despite these unprecedented times.

How can your company implement a resale business model?

The resale of used, worn or simply returned consumer products, also known as recommerce, holds tremendous promise for the retail industry. Beyond diverting substantial landfill waste, resale represents a rapidly growing revenue opportunity with a market valued at $20 billion in the apparel industry alone. But despite clear environmental benefits and new financial opportunities, only a handful of companies are implementing secondary sales models. From reverse logistics, quality control, customer expectations and revenue cannibalization concerns, companies must overcome a multitude of considerations and complexities. Join this breakout to learn how organizations at the forefront of the recommerce industry are tackling these challenges, and what it took them to build an effective, lucrative resale business model.

How can companies establish efficient reverse logistics to reclaim products and enable more circular outcomes?

Product take-back programs are commonplace at retailers keen to have customers walk their used printers and sweaters back into the store. Manufacturers commonly offer mail-in programs, and even cosmetics brands have begun accepting empty packaging for discounts on the next purchase. But all this is very old fashioned, and oftentimes the path of used items is not circular, or even sustainable. This session will examine efforts to modernize take-back and reverse logistics to  forge stronger links in a circular supply chain.

What role will tech-enabled tracking solutions play in building a circular future, and how can we leverage these technologies effectively today?

This session will explore how digital technologies including blockchain, near field communications (NFC), mobile phones and SMS messaging are enabling end-to-end transparency. Our experts will discuss the guiding question in the context of two specific projects: Dutch manufacturer Auping’s program for mapping the journey of circular mattresses, an effort enabled through a partnership with DSM-Niaga; and AB InBev’s initiative in Zambia and Uganda to catalog every touchpoint in its beer production process, from cassava and barley farmers to the waste pickers returning its bottles back to recyclers. Among the issues we’ll explore: which metrics should be cataloged, how these solutions might interface with other enterprise systems, the implications for measuring the impact of projects on vulnerable workers, and what you should know about data privacy and protection.

What will it take to scale the domestic market for post-consumer recycled content?

The demand for recycled plastics has skyrocketed — so much so that brands and packaging producers are experiencing limited supply. This is due, in part, to ambitious recycled content commitments by CPG giants across the nation and globe. What will it take to scale the domestic market for post-consumer recycled content and meet this growing demand? Join this panel to hear perspectives from stakeholders across the value chain — from plastic producers and brands to recyclers and investors.

What is the U.S. Plastics Pact and how are its signatories advancing a circular economy for plastics?

The U.S. Plastics Pact brings together businesses, government entities, NGOs, researchers, and other collaborators as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s network of Plastics Pacts around the world. The U.S. Pact will work collectively towards a common vision of a circular economy for plastics. By bringing together diverse stakeholders and driving collaborative action, the U.S. Pact will deliver a meaningful transition towards a circular economy for plastics, enabling U.S. companies, governments and NGOs to collectively meet impactful goals by 2025 that they could not meet on their own.

Join the U.S. Plastics Pact team to learn about the Pact's launch, targets, and what comes next. Hear from the Pact’s NGOs and companies on why they're spearheading a common vision for circularity, and the crucial role companies play in plastics recovery. 

We welcome others in the plastics value chain to join the U.S. Plastics Pact after its launch.

What does it mean for  companies to go "plastic neutral" and what will it take to scale, track and standardize effective plastic-offsetting infrastructure?

From Norway to Microsoft, companies and countries alike have been making headlines with sweeping commitments to go carbon neutral. But what about going “plastic neutral”?

Much like carbon neutrality, its plastics counterpart will require a significant reduction of outputs. But as companies work to shift supply chains and develop infrastructure to achieve ambitious plastics-reduction goals, offsets could offer a near-term approach to lightening a company's plastic footprint.

From tools to calculate plastic footprints, to a standardized system for plastics credits, to on-the-ground projects and partnerships with informal waste workers, several organizations are developing critical elements of an effective and impact-oriented plastic-offsetting system. Join this panel to learn how these trailblazers are partnering to establish a market for plastic waste, and how your company can support their efforts while advancing your plastic reduction or neutrality goals.

How can circular economy solutions align with and advance carbon reduction goals, and how should companies balance these initiatives?

A fully realized circular economy holds the promise of significant carbon savings as materials are no longer extracted and processed, but reused and maintained. However, as we strive for this ideal future, many circular initiatives are energy intensive in practice; when emission reductions are in fact secured, the carbon offset is difficult to quantify. 

During this session, we will hear from companies and cities aligning their circular initiatives with GHG reduction goals. We’ll learn what circular projects have provided emission reductions, and how they’re measuring this success.

How can companies extend the useful life of IT assets and more effectively manage e-waste at the end of life?

The material value of the electronic waste discarded globally each year adds up to $62.5 billion — more than the GDP of most countries — according to the United Nations. With complex, incongruous regulations across the globe, managing the end of life for technologies such as PCs, tablets, smartphones, data center servers, storage and networking gear is a complex affair. This breakout will explore how to embrace a more circular approach to IT hardware and e-waste management. Whether your company is decommissioning a data center, upgrading its PCs or managing other gadgets that have reached the end of their usable life, learn how to unlock value from those systems; navigate complex policies surrounding collection, data protection and intellectual property; and maximize asset life cycles through refurbishment, deployment and recycling of old gear.