Could you tell us something about yourself and your journey at Actega? What inspired you to pursue a career in sustainability?
I have been working at Actega for over 12 years and during this time I have had the opportunity to work in various roles across sales, marketing, and product development. My time at Actega has allowed me to acquire a deep understanding of the company globally and has given me insights into the company's different functions, the people who make it work, and the complexities of different sites and businesses.
In August last year, I took the role of global head of sustainability, a role that I am very passionate about. In this function, my focus is on bringing our sustainability approach into the market and working closely with customers, suppliers and our R&D team to enhance our sustainability efforts. We want to accelerate our progress and have already taken bold actions and proactive steps to do so. Examples include analysing the current product portfolio from a sustainability perspective or launching initial initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of materials.
What does sustainability mean to you both from an individual and a business perspective?
Sustainability, to me, means being mindful of our impact on the environment and taking responsible actions to reduce waste and inefficiency. As a parent of three, it is a personal priority of mine to ensure that we can leave a positive legacy for our children's future. This belief also carries over into my professional life at Actega, where we are an integral part of the packaging industry. While there has been increased scrutiny placed on the sector due to the environmental impact of plastic and packaging in general, it's essential to recognise that these are vital for providing durability and extended shelf life to products. Our role is to make sure that packaging materials are used in the most efficient way and to contribute to this with our coatings, printing inks, varnishes and compounds.
Generally speaking: Our aim is to strike the right balance between preserving our planet and ensuring that businesses remain profitable.
Can you tell us what are the significant opportunities for businesses in terms of sustainability?
Absolutely. In the world of sustainability, challenges should always be viewed as opportunities. This approach not only makes companies more innovative and future-focused, but it also positively impacts their resilience in the long run. One of the top agenda points in our industry has been recyclability. Whether it is the challenges of sorting and recycling multi-layer films, the trend towards mono-materials or the increase in paper-based packaging, we are committed to meeting the current needs. Recognising the importance of recycling as an integral part of our sustainability program has led us to develop innovative solutions and processes, for example, to contribute to end products that can be recycled with minimal impact on the recycling process.
What factors are most pressing in terms of sustainability for the packaging Industry?
As environmental concerns become increasingly mainstream, we see that businesses across all industries are looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprints. Our industry is no exception. If anything, it has proven to be a powerful example of the mobilisation behind climate change solutions. Especially when it comes to food and beverage products, plastics will remain integral to the packaging industry for the foreseeable future. It's important to develop innovative solutions to limit plastic waste; this is exactly what the whole industry is working on.
For example, multi-layer substrates have typically been used as a barrier for packaging. However, the poor recyclability of these materials is a major drawback. The above-mentioned substrates are increasingly falling into disrepute and are subject to ever more comprehensive regulations. At the same time, the legal requirements for recycling or disposing of such production materials pose a major challenge for many processing companies. As a sustainable alternative, we have developed ACTGreen Barrier Coatings, which include both water-based barrier coatings and aqueous TPE dispersions as coating or binder systems for various applications and end uses. These products are demonstrably sustainable, meeting upcoming regulatory requirements related to packaging waste and recyclability.
You see, it's essential to recognize that the packaging industry operates within a complex landscape – it is subject to the highest number of regulatory measures in the world. That covers an array of elements such as packaging specifications, recyclability, biodegradability, expected primary use, labelling and traceability, raw-materials sourcing, as well as disposal. Furthermore, this complexity is compounded by the fact that focus and approaches often vary significantly at regional and country/state levels. Overall, all these make sustainability a challenging but essential task in our industry.
What’s your vision for Actega’s sustainability initiatives? What’s next on Actega’s sustainability agenda?
I believe that taking a holistic approach to sustainability is the key to creating a better world for all. By implementing more sustainable practices, we are not only doing the right thing but also staying competitive in an ever-changing market.
While we've already taken steps to reduce our carbon footprint at the operational level, we recognise that becoming more sustainable at the product level is equally important. Our focus is on providing more transparency and data-driven sustainability benefits of our products by investigating the carbon footprint of the solutions we provide. This is part of an ongoing project to improve data availability and takes efforts not just from us but also from our suppliers and partners.
We are also currently exploring materials that can provide sustainability benefits, like bio-based materials for some of our products, to replace petrol-based materials and reduce our overall carbon footprint.
What should be considered by the industry players to achieve true sustainability in the packaging sector?
Achieving true sustainability in the packaging industry involves all actors from across the public, private and civic sectors and requires systemic change. Therefore, the Actega team has become a member of the 4evergreen alliance, working with its stakeholders across the value chain toward optimising fibre-based packaging's circularity and climate performance. We embrace the value of an interconnected network that runs the entire length of our supply chain, from raw material suppliers to brand owners. By creating an ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, we can stay in tune with customer needs and anticipate changing trends while working for a sustainable packaging industry.
Attending industry shows is always valuable - it provides insight into current problems and exciting solutions. At this year's Interpack and Metpack, I noticed varied interpretations of 'sustainability' within the packaging industry. To make progress, there needs to be a comprehensive understanding of the term and its implications. It was evident that regulation and reporting are currently driving nearly every player in the industry, with German LkSG still a hot topic. In addition, the implementation of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) are binding resources for companies of all sizes. However, it was encouraging to see that more packaging and raw materials suppliers are finishing their homework on Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) calculation, enabling them to provide tangible data on PCF for various packaging types, which empowers producers to make data-driven and fact-based decisions on sustainability – wasn’t possible a few years ago. Another significant discussion was the circular economy and how companies need to collaborate along the value chain to close the loop. Moving towards circularity cannot happen in silos and requires all stakeholders involved.
Actega develops, produces and distributes specialty coatings, inks, adhesives and sealing compounds with a focus on the packaging, graphic arts and medical industry.