The opinions expressed here by Trellis expert contributors are their own, not those of Trellis.
Planning business initiatives to comply with sustainability regulations like extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a lot like personal finance: complex, and full of misconceptions and potential pitfalls.
In both cases, there’s often a pivotal moment when you realize: “Maybe what I’m doing isn’t working anymore.” Your company could be new to EPR reporting, for example, and unsure how much it will owe in fees. It’s like learning how to navigate credit card interest for the first time.
Once you fearlessly face the data, however, you’ll see how rethinking your product and packaging portfolio with regulations in mind can generate savings that support future sustainability initiatives. Here’s how to get started:
Understand the legal obligations
It’s not just about packaging. Textile EPR mandates and broader sustainability regulations around the world often include requirements for accurate and substantiated on-package claims, appropriate markings or symbology, recycled content, restrictions on toxic chemicals such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and more.
These rules have implications for a host of product-based sustainability initiatives that companies like stroller maker Bugaboo and fashion designer Calvin Klein already address through recycled and bio-based materials and collection programs.
Work with a data and reporting partner
If your company has limited data on the materials, weight or components that make up its product and packaging portfolio, a consultant may be able to pull this data or analysis to quickly estimate fees. Plus, they should know the ins and outs of regulations, which is especially helpful if your organization is newer to the compliance that’s redefining circularity across U.S. states.
Calculate fee exposure
Once your team has data on the weight and material of your company’s portfolio, it can better understand the cost of complying with state EPR laws. Packaging fees include base fees per pound of material, discounts from positive packaging choices (known as bonuses) and penalties for problematic packaging choices (known as malices).
Look for patterns. Are there higher fees for certain materials? Do components like labels or closures account for a large portion of your company’s fees? Do the bulk of fees come from primary or secondary packaging? These patterns can form the backbone of a forward-thinking strategy.
Play with your portfolio
Imagine having a clean slate. What would your organization’s portfolio look like, knowing what you now know about fees, recyclability and sortation challenges? Which materials would it avoid? Which formats have been problematic? For now, ignore the limitations around what’s possible and envision what’s ideal.
Look for big ways to reduce
When you’re dreaming, don’t forget that reduction is the simplest — if not the easiest — path to lower fees and less reporting in the case of packaging EPR. Source reduction, a key requirement of California’s EPR program, involves shrinking the total amount of plastic packaging.
The five source reduction pathways:
- Reuse and refill
- Eliminate
- Switch to alternative, non-plastic materials
- Rightsize, concentrate, lightweight and shift to bulk packaging
- Use post-consumer recycled content
As you think about how these pathways might work for different parts of your company’s portfolio, consider that a one-fell-swoop approach might be more effective than incremental efforts. For example, the time spent identifying marginal lightweighting opportunities could be redirected into a single effort around reusable transport packaging that results in long-term cost savings while focusing your organization on a single, concrete sustainability initiative.
Create a new, post-EPR strategy
Mesh idealism with realism. Look at every item in your company’s portfolio and consider what needs to change. What should get a redesign? Where should recycled content be ramped up to meet state requirements? Where will reuse and refill come into play? What new materials can be substituted? Where can your company unlock instant savings from lower fees that can be reinvested in long-term innovation?
Map what needs to change (ideally) against the timelines you face (realistically). Start with parts of the portfolio that can change today, but don’t forget to take steps towards what needs to change in five years’ time.
Make the case to leadership
A strategy won’t go far if senior leadership isn’t on board. Don’t make the mistake of framing areas like packaging as just a sustainability problem: They present enterprise-level risks and opportunities.
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s Building Buy-In resource, including a conversation companion, can help your team articulate why inaction on sustainable packaging presents a legal risk with regulators, a reputational risk with consumers and a supply chain risk for procurement.
Like saving up for a mortgage or paying off student loans, sustainability initiatives require persistence and time. Small first steps such as these will ladder up to big results: a long-term strategy that reduces risk and delivers lasting value for your company and the planet.
