Established in 2004, SPC has over 600 members of material manufacturers, recyclers and waste recoveries, government agencies, and more. Petoskey Plastics has been a member since 2019.

The mission of the coalition is “to bring packaging sustainability stakeholders together to catalyze actionable improvements to packaging systems and lend an authoritative voice on issues related to packaging sustainability.”

Petoskey Plastics works with sustainably minded suppliers to support our packaging sustainability goals. The packaging for our finished goods is made from 100% recycled corrugate material whenever possible. We also work with our packaging suppliers to continuously improve the “rightsize” of our cartons and shipping packaging by ensuring there is no unused space within boxes. Our products are then space-efficient and lighter, and we use less energy to ship to customers, reducing our carbon footprint.

A quick look at the SPC website shows that other members have also worked hard to uphold the mission. While it would take a separate article to highlight all the projects and collaborative ventures, there are a few we would like to share.

The SPC Design for Recycled Content Guide is a free resource for brands and companies that would like to make their packaging more sustainable. The guide gives many helpful tips and facts about recycled content and covers a mix of material types, plastic and otherwise.

One fact from the guide that we love is: “Using 30% recycled content in PE films has been estimated to reduce energy consumption by a quarter and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over a third during manufacturing.” We make our Greencore® products with up to 70% recycled content, so imagine the reduced energy consumption there!

Another project to note is the How2Recycle® Label that over 150 member companies use on their consumer product packaging. 

Recycling rules can be hard to follow when the process is not standardized; the label aims to reduce that confusion and help consumers recognize how and where to recycle their materials.

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition intends to be “the leading voice on sustainable packaging with a membership that encompasses the entire supply chain.” Visit their website to see all the other ways members are using their voices to promote sustainable packaging.