FPA has many advocacy priorities including ensuring the flexible packaging industry is represented in legislative and NGO discussions on solid waste management, material composition transparency, sustainability, the role of packaging in reducing food waste, and food safety issues. Additionally, FPA works to ensure reasonable government regulations around environment, health and safety including the Clean Air Act, water and waste regulations and occupational safety and health rules.

Strategic Engagement & Market Outreach

The FPA Strategic Engagement & Market Outreach Program identifies and protects against threats to the flexible packaging industry in the public policy arena and promotes the positive profile of flexible packaging to key stakeholders, non-governmental organizations and policy makers.

FPA is engaged in a long-term public affairs and marketing strategy to prevent negative precedents and potential barriers to growth of the flexible packaging industry. FPA’s integrated government relations, public affairs and marketing plan promotes and protects flexible packaging, enabling it to remain a preferred packaging option for consumer product companies and consumers, and to enjoy continued growth in the packaging marketplace. 

FPA’s strategies create an integrated national presence that simultaneously affects the decision-makers at all levels and impacts external customers and consumers allowing FPA to address emerging threats.

Program Strategies

FPA is utilizing a multidisciplinary set of strategies that uses public policy tools including:

• Legislative monitoring, intelligence gathering, coalition building and advocacy engagement to identify and stop threats and gain support from national, state and municipal policy makers.
• Stakeholder outreach programs aimed at identifying and recruiting industry supporters and verifiers.
• Marketing to shape the discourse around flexible packaging. 

Goals for the program include:

• Promoting the benefits and effectiveness of flexible packaging to key audiences, including consumer product companies, industry stakeholders and policy makers.
• Preventing passage of negative public policy restricting the use, sale, or disposal of flexible packaging in consumer and industrial applications.

Key messaging for the program includes:

• Flexible packaging requires less material and energy to manufacture and to transport and generates smaller quantities of greenhouse gases on its way to market.
• Flexible packaging is light-weight and easy to open, carry, store, and reseal.
• Flexible packaging extends the shelf life of many products, including food, and has a positive sustainability profile.
• Flexible packaging ultimately results in less consumer waste being sent to landfills, and the industry is working on resource recovery and other end-of-use solutions.

The FPA program includes:

• Policy and threat analysis aimed at identifying and analyzing legislative and regulatory trends – at the national, state or municipal levels.
• A thought leader campaign that identifies key groups and develops verifiers, supporters and advocates outside of the industry who can help influence the debate around the environmental sustainability and impact of flexible packaging.
• A multifaceted strategic public relations program to educate key industry influencers and brands/consumer product companies.

Some of issues of concern include:

• Extended Producer Responsibility
• Restrictions on Non-Recyclable Packaging
• Recycled Content Mandates for Flexible Packaging
• Disposal Bans for Flexible Packaging
• Special Fees on Flexible Packaging
• Restrictions on Flexible Packaging Recycling Programs – such as restrictions on collection locations, restricting access to the single-stream recycling system, or restrictions on hauling flexible packaging materials
• Restrictions on chemicals use and material bans

Serlin Haley is assisting FPA with its advocacy program. Serlin Haley is a national public law firm that effects change by representing businesses before the Executive, Legislative, Regulatory, and Municipal areas of government. Working within all areas of government enables Serlin Haley to effectively advocate for FPA’s interests and to assist us in achieving our business goals.