The Pack Green Coalition, an initiative to replace unnecessary single-use plastic from supply chains, has formally launched. Pack Green’s mission will focus on renewable and more sustainable alternatives, including paper and other bio-based solutions, with an emphasis on protective packaging and other short-term uses, such as food service items.

“Consumers are more sensitive than ever to the impact of their purchasing choices on the environment, and the launch of Pack Green is a crucial step to meet consumers’ desire for a more sustainable option to plastics,” says James Asali, Pack Green’s president and chief executive officer.

Pack Green will bring together like-minded organizations, companies, and individuals to raise awareness with consumers, retailers, brands, and policymakers on the opportunities to reduce plastic waste and to advocate for the use of renewable materials wherever feasible. Pack Green will work to bring solutions to the single-use plastics crisis, serve as a research hub to study data on packaging and short life-cycle materials, and engage federal, state and local policymakers. 

“Last year in the US alone, consumers received more than 20 billion packages,” says Asali. “Many of those packages contained unnecessary single-use plastic products — air pillows, bubble wrap, or Styrofoam — that can be easily replaced by renewable paper packaging. Whether it’s packaging, food service, or countless other single-use applications, there are solutions that exist today to reduce single-use plastic waste.”

Pack Green currently counts Ranpak Holdings Corp., a global leader of environmentally sustainable, paper-based packaging solutions for e-commerce and industrial supply chains, as a founding member, alongside a distinguished Board of Advisors with deep experience in environmental stewardship and renewable packaging:

• Myles Cohen – Former President of Pratt Recycling
• Scott Cassel – Founder and CEO, Product Stewardship Institute
• Missy Owens – Former Director of Government Relations, Federal and Diplomatic, at The Coca-Cola Company
• Ben Packard – Executive Director of EarthLab at the University of Washington and former vice president, Global Responsibility at Starbucks Coffee Company and Global Managing Director of Corporate Engagement at The Nature Conservancy 

“Pack Green is launching at a critical moment,” says David Murgio, chief sustainability officer at Ranpak. “Goods are being shipped at unprecedented volumes. Stakeholders from the private sector and non-profits are all setting goals for improvement. Governments are looking at new regulations and ESG standards. We think Pack Green can be an important part of the solution.”