June newsletter: See How Costco, Unilever & More SPC Changemakers Drive Progress
Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC)
Bringing sustainable packaging stakeholders together to catalyze action through events, collaboratives, news & resources
Are you a sustainable packaging hero? Maybe you’ve reimagined a packaging format, swapped out a material, or convinced your company to take that first big leap. Maybe you’re still finding your footing. Either way — you’re not alone.
This month, we’re celebrating SPC Changemakers who show us what bold action looks like, from rethinking recyclable Olympic beds to scaling smarter packaging. You’ll also find tools to help ease consumers through change (because grief is real, even when it’s about packaging), and inspiration for your own packaging hero’s journey.
Wherever you are in your sustainable packaging story, thank you for moving this work forward. Our next chapter is starting now, and we’re excited to write it with you this Fall at SPC Advance.
- Olga Kachook, Director, Sustainable Packaging Coalition, GreenBlue
The Changemakers’ Corner: SPC Members Shaping Sustainable Packaging
What do cardboard Olympic beds, lotion pumps, and recycling labels have in common? They’re all proof that SPC members are raising the bar for sustainable packaging.
From Smurfit Westrock’s recyclable pallet wraps to Costco’s use of How2Recycle® labels, our latest round of SPC’s Changemakers highlights the leadership that SPC members like you are bringing to sustainable packaging. Check out the latest round of SPC’s Changemakers, and along the way, we hope you’ll find some inspiration or opportunities for collaboration!
Change Hurts: How to Earn Consumers’ Trust Through Sustainable Transitions
There’s a grief to innovation, and sustainable packaging is no exception. When familiar formats evolve or disappear, consumers feel it. Even when these changes are for the better (or the more sustainable), they can spark a sense of loss — just ask the Capri Sun social media team when the internet was aflame with rumors that they were phasing out their beloved pouch format.
At SPC Impact 2025, Aaron Powers reminded us that grief isn’t a barrier to innovation — it’s a signal that people care. So how do we move forward without leaving consumers behind? Dive into three tools brands can use to ease the transition and scale the adoption to more sustainable packaging.
Are You a Sustainability Hero? Take Your Sustainable Packaging Hero’s Journey
From Harry Potter to The Odyssey, the hero’s journey is a classic storytelling arc — but it’s more than a metaphor for packaging professionals: "By framing our work as a hero’s journey, packaging professionals can have a better sense of where we are today, where we need to go, and what true transformation can look like,” SPC Director Olga Kachook writes in Packaging Europe.
Ready to step beyond the ordinary? Read to see where you are on this journey, and what it will take to lead your organization toward meaningful, sustainable transformation,
Open to All: Register for SPC Advance
In this watershed moment for sustainable packaging, true progress depends on our ability to row together. That’s why, for the first time ever, we’re excited to open up registration to SPC Advance to all. We’re making sure there’s a seat at the table for all who want to help chart the future of sustainable packaging.
With the full program now live, explore sessions on EPR, the evolving role of LCAs, fresh strategies for carbon reduction and consumer behavior change, and so much more. Check out the agenda to see what’s in store for sustainable packaging experts like you this September 29 – October 1 in Boston.
SPC at Packaging Europe’s Sustainable Packaging Summit
As a content collaborator for the Sustainable Packaging Summit, SPC has curated a handful of sessions for this years event, aligning with overall themes. With Regulations & Compliance at the forefront, join us on Tuesday November 11th in Utrecht for Market-Driven or Regulatory Approach: Drawing Learnings on EPR from the EU and US.
Together, we'll explore similarities & differences in EPR implementation from the EU to the U.S. and what we can learn from one another.
More Sustainable Packaging News
SPC’s June Packaging Policy Roundup is live with updates on Maine's EPR "Fix It" bill, polystyrene bans in Montana, and EPR implementation in Minnesota.
What are EPR state legislators saying about implementation? Packaging Dive is covering insights from regulators across several EPR states.
What would it take to get flexible films to be recycled curbside? Learn about the barriers blocking curbside flexible recycling and how we can overcome them.
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