78 • NOVEMBER 2025 • PPAI Community | Buzzworthy PPAI’s Responsibility Summit Focuses On Sustainability, Product Safety Strategies More than 150 PPAI members, staff and speakers gathered in Newport Beach, California, in September to learn about developments in product safety, worldwide regulations and sustainability measures at PPAI’s annual Responsibility Summit. PPAI President and CEO Drew Holmgreen kicked off the first full day of sessions with a look at The State of Responsibility figures from the most recent PPAI 100. “We’re putting a lot of effort, a lot of chips on the table, into supporting sustainability” as an industry and fighting the “brandfill” assumption that our industry is wasteful, said Holmgreen. He noted that last year, sustainable products generated $3.7 billion in sales – 13.8% of total industry revenue – reflecting a trend that continues to grow. Opening keynote speaker Dr. Jon Foley, executive director at Project Drawdown, spoke about the “explosion of humanity,” over the past 50 years, during which the population doubled and resource use increased exponentially. “Even the way we’re changing is changing right now, and with that, our impacts on the planet are changing,” he said. Foley recounted myriad ecological changes and challenges and highlighted the risks that a changing planet poses to business. But even with all the changes and turmoil going on around us, he said, it’s important to look for opportunities to do better. “This is an opportunity for us to rethink things, starting with rethinking our businesses,” he added, and encouraged the audience to look for new ways to do things that not only boost sustainability but yield a competitive advantage, from cost savings to a more favorable reputation with customers. The second keynote speaker, Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, focused on circularity and the potential to find value in waste. “Everything to do with recycling is about money,” he said. “All recycling in the world … is operated by for-profit companies, and there is no law anywhere in the world that says that recycling provider must recycle what it collects,” Szaky added, “so the driver in the end is economics. … How do you drive more value than cost?” Ashar Niaz, business development manager for Reverse Logistics Group, spoke about extended producer responsibility and steps companies need to take to achieve compliance. He predicted that 19 states could have active EPR laws by the end of the decade. “EPR is growing, and it’s not going away,” he said. Niaz also cautioned that the EPR landscape in the U.S. is evolving and very fluid and urged attendees to look to primary resources – Circular Action Alliance and state agency websites – for the most up-to-date information. Denise Taschereau, PPAI Board Chair and co-founder and CEO of Vancouver-based distributor Fairware, led Inside PPAI
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