Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Weekly podcast - Unpacking Extended Producer Responsibility with Amcor’s David Clark

·21 min·2 clips

Amcor's Chief Sustainability Officer David Clark explains why packaging companies face a patchwork of new 'producer pays' regulations worldwide.

The episode begins with host Ian Welsh introducing the main interview with David Clark of Amcor about extended producer responsibility regulation. First, there is a news roundup covering New Zealand's revised methane targets for agriculture, Lilac Solutions' lithium extraction project in the U.S., delays in EU textile EPR rules, and Nestle's exit from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance. The interview then forms the core of the episode. Clark explains that Amcor operates in over 40 countries and has experience with various EPR systems. He outlines three positive impacts of well-designed EPR: incentives for better packaging through eco-modulation, funding for recycling infrastructure, and closing the economic gap between recycling costs and material value. The discussion moves to differences in U.S. state approaches, highlighting Colorado and Minnesota as having more industry operational control versus Maine's state-led program. Clark emphasizes the role of producer responsibility organizations as industry-led groups managing EPR programs. He notes Europe's harmonization efforts through the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. For effective implementation, Clark recommends starting with a needs assessment and an end-state vision. He explains how EPR fees become part of packaging decisions, warning against separating fee management from design teams. Clark argues that even non-universal EPR is better than none, citing higher collection rates in U.S. bottle deposit states. He identifies unintended consequences like fee disparities across regions affecting packaging choices. The conversation touches on EPR's impact on design, including potential bans on non-recyclable packaging. Finally, Clark discusses how EPR might influence the reuse versus recycling debate, questioning the economics of reusable systems, and predicts increasing complexity as more jurisdictions implement EPR.

As heard by us

A grounded look at how EPR turns packaging policy into operations.

The episode frames extended producer responsibility as both a logistics challenge and a policy one, with Ian Welsh speaking to David Clark, Chief Sustainability Officer at Amcor, about what it takes to introduce EPR regulation across jurisdictions.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

When EPR turns into state-by-state plumbing, this gives you the map.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum