SPA signs up international partners

The Sustainable Packaging Alliance (SPA) has announced new channel partners to support its efforts to promote packaging sustainability in the European and North American markets.

Heading up SPA’s North American effort will be Jay Edwards, from Pack2Sustain, a technical services firm specialising in providing sustainability advice and research to the packaging industry.

Edwards has worked in the packaging research and development field for 20 years, beginning with 18 years at Kraft Foods where he was the global sustainable packaging expert between 2007 and 2011.

“He has direct experience with the nuances of packaging development work, contributed to the packaging intellectual property landscape, and worked extensively in the area of sustainable packaging metrics as applied within brand-owner and retailer contexts,” SPA's relationship marketing manager, Victor Barichello, said.

“All of this makes Jay a natural fit as he knows what companies need, because in many instances he has navigated much the same challenges.”
For the European market, SPA has appointed Graham Houlder from SLOOP Consulting, a packaging sustainability consultancy company based in the Netherlands.

“The expansion with channel partnerships reinforces SPA’s commitment to their growing international client list,” Houlder said.

“Having partners that intimately know their markets and understand the true internationalisation of the packaging industry at a practical level is a significant factor in our ability to ensure client needs are met."

SPA is known for its PIQET (Packaging Impact Quick Evaluation Tool) tool, a computer-based Life Cycle Assessment tool for packaging, used by many multinational packaging and FMCG companies including Nestlé.

PIQET is upgraded twice a year to ensures that datasets are reviewed and functionality is constantly improved.

To achieve this, SPA and its channel partners constantly engage in dialogue with the clients to maintain PIQET’s advantage of being current and relevant.