Session: Packaging

Australian Plastics and Life Cycle Management– Partnerships and Projects
Maree Lang,^*   Plastics and Chemicals Industries Association
Clare Moran,   Environment Protection Authority Victoria

The Plastics and Chemicals Industries Association (PACIA) has actively partnered with the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA Victoria) and other key stakeholders to develop life cycle management capability across its membership base.

PACIA is the pre-eminent industry association for plastic and chemical manufacturers, importers and fabricators in Australia. With much of its manufacturing membership base located in Victoria, the state regulator, EPA Victoria, is a key partner for PACIA and its members. EPA Victoria’s vision is to see the Victorian community living sustainably, and EPA uses partnerships alongside statutory programs to place itself at the forefront of the sustainability agenda.

EPA Victoria’s Sustainability Covenant initiative provides the framework for the partnership with PACIA. Through Sustainability Covenants, the entire life cycle of products and services is considered; to better understand environmental impacts and help focus efforts for improvement, while delivering business benefits.

This paper will discuss the evolution of the industry association’s approach to life cycle thinking, the Sustainability Covenant and the formation of a life cycle program for its member companies. The PACIA program has evolved alongside and complemented the development of EPA Victoria’s broader life cycle management program for industry.

Activities initially focused on awareness raising and communication and have since developed include LCA training for industry, LCM tool development, project assessment and more recently, participation in the development of an Australian life cycle inventory. The strategic drivers behind the program development from both the industry association’s and the regulator’s perspective will be outlined and highlighted using current case studies.

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