By Gustavo Cuata, CEO, Heiber & Schroder
Leadership. A big word meaning action, example, and strategy. A word that also represents us in the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC). Industry leaders getting together to share and learn from each other and to discuss and analyze trends in order to take action.
This is exactly what I will invite you to do with the next lines. Take action.
April is Earth month. A time to raise environmental awareness and create consciousness around the issues that affect mother nature. Issues that we create, issues that we sometimes ignore, and, therefore issues that we indirectly accept. Please continue reading, this is not another lecture about pollution. I am not an activist, but a leader like you. One concerned about what is going on.
Imagine you are scuba diving in turquoise waters. There are wonderful things to discover at 85 ft. depth; the reef and sea life gives you the feeling of being in a different world while enjoying a flying like sensation. Something calls your attention, it is not a turtle nor a shark, it is something out of the normal, colorful but something that does not belong. You separate from the group and go check it out. There it is, right there, under a small rock.
The first rule of scuba diving is not to interfere with nature; however, this does not look natural at all. Then you realize it is nothing but a label, a soda label; red, the printing is sharp and clear, and you can actually read it underwater. The date printed on it is 2002.
This is what happened during one of my last immersions. I did take the plastic label out later, I deposited it into the trash bag in our boat. My first thought was, “damned, that was some good printing”. If you are in the packaging industry, you learn to appreciate printing quality. I do not know how long that label was underwater, but considering its age, and the fact that it spent a fair amount of time under salty water, I was really impressed with how well preserved it was.
That same day, during dinner, it hit me. That piece of plastic, was almost intact after 20 years, how many more decades could it remain under that rock? Would it ever dissolve one day? Where would that plastic go? It was like somebody carefully took it and placed it under that rock for someone else to find. Like in some kind of game, a deadly game if you understand its consequences.
Why do I share this with you? To explain the effects of pollution in our seas, our planet, and therefore our lives. I firmly believe that a big part of today´s environmental issues have been caused by indifference. Which, in turn, is caused by ignorance. So, I decided to do something about it and start sharing information with those in my area of influence, especially with those who could help me promote it. If more people are aware of the consequences, maybe we could prevent more or even act on it. Of course, there are many bells and whistles about it; however, it seems that people always choose to turn the other way or forget about it.
Awareness is the main purpose of this essay, to make you — leader of the packaging industry — aware of our potential influence and role in the so called “sustainability wave”.
I am sure each of you are individually taking measures to reduce emissions, or to contribute to local sustainability within your company or daily life, but hey! We are PPC, we as a group have a larger audience and area of influence and I think it is time for us to use it, since we, as la crème de la crème in the packaging industry, have the opportunity to inform and educate packaging consumers.
But what is the big deal of that plastic label being underwater for so long? Why does it matter if we are now moving to paperboard and recycling?
Well, the answer is that many people still don’t understand the importance of recycling or simply putting garbage in the right place. Therefore, awareness is needed. “Sustainability” alone is not enough, people need to understand what is really happening, and we need to be aware of the impact our decisions have on our planet’s future. Packaging producers must influence the consumer from a different perspective, not only when touching a given product, but even before and after.
When you scuba dive, you learn to appreciate oxygen, you even change your breathing in order to optimize its consumption. Back on the surface, most of us take oxygen as a given and we do not even think about where it comes from nor how much we have left. When was the last time you stopped to think about the source of the oxygen we breathe?
This is the reason why I want to share the following facts with you:
A. More than half of the oxygen present in the earth´s atmosphere is produced by coral reefs. That´s right, trees are very important but not the main source.
B. Only 0.0025% of the ocean floor is covered by coral reefs.
C. Corals are alive. A coral reef can be considered a vast ecosystem that consists of colonies of hundreds of tiny living corals. Each of the corals is referred to as a “polyp”.
D. Corals not only produce oxygen, but they also have the following functions:
- Protection and shelter of fish and sea life (which translates in an important food source for humans too).
- Protect coasts from strong currents and waves. Have you heard about coastal erosion in Florida? That’s right, this is also caused by a lack of reef.
- Coral reefs are nature’s water filtration system.
- They control how much carbon dioxide is in the ocean water
E. The time it takes for a coral reef to fully grow ranges from a hundred thousand to 30 million years.
F. Corals are severely threatened by pollution, disease, and habitat They are dying massively and rapidly (the so called “Bleaching” caused by a slight change in water temperature).
The sad reality is, Corals might even go extinct for all we know. Not in 100 or 50 years, but as soon as 10 years if we do not act immediately.
What can we do about it? The first step is to create awareness. If we know more, we will react better and in a more conscious way. If we know corals are alive, we will understand they might die too and take action to avoid this from happening. Stressors such as increased water temperature and microplastics have cumulative impacts on corals and the packaging industry has a big role to play here.
Let´s be honest. Plastic alone is not the issue. We blame plastic for a big part of our current environmental problems, but we ignore the fact that it was us — humans — who brought that label into the sea. It is us who constantly drop trash out on the streets, for it to end up dragged by a river and into the ocean. If we keep up like this, it will not matter how much paperboard we use or recycle, because we will face a greater ecological disaster.
I am a sea lover, I practice kitesurfing and scuba diving, but I can also enjoy a nice relaxing day on the beach. Whenever I am there, every time I see a piece of trash on the water or on the beach, I pick it up and bring it to the next trash can. I teach my kids to do the same. Unfortunately, I do not see many others caring. People will step over a plastic bottle and just ignore it or kick it aside. Imagine if every person collected 2-3 pieces of trash every time they are on the beach. Beaches would be super clean, but why does this not happen? Next time you are on a beach, check how much trash people leave after their stay on the sand.
My goal here is to call your attention and to show you how, by sharing just a bit of information, one can create awareness. Imagine what we could achieve together, if we would join efforts to create social and environmental responsibility and empathy.
Well-informed people make better decisions, and these kinds of people appreciate those who contribute something to the common good. This also applies to the products they consume, the business partners they choose, and the companies they would like to work for.
I think the packaging industry is doing a great job by transforming and adapting to the current market needs, but not every consumer understands the impact of these efforts. I think we can take a more active and neutral role to make this happen, and this will bring long-term benefits to all. Together we can achieve more, Do you want to join the movement? If so, let’s get in touch, I am sure together we will achieve great things!
Gustavo Cuata
CEO Heiber + Schroeder