How can the PET industry continue reducing its environmental impact while meeting growing demand for packaging?
That’s one of the questions Jolene Milne, Sustainability Analyst at Husky Technologies, explores in a recent episode of the Redefining Plastics podcast, “NAPCOR’s PET Bottle Decarbonization Roadmap with Husky’s Jolene Milne.”
Recorded live at the National Plastics Conference, the conversation with host Justin Riney highlights practical strategies for moving the plastics industry forward by addressing key sustainability priorities across businesses and manufacturing. Milne also discusses the role organizations like NAPCOR play in bringing companies across the value chain together around shared goals and fact-based conversations about plastics and sustainability.
A major focus of the episode is NAPCOR’s recently released PET Forward: A Decarbonization Roadmap for the PET Packaging Value Chain, which identifies a practical pathway for reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with US PET beverage bottle systems through 2050.
Developed by independent environmental consulting firm Eastern Research Group (ERG) in partnership with NAPCOR, the roadmap finds that the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the PET beverage bottle systems studied could decline by approximately 57% by 2050. Even as PET bottle production grows, total annual greenhouse gas emissions associated with the systems studied could decline by approximately 42%.
Importantly, progress does not depend on a single breakthrough technology. The roadmap identifies multiple strategies that can work together, including continued lightweighting, increased collection and recycling, greater use of recycled PET, renewable energy, manufacturing efficiency, and continued innovation. Many of these solutions are commercially available and already being implemented across the PET value chain today.
The podcast conversation brings those opportunities to life. Milne discusses how advances in PET packaging and manufacturing can help companies use resources more efficiently and support circularity, from incorporating recycled PET into new packaging to innovations such as PET closures and label-less bottle designs. She and Riney also explore why translating complex sustainability topics into clear, accurate information is essential to helping promote better understanding of plastics and recycling.
The discussion reflects one of PET Forward’s central messages: reducing emissions requires collaboration across packaging design, manufacturing, collection, recycling, energy, infrastructure, and policy.
For audiences in packaging, recycling, manufacturing, or sustainability industries, or those who simply want to better understand how PET continues to evolve, the episode offers a practical look at the innovations and partnerships helping build a lower-emission, more circular future for PET.
Listen to the full episode of Redefining Plastics: “NAPCOR’s PET Bottle Decarbonization Roadmap with Husky’s Jolene Milne” here.
Learn more about PET Forward: A Decarbonization Roadmap for the PET Packaging Value Chain and explore the full report, executive summary, infographic, and additional resources.
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