Summer 2026 SPC Changemakers

In this edition of SPC’s Changemakers Corner, we’re excited to spotlight the people behind impressive sustainable packaging progress. Whether SPC members are rethinking single-serving coffee or reengineering a label from the inside out, they’re making their mark on packaging circularity.  

So, check out this edition to see how SPC members are cutting packaging waste, boosting recycled content, and rethinking materials from the ground up. 

Teeing up compostable packaging: CJ Biomaterials helped drive sustainability down the fairway 

We’ve got a sustainable packaging hole in one! This summer, at a highly anticipated PGA Tour stop (the CJ CUP Byron Nelson), SPC member company CJ Biomaterials brought compostable food serviceware to one of professional golf’s biggest stages. 

At the golf tournament, CJ Biomaterials partnered with WinCup’s phade® brand to provide more than 40,000 PHA-based paper cups, straws, and pieces of cutlery. The products were certified for home and commercial composting. 

With more than 240,000 visitors, the event gave tens of thousands of golf fans the chance to experience circular food service packaging firsthand. Well played, CJ Biomaterials’ Leah Ford and the whole CJ Biomaterials team!  

Ahold Delhaize USA enables stocked grocery aisles with sustainable packaging progress 

Shopping at Ahold Delhaize USA brands stores? Be sure to look out for sustainable packaging on aisle 5. And 6. And 7 — okay, maybe all the aisles!  

We’re excited to share that SPC member Ahold Delhaize USA and its family of brands — including five leading omnichannel U.S. grocery brands: Food Lion, The GIANT Company, Giant Food, Hannaford and Stop & Shop — recently reported on some sweeping sustainable packaging progress.  

In the latest annual report representing all Ahold Delhaize global brands, they shared that 17.7% of its own-brand primary plastic packaging was made with recycled content, representing approximately 31,000 metric tons of recycled plastic. That’s up from 15.7% the previous year. The global retailer also reported that 35.8% of its own-brand primary plastic packaging was reusable, recyclable or compostable, up from 32.9% in 2024.  

That’s the kind of grocery list we can get behind! Congrats to Chief Sustainability Officer Marc Stolzman and the Ahold Delhaize USA team for bringing more recycled content and circular packaging progress to shelves across their portfolio! 

Trifecta: Amcor nailed recycling, recyclability, and recycled content 

Packaging has no shortage of big sustainability goals ahead. And good news for sustainable packaging progress nerds: SPC member company Amcor is making — and sharing — meaningful progress toward those goals. 

In the company’s latest sustainability report, the Amcor team shared that they achieved their  goal of using 10% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic across their packaging, representing 218,000 metric tons of recycled material. 

Amcor also shared that: 

• 72% of the company’s packaging production by weight was recyclable or recycle-ready, meaning the formats meet technical requirements for reprocessing where local recycling systems accept them 

• 75% of Amcor’s operational waste was diverted from disposal through recycling and other recovery methods 

• The company advanced packaging innovations including cat treat canisters made with 100% recycled plastic material, bread bags made with 30% recycled plastic, and recyclable paper-based snack wrappers 

So here’s to Amcor and its leaders, like SPC Executive Committee Member Diane Marret! Together, we’ll keep turning packaging circularity goals into measurable gains. 

Packaging reduction win: The Lavazza team brewed up a lower-packaging take on single-serve coffee 

Cheers are in order: Consumers can enjoy the convenience of single-serve coffee with less packaging, thanks to Lavazza’s revolutionary new single-serve system, Tablì. 

This summer, SPC member Lavazza introduced Tablì in the U.S. after five years of research and development. Tablì’s coffee tabs are made entirely from compressed coffee, without an individual capsule, wrapping, or coating. Instead, the tabs are packed by the half-dozen in a recyclable paper tray to cut down on packaging and potential waste. Each precisely dosed tab delivers café-quality espresso in seconds with no measuring or grinding required. 

The tabs show how rethinking a familiar product from the ground up can reduce packaging waste before it’s created. 

Ready to experience the future of coffee? Tablì is available for purchase on pre-order now, with units shipping beginning August 2026. Shop the Tablì single-serve coffee system at LavazzaUSA.com with availability expanding to Amazon later this year. Congratulations to SPC member Lavazza team! 

International Paper advanced “paperization” powered by sustainable systems 

For years now, the paperization of packaging has meant that paper-based packaging is scaling across new formats, applications, and markets. But is it scaling sustainably? If your paperization work looks anything like SPC member International Paper’s does, the answer is yes. 

This year, SPC member International Paper shared their latest sustainability report, with some impressive packaging stats. Some highlights include the company’s efforts to: 

• Keep 6 million tons of recovered paper in circulation, by collecting, processing, and marketing the fibers with its nationwide recycling operations 

• Conserve or restore 532,100 acres of significant forestland in 2025 

• Ensure that more than 97% of their products were reusable, recyclable, and/or compostable 

International Paper’s Mackenzie Crigger and the rest of their team aren’t losing the forest for the trees when it comes to sustainable packaging. So, hats off to this SPC member’s progress, and we can’t wait to see your sustainable packaging gains ahead!   

The Flexcon team pieced together sustainable packaging progress 

Packaging circularity is a puzzle, and every component plays a part. Labels and films may be a small piece of a package, but they can carry an outsized influence on material use, recyclability, and end-of-life outcomes. 

In their most recent Sustainability Impact Report, SPC member Flexcon shared how they’re putting the pieces of sustainable packaging into place. Some highlights include: 

• Their expansion of PCR films, liners, and overlaminates, next-gen wash-off technologies, downgauged liners, and new bio-based film constructions 

• Diverting 76% of waste from landfills, with a goal of reaching 90% waste diversion by 2028 

• Their work to support a supplier packaging return program, recycling pallets, cores, endplates, and other shipping materials back into the supply chain 

By examining both what it produces and how it produces it, SPC member Dan Riendeau, senior director of Product Management and Corporate Sustainability, and the whole Flexcon team are helping companies pursue circular packaging and labeling. 

The people behind packaging progress 

At SPC, we know sustainable packaging progress is thanks to people like our members, who every day, roll up their sleeves to help ensure their packaging is part of the solution. In this edition of our Changemakers Corner, we’re proud to spotlight these SPC members and some of the people behind their progress.  

Through our resources, events, and Collaboratives, we’re excited to keep helping members connect, learn from one another, and build on what is working. 

P.S. Want to be featured in a future Changemakers’ Corner? Reach out to our marketing team to share your sustainable packaging progress: marketing@greenblue.org