Re-CAP of PHOENIX Sustainability Efforts

Over the past year, PHOENIX has continued its drive toward sustainability initiatives. Spearheaded by the Sustainability Committee, a cross-departmental team with 15 members, this group meets twice a month to stay on top of new developments and keep PHOENIX a relevant and impactful contributor to the packaging industry. “This team has tackled projects that entail everything from recycling to energy consumption to ESG assessments,” said PHOENIX Manager of Sustainability and Innovation, Rick Palandri. This past year, the committee accomplished four key initiatives under Palandri’s leadership:

1. Submitting PHOENIX’s first response to EcoVadis, a sustainability benchmarking platform, and earning a bronze medal.
2. Becoming a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Plants Program.
3. Benchmarking data and committing to reducing energy intensity by 25% by the end of 2031 across all production facilities.
4. Preparing to publish an inaugural sustainability report.

In addition to these four large-scope projects, the Sustainability Committee was also integral to launching three new post-consumer resin (PCR) options to the PHOENIX portfolio.

“Looking forward, there is more to be accomplished, but to set us up for success, we needed to gain a clear understanding of where we are in our sustainability journey,” said Palandri. To determine the most significant sustainability impact areas, PHOENIX conducted its first materiality assessment in 2024. This exercise provides the foundation for PHOENIX's sustainability strategy, offering insight into where to prioritize actions and communication efforts.

From a combination of interviews, surveys, and a benchmarking study of the industry, PHOENIX leveraged the concept of double materiality to synthesize the data, which considers both financial materiality and broader impacts on the environment, economy, and society. The assessment directly mirrors the four pillars of PHOENIX’s Corporate Social Responsibility commitment: People, Product Innovation & Design, Planet, and Philanthropy. Subtopics within those four pillars include evaluating the impact of employee health and safety, product innovation, energy management, product end-of-life, diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as several other topics.

This assessment and the resulting goal-setting will culminate in PHOENIX’s inaugural sustainability report, to be published later this year.

“We’re proud to soon share our first official report and all of the data that comes with it,” said Palandri. “This foundation building will be beneficial for years to come and make PHOENIX a truly sustainable company that will continue to provide safety and security to our customers’ products for years to come.”

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