Greentech Lead America: Waste Management, an environmental solutions provider and leading residential recycler, in partnership with sustainability leader William McDonough, announced the launch of a sustainable innovation collaborative to help foster and guide future product and packaging design innovation among industry-leading companies.
The initiative—the Waste Management McDonough Sustainable Innovation Collaborative—will focus on directly serving producers, manufacturers, retailers and suppliers of packaged goods and products as they strive to advance their sustainability objectives and results.
Product and packaging design for recyclability as well as careful consideration of ecological and human health will be among the collaborative’s goals.
“Over the 40 years since consumer recycling began in the United States, we’ve had the privilege of serving a wide spectrum of leading firms and communities in developing, setting and meeting ambitious recycling and sustainability goals,” said David P. Steiner, president and chief executive officer of Waste Management.
“Now we’re prepared to help nurture and support further progress not only in sustainable packaging but also in addressing the full product life-cycle, with a practical eye toward waste elimination, reducing environmental impact and increasing value from waste,” Steiner added.
McDonough said, “Working together, we will use the tools of design, science and principled business practices in collaboration with manufacturers, retailers, distributors, consumers and recyclers of products and packaging to profitably work toward eliminating the very concept of waste.”
“We can link healthy, safe materials and sophisticated logistics, and this allows us to bring a uniquely valuable perspective for continuous innovation and quality improvement with supply-side and demand-side collaborators,” McDonough added.
The Sustainable Innovation Collaborative broadens the range of consulting experience that both Waste Management and McDonough Innovation already offer to help firms make sustainability-minded decisions and measure results.
Business leaders pursuing enhanced design innovation now have a collaborative enterprise to help them make additional strides in their sustainability efforts.