MSU School of Packaging director: Our partnership with Amcor will inspire packaging leaders

Q. What does this partnership mean for the School of Packaging?

At this critical moment in the school's history, the Amcor partnership will be a catalyst for accelerating research and teaching in the area of sustainable packaging solutions.
Both parties strive for data-driven packaging solutions and a shared emphasis on excellence in all that we undertake. Like Amcor, MSU is committed to innovating more sustainable packaging solutions that consider the whole value chain, from raw material all the way through to end of use. The School of Packaging teaches from a material-neutral perspective because we are focusing on the larger issue of scalable solutions that minimize total environmental impact. We want our students and the research we undertake to make long-term positive societal impact, and Amcor shares that objective.
More specifically, this partnership with Amcor allows us to begin renovating our facilities to create a modern, collaborative environment for our students and faculty.
Additionally, the Amcor partnership also establishes an endowed chair position focusing on packaging sustainability.

Q. How will this partnership help bring your vision for the School of Packaging to life?

We want to be unquestionably the world's best packaging program for teaching, research and community outreach. To achieve that vision, we need to modernize our facilities, invest in our faculty and graduate students, and ensure that we attract and retain a diverse student population.
The School and its supporters have dreamt about and discussed what it would take to bring modern facilities and a prestigious faculty position to the School. The partnership with Amcor will finally make that happen.

Q. What changes are you making to the building and how will they help inspire more sustainable packaging?

The changes we are making in this Phase I renovation are a critical first step towards a longer-term vision.
Our first objective is to modernize our main classroom, the showcase space for teaching and gathering people together. The second objective is to update and add office space for our faculty and graduate students.
Third is adding new collaborative workspaces with connective technologies. This last objective is all about creating an atmosphere of innovation and inspiration for both students, faculty and in combination with partners across industry, academia, government agencies and NGOs. Our hope is that these renovations will draw the best minds to East Lansing, Mich.

Q. How will this partnership help the industry face its future challenges?

It can be easy to only focus on the challenge of wasteful packaging without also considering the many benefits packaging provides. Examples are reduced product damage through e-commerce, limited food waste, or ensuring delivery of life-saving medical products - like vaccines.
For sure there are packaging end-of-life challenges, such as a lack of recycling infrastructure, excessive material use or the use of a less optimal material type. What we need is a holistic value chain approach for solving these challenges that considers environmental impact while still reaping the benefits packaging provides. This is where partnership across suppliers, brand owners, government entities, waste management companies and packaging programs can generate innovative solutions, and especially through this collaboration.