As a not-for-profit with clear environmental objects we take sustainability seriously and we know that our members, staff, suppliers and stakeholders do too. Our purpose and values have always embraced all aspects of sustainability and during 2019/20, as we directly employed staff for the first time, we have articulated these more clearly.
To collaborate across the packaging cycle to drive circularity and a transformation in packaging resource efficiency.
Independent
In pursuing our purpose we collaborate across all material sectors and take views independent of all associations, customers, Government and non-governmental organisations. We are a stand-alone organisation but work in partnership with multiple stakeholders.
Pioneering
We seek to find new ways to reduce the quantity of resources used in packaging in the UK as well as to increase the ability of packaging created to be re-used and incorporated into the packaging supply cycle. We seek to find new ways to help the UK consumer recycle more effectively, more often.
Expert
We take all possible steps to ensure we understand issues across all material sectors. Our Guarantors represent almost all material sectors to ensure the various sectors have full representation in our thinking. Our staff and Board include technical and creative competencies to ensure we have expertise that can rapidly progress our goals.
Ethical
We consider our social, environmental and financial impacts. We seek to incorporate diversity and equal opportunities in recruitment/HR policies. We have a carbon strategy. We seek to lead the way on recycling. Our staff have volunteer opportunities. We seek to influence the resource efficiency and carbon strategies of our suppliers, customers and other stakeholders.
In putting these values into practice, we naturally turned to the Sustainable Development Goals to provide a focus and a framework. We selected nine SDGs of particular importance to us in how we provide services to our customers, how we treat our staff and how we work with our suppliers and stakeholders and included them in our action plan.
We’re still early on our journey in aligning our operations and governance with the key priorities set out in the SDGs, and in understanding the impact of our services in helping our members deliver their sustainability commitments. We undertook a baselining exercise in 2019/20 and are now reporting our 2020/21 outcomes in our OPRL SDG Annual Report. As a participant in the UN Global Compact, we have also submitted our first progress for 2022.
