Hello and welcome to my first blog as executive director of The Paper & Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC). I am Rachel Kagan and as of February 1st I’ve taken over from John Mullinder, but you can still find him writing about paper on his personal blog.

But back to me… I enjoy organising information and data, drawing insights and identifying trends, and turning that into reports, blogs, social media posts, and other communication and advocacy vehicles.

History

For the past two years, I have been freelance consulting for small and medium-sized businesses and associations, providing research, legislative and policy analysis, content creation, and project management services.

Prior to that, I have 15+ years of industry association experience, working with members to develop consensus-based policy positions, as well as government submissions, industry reports, and presentations on packaging recycling and Extended Producer Responsibility, food waste, and climate change issues.

Over the past pandemic year, like others, my reliance on deliveries and online shopping has increased, and with it, so has my paper packaging (and my recycling of that paper packaging!). And in starting this role a few weeks ago, I haven’t been able to look at a corrugated box the same way since!

Thanks to PPEC, I now know that the wavy layer of the box is the corrugated medium, and the layers of paper are the liners; but more importantly, I know that those boxes are sustainable and made of recycled content.

And thanks to the Canadian Corrugated & Containerboard Association’s Humble Box Sanitary and Safe video, I also now know that the box being delivered to my home is hygienic and clean.

But I have a lot more to learn about the industry, so I am reading PPEC’s past blogs, Fact Sheets, and other informative resources.

I look forward to applying my experience, skills, and interest in sustainability to PPEC’s work in tracking, monitoring, and promoting the environmental performance and achievements of the Canadian paper packaging industry.

Please feel free to email if you have any questions or comments for me as I get started in this new role.