The Need: When the Covid-19 pandemic was unfolding around the world, Closure Systems International Group, Inc., (CSI) recognized the unprecedented change in business and individual priorities. Understanding that responsibly addressing environmental and social issues could both mitigate risk and create measurable value, the Board and executive leadership made the decision to prioritize environmental, social, governance, partnering with customers to achieve ambitious sustainable packaging goals and create a circular economy for plastics.
The Solution: In 2020, CSI completed a competitive benchmarking and materiality assessment resulting in alignment of our business strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the creation of a proprietary consultative commercial approach to stakeholder engagement that drives awareness of the SDG Ambition Benchmarks.
Which of the Pact’s 4 Targets does your work help achieve? CSI is contributing to the achievement of the US Pact’s 4 Targets in a strategic three-pronged approach:
PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP: Whether prioritizing compliance, cost savings, or circularity, our innovative closure solutions reduce materials through light-weighting and liner elimination. We drive recyclability and improved collection and recovery of materials through integrated one-piece design technologies and consumer education such as top print recycling labels. CSI promotes sustainable materials via our vertical integration and roll-out of PolyCycle CSI’s Post-Consumer Recycled resin across the markets we serve.
RESPONSIBLE OPERATIONS: CSI is committed to responsible and efficient business operations throughout our value chain. From resource conservation and energy reduction to driving vertical integration to achieve zero waste and optimize resource recovery, CSI is adopting sustainable operating procedures compliant with the SDG Ambition Benchmarks.
PARTNERSHIP FOR PROGRESS: As a global innovator in the design and manufacture of caps and closures, CSI’s foremost opportunity to contribute to the US Plastics Pact targets is partnering in stakeholder engagement. Through customer partnerships and collaborating with other Activators, we can increase awareness of the environmental and social impact of commodity type purchasing vs a value chain approach. We are developing sustainability training for our employees, customers, and suppliers, focusing on those stakeholders who have committed to organizations such as the U.N. Global Compact, with clearly defined, quantifiable goals. This approach enables a more strategic dialogue with these stakeholders, helping customers balance cost and compliance requirements with circularity commitments and sustainable supply chain and packaging goals.
What makes it particularly smart or circular? Tell us how your work helps achieve a circular economy for plastic packaging and how it is innovative.
CSI has developed a consultative approach within our customer relationship management, commercial team, and R&D, tracking customer commitments and publicly stated goals to inform our own strategies and proactively align with the SDG Ambition Benchmarks. CSI is actively collaborating in the U.S. Plastics Pact, Sustainable Packaging Coalition, and The Association of Plastic Recyclers, sharing our research and materials to drive awareness of ESG issues and contribute to the achievement of quantifiable, time-bound, circularity goals.
Results, Benefits, and Outcomes to Date: In addition to our stakeholder engagement efforts, we have launched several new closure solutions and design concepts, like top-print messaging on How2Recycle®, and tethered closures which have proven to increase cap recycling rates.
CSI’s R&D Innovations team has introduced a series of one-piece, integrated, sealing closure designs, that allow customers to eliminate unnecessary and unrecyclable multi-material liners, while retaining product safety and quality. Focusing on eliminating unrecyclable liners, our Studio C team designs reduce both closure costs and environmental impact. CSI’s Commercial team is adopting our consultative approach in conjunction with introductions to the new one-piece closure designs. Our messaging includes our partnership with the US PACT and our commitment to the goals. We are offering LCAs to validate how our designs contribute to eliminating unnecessary and unrecyclable multi-material liners, while retaining product safety and quality.
As a result of the efforts to date, CSI continues to position themselves as the provider of choice, gaining momentum with customers and prospects, as a consultative partner working toward mutual goals
What’s Next? What steps will you take to iterate or build on your success?
CSI is working to expand our stakeholder engagement to include internal education and promotion of Roadmap to 2025 and extend our research and training efforts to include customers and suppliers.
Core Team, Partners, & Participants – Which departments worked on the project? Who were the stakeholders?
In 2021, CSI implemented an Environmental, Social, Governance, (ESG) management oversight protocol, including a Board level ESG Steering committee and global leadership reporting process. With internal governance in place, CSI created a Global Sustainability role and established a cross-functional Sustainability Taskforce responsible for integrating ESG within our operations and business strategies to deliver positive impacts through our company and products.
Quote: ”Companies that want to lead in their industry, must be a leader on climate change. The future relies on collaboration and CSI is committed to partnering across our value chain to address climate issues and create circular economies.” – Richard Burt, CSI Vice President of Business Development & Sustainability
Company/Organization Information: Headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, Closure Systems International Group, Inc., has ~900 employees and eight manufacturing plants across five countries, producing >50 billion closures annually.