The Circular Future - A Quantum Lifecycle Partners podcast

28. Single serve, reimagined with Keurig Dr Pepper

• Quantum Lifecycle Partners • Season 1 • Episode 28

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Embark on a transformative journey through the world of sustainable coffee with Marie-Anne Champoux-Guimond, Keurig Dr Pepper Canada's senior Sustainability Manager, by tuning into the latest episode of the Circular Future podcast. Marie-Anne unveils the innovative strides of KDP Canada in aligning their Drink Well, Do Good initiative with conscientious environmental stewardship and a responsible supply chain. Discover how the company, a champion of Fairtrade, is reshaping the coffee industry by ushering in an era of ethically sourced beans and eco-friendly practices.

Our conversation with Mari- Anne goes beyond the bean, revealing how Keurig coffee machines are entering a new era of sustainability. The inclusion of recycled plastics and the recycling program for commercial machines showcase Keurig's commitment to the environment. Furthermore, the pioneering work of the Circular Plastics Task Force, with partners like Danone and Cascades, embodies a shared vision for enhancing the quality of locally recycled plastics. This episode illustrates the innovative spirit that's driving the plastic recycling revolution, and how every cup of coffee can contribute to a greener planet.

Lastly, we unwrap the layered strategies that Keurig Dr Pepper employs to reach their ambitious sustainability targets. From the packaging that's destined to become 100% recyclable or compostable, to the significant reduction in plastic usage, these goals echo the company's holistic approach to environmental responsibility. We discuss the power of collaboration and the imperative of embracing both successes and learning moments with humility. For businesses and individuals alike, this episode serves as a profound guide on forging a sustainable path that leaves a positive imprint on our Earth.


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Want to be a guest on The Circular Future podcast? Email Sanjay Trivedi at strivedi@quantumlifecycle.com


Speaker 1:

30 years ago, keurig changed the way consumers brewed coffee with the introduction of the K-Cup Pod single-serve coffee system, and now they are applying all of their expertise to launch a new coffee system that many people believe will redefine how consumers brew coffee sustainably for decades to come. Welcome to the Circular Future, your access to thought leaders and innovations to help you be a business sustainability champion, even if it's not your core job. I'm your host. Stephanie McLarty, head of Sustainability at Quantum Lifecycle Partners.

Speaker 1:

We probably all know Keurig, dr Pepper or KDP because we either enjoy their coffee or enjoy their cold drinks, or both. They are one of the world's largest beverage companies. What's fascinating is that, behind the scenes, kdp has been on a sustainability journey unlike any other, and you may not realize they have commitments to be leaders in transparency, accountability and, ultimately, ensuring their beverages make a positive impact with every drink. With me to dive into this is Marianne Shempu-Gimon, senior Sustainability Manager at Keurig Dr Pepper Canada. Marianne leads KDP Canada's sustainability initiatives and partnerships, from environmental stewardship to circular economy, responsible sourcing and everything in between. Welcome to the podcast, marianne. Thanks for having me. Very glad to be here. I am so glad you're here as well and we have a lot to cover, including some news that just came out. Okay, but first let's ask the question that we always ask, which is a peek into your world? What would be three things that the world wouldn't know about Keurig Dr Pepper.

Speaker 2:

Well, thanks for asking the question. It's a very good one. I think I would ask by mentioning that we aim to be a very modern beverage company. A lot of people know us for the coffee that we sell, of course, in many different brands like Vanu, timothée's and others, but we also have a lot of additional brands cold beverages, I'm thinking of that consumers embrace and love every day so many brands, such as Clamato Crush. We have over 60 in our portfolio, so that makes a quite large offering that we have.

Speaker 2:

So that's the first thing that I would mention. The second thing is that we have over 1,500 employees across Canada with two headquarters one in the Toronto region in Mississauga, and the other one in the Montreal area. We're actually a Montreal-based company. Our coffee roasting and packaging plant is based in Montreal, and the one thing that I'm really proud of is that all of the coffee that we sell in Canada under our brands comes out of this real plant that's located here in Montreal. So that's something I think that's quite unique. And the third thing that I would mention is that we are committed to sell only responsibly sourced coffee products, and we're actually the largest buyer of Fairtrade certified coffee in the world, and that has been the case for 13 consecutive years. So that's another thing that we are really, really proud of this commitment to responsible sourcing.

Speaker 1:

Wow. I don't think most people would realize that that's a really big accomplishment to be proud of. I think when people think about Keurig, Dr Pepper and sustainability, they immediately go to the pods from Keurig and recycling. But that's just really one aspect and we'll get into it. But first of all, like take a step back. How do you approach sustainability as a whole at KDP?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we're really committed to sustainability and, in fact, it's kind of a lens through which we look at everything that we do as a company. So when we merged the two companies Curie Green Mountain and Dr Pippers and Apple Group over five years ago, one of the first tasks that we undertook was really to look at what were our priorities in terms of sustainability and build that really unique but really comprehensive sustainability platform. So we built this one and we called it Drink Well, do Good. That's the platform that encompasses all of our efforts in terms of sustainability and it lies on four distinct pillars of action, the first of which is, of course, environment. This one comprises everything that we do to reduce our footprint as a company in terms of water, greenhouse gas, waste and so on, but also the footprint of our packaging and products themselves.

Speaker 2:

Then we have the supply chain pillar. That's also really important. It's the one that comprises what we do in terms of responsibly sourcing our key ingredients and all of the different parts of our products, for instance, and also the work, what we do on the ground to support stakeholders within our value chain and supply chain. We also have a third pillar that's called health and well-being. Through this pillar, we really strive to offer a balanced portfolio of beverages and also to be as transparent as possible for consumers to really know all of the key information with regards to the beverages that they choose to consume ingredients, calories and so on and so forth for them to be able to make informed choices for themselves and their family. And we also innovate on a constant basis to be able to offer a more balanced portfolio, make sure that we have smaller portions, also zero and reduced calorie options and other beverages that offer some functional benefits, for instance.

Speaker 2:

And finally, the fourth pillar of our Dream Good platform is people and communities, so this comprises all of our philanthropic efforts, so we strive to be a good neighbor wherever we operate in North America. So that really involves having partnerships on the ground with local organizations that support vulnerable populations, for instance. And also part of that pillar is the work that we do to support our employees, our people inside the company, making sure that they can thrive and evolve in an environment that's true to their values, but also to our values as a company in terms of diversity and inclusion. So all of this is really what makes our sustainability vision that comprehensive in my perspective.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it is comprehensive, having those four pillars and then taking actions against each. Okay, I want to get into the Keurig pods themselves, as that's what everyone goes to first, and I remember when the Keurig machines first came out. I remember this feeling so many years ago of being really excited because it's so convenient and I was single at the time, so brewing an entire pot of coffee just seems so wasteful for me. But then I also remember feeling that my heart hurt a little bit because I knew that there would be waste produced in this, and it's something I know that KDP has had to deal with and work on over the years. Where are you at in terms of your pod recycling? What's that journey been and where are you at now?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, one thing that I would mention, maybe taking a step back before answering the bulk of the core of your question, is that when you look at the environmental footprint of a cup of coffee, you have to look at its entire life cycle, so from the resource that's cultivated in coffee-producing countries up until the end of life of whatever packaging your cup of coffee was coming from. So when looking at a cup of coffee, this is what you look for and look at the entire cycle. And when you look at lifecycle analysis that have been produced, comparing different types of coffee producing systems so a traditional drip coffee system versus a single-serve coffee system such as those that Keurig produces, of course you realize that the end of life the packaging itself first, and the end of life of this packaging be the pod, put in the trash, for instance, or recycled or composted for some formats that exist on the market this part only represents a tiny portion of the overall environmental footprint of that cup of coffee. What you realize is that the bulk part of this footprint comes from the production of the resource itself, the coffee. So what's really key for this environmental footprint is really not to waste any coffee, and with a traditional drip coffee system, there's a lot of wastage of coffee. That can happen sometimes.

Speaker 2:

So when you look at this from that perspective, using a single serve coffee system in the most efficient way can actually have some environmental benefits, compared to using a traditional drip system where you would waste part of that pot of coffee when it's not hot anymore, for instance, or that type of thing. So that's one nuance that I wanted to bring into the discussion. And then coming back to our pod more specifically and the recycling issue, that's a journey that we embarked on many years ago and that was a really, really a phased journey. So we started that journey with the transition of our coffee pods from polystyrene our number seven plastic, which was not recyclable to polypropylene, which is number five plastic, which is recycled in its material type in most municipal recycling programs across the country. So that was really the first step of our journey transitioning into a material that has more value for recyclers, that is more widely accepted as a material in curbside recycling systems across the country.

Speaker 1:

How does someone find out if their pods are recyclable in their local municipality?

Speaker 2:

There are many ways to do that. Most municipalities have a website for their recycling program where you can find all information with regards to what type of materials are accepted or not.

Speaker 2:

Some municipalities have what we call waste wizards, which are some sort of application, mobile apps or website apps that really make it easy to sort the different type of materials and figure out what goes where basically. So in those type of applications you would put polypropylene cake up pods, for instance, or coffee plastic coffee pods, and then the app would tell you if it goes in the blue box because it's accepted, or in the garbage in municipalities where the pods are not accepted yet for recycling, or in the compost if it's a compostable pod and it's accepted there. So those apps are really really convenient and provide accurate information, really based on the municipality where consumers are located, because recycling is really handled on a municipality-by-municipality basis. So that's what makes it quite complex for a company like us to really have our product recycled as widely as possible, because it's really a case-by-case basis depending on where you are in the country.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, that's an important clarification and an important point around the complexity of recycling, because, you're right, it is not something that is national, not even provincial. It's on a municipality basis we're making a lot of progress on that hand.

Speaker 2:

However, with the expansion of producer responsibility expanded producer responsibility programs across the country. Producer responsibility expanded producer responsibility programs across the country, so as those programs and systems become more and more the norm across Canada, it will hopefully yield to a more harmonized systems, a more harmonized list of accepted items. So that will really help and make it easier for consumers to know what goes where and what's accepted, make it easier for consumers to know what goes where and what's accepted.

Speaker 1:

Well, as a consumer, I welcome that and I think a lot of people do. Anyways, back to the recycling of your pods.

Speaker 2:

The transition to PP was really the first step of our recyclability journey and we did that in a very informed way, meaning that we made sure to go seek advice and guidance from experts in the field so experts from the recycling, the plastic, the packaging industry to really make sure that we would develop the right format, choose the right type of material and that we would be able to test this new format of flood with the new material in actual recycling and sortation facilities across the country to make sure that it could be sorted and recycled potentially effectively in real life. So that's really what we wanted to do and we did that extensively multiple tests in different MERV settings across the country. So that's what really informed our journey. It was really a collaboration and science-based journey and we have adopted the continuous innovation journey for the pod format as well. So we were never stopping there with the transition to PP. We're now adding a peelable tab on the format to make sure that consumers can more easily prepare the pod for recycling at home. So removing this lid, emptying the grounds and then just recycling the empty plastic cup in the blue box.

Speaker 2:

So that's another journey that we are on at the moment, and now we are just entering a new era in the Keurig history. So you mentioned it in the introduction of the podcast. We have just announced something very exciting last week, which is the upcoming launch of a completely, entirely new system, which will be called the Alta system. So this new coffee brewer will enable consumers to brew all types of coffee they love at home, be it espresso-based cold coffee or traditional, very rich, more filtered type coffee, depending on how they feel in that specific moment of the day. But more importantly, this system will be based on the use of a new format of pods that we call the K-Rounds, which will be a plastic and aluminum-free coffee pod. So that's a truly groundbreaking innovation for us and we are really, really exciting to see that come to life in the next couple of years.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so when I saw a picture of it it looks so. There's no packaging and it looks just like a little coffee puck, really Like a compressed coffee puck that you would put into a machine. Is that right?

Speaker 2:

Exactly, that's exactly what it is. It's a coffee, it's a quality coffee that's ground, that's compacted, that's pressed and that's then dipped into a proprietary plant-based coating. This is the innovative part. That's what keeps the coffee together. It's plant-based, it's fully natural. It will be eventually certified compostable we're working on that and you can deal with that. Once your cup of coffee is brewed, it can be dealt with just like you would do with regular coffee, so it can go either in your compost or wherever you would put that normally. So that's truly an innovation. We're really, really excited about that.

Speaker 1:

That's cool, and so it's in testing, kind of like later stages of testing and any idea when this might hit the market.

Speaker 2:

So we've always adopted this kind of phased approach to our innovations that one follows the same process. We wanted to be able to test it with consumers first, with a very small number of consumers in the first place. So that will happen later this year. A very small number of those machines and those pods will be put in the hands of consumers, who will be able to trial it at home, provide us with some very useful feedback that will feed into the next iteration of the system. We're expecting that this next iteration of the system will come up more in 2025, most likely and that the system will itself be launched more at scale in groceries and at retailers location a little later. So we're looking at a two year timeframe approximately, but I wouldn't want to tell you a specific date.

Speaker 1:

We will not hold you on that yet, but that's really exciting, and it sounds like you'll need a whole new machine for this, because it will require a different type of machine. And I wanted to ask you about your machines. I mean, it's not all about the pods, that's what people see every day, but what's your approach to making your coffee machines more sustainable?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a very good question. There are different elements that feed into that answer. Elements that feed into that answer First of all, we've embarked on a journey to including recycled plastic into our coffee makers a couple of years ago. We actually started that in 2020. And now we have many different brewers in our brewer lineup that include up to 50% recycled plastic in their components. Some of them include 30% recycled plastic as well.

Speaker 2:

So that's been a great journey that actually started here in Montreal in partnership with Laverne, who's a plastics recycler located just a couple of steps of our plant here in Montreal. So Laverne was the one with whom we started this journey. He was producing at first this very high quality recycled resin that we use in the coffee makers and to this date, he's still producing and supplying us with the majority of that resin that we use in our coffee makers. So using PCR in our coffee makers is one thing.

Speaker 2:

We also have a great partnership with Quantum to recycle end-of-life commercial coffee makers. So we have, of course, all of the coffee makers that sit on consumers' countertops at home, but we have a very large commercial network as well, comprised of hotel workplaces and many different commercial settings where we deliver coffee products. We install coffee machines and we take care of those for our customers. And once those machines that are larger capacity machines, of course arrive at their end of life, well, we want to make sure that this end of life is sustainable. So we work with Quantum to make sure that those coffee machines can be recovered, dismantled and all of their components eventually recycled. So that's one other way in which we make sure that we have a sustainable system to support our coffee makers.

Speaker 1:

Well, thanks for the shout out and I will say we are very thankful to work with you on the recycling side and I also really appreciate because we sat down a couple of weeks ago with you on the recycling side and I also really appreciate because we sat down a couple of weeks ago really the conversations around innovating and doing more and being creative about how we tackle this whole area. So I really appreciate that. Now you mentioned about plastics going into your coffee machines and I want to make sure we talk about the Circular Plastics Task Force, which is something that KDP co-founded and something that you are very proud of. So tell us more about what the Circular Plastics Task Force is and what are the kind of things that you're working on.

Speaker 2:

The Circular Plastics Task Force is actually a group that we, as you said, co-founded officially in 2020. So we worked on that fantastic project with partners and friends from the industry so Danone is part of that Cascades, dynapak, ciac, the Chemical Industry Association of Canada, eco Entreprise Quebec and others. So we really we came together because we realized at some point that we were talking in the hallways of sustainability conferences and we were exchanging on our opportunities and also challenges, and we just realized that we were facing some very similar challenges as companies for instance, striving to use more recycled plastic into our products and packaging products and packaging but really being challenged when comes the time to sourcing this plastic locally in Canada, in the US, in the grades and quality and volumes that we required for our specific needs, right. So that's when came this idea of really teaming up and creating this kind of what we call the coalition, initially. It has now officially become a non-profit organization over the years but come together and form this group to support the optimization of plastics recycling across Canada. So we are looking at plastics recycling challenges from the lens of our need as a company and as the market, looking at the challenges that we're facing and looking at the recycling value chain, trying to see where are those challenges and what could be the potential solution that we could identify and then trial and implement to help solve those solutions and make it possible in the future to bring this improved alignment between market needs and the value chain itself and enable us as companies, to have these recycled materials that we need to introduce into our products and support the building of a circular economy in the end, because that's the overarching objective.

Speaker 2:

So that was kind of the inception of the circular plastics task force. We started the work in 2020 and we underwent the first phase, which was kind of the groundwork, the first research work, to which, over a year and a half approximately, we drafted a general mapping of the plastics recycling value chain in Quebec to start with, to really identify what were the main challenges, potential solutions to help tackle those talk with recyclers, with all stakeholders along the plastic value chain. That led to the production of a white paper which we released and shared widely. And then we went into the phase two of our work, which we're in the midst of right now, where we are implementing at scale pilot and research projects to really trial in real life projects the solutions that we have identified. The objective is really to make sure that all types of plastics can be recycled in Canada. We believe that this is what should happen, that's possible.

Speaker 2:

So we work typically on plastic that we call the orphans of the bins plastic that are considered more challenging to recycle, of the bins plastic that are considered more challenging to recycle, to really try to find a solution for those plastics to enable their optimized recycling. So some projects that we have undertaken and deployed over the past couple of years include Perflex, which is a very innovative initiative deployed in collaboration with other stakeholders. Again, collaboration is key here, also for the CPT. So we work with the Circular Materials, éco-entreprise Québec, ciac again, but also Recycle BC and the Recycling Partnership in the US to really try to see what would be the best system, how we could implement this best and optimized system to recycle at scale flexible plastic packaging, which are considered as one of the most challenging plastics to recycle. So that's a fantastic project that has led to great results so far and is just undertaking its next phase in the coming weeks and months. That's one example.

Speaker 2:

We are also working in collaboration with Health Canada and other stakeholders to try to see how we could improve the qualification process to obtain the food grade certification for recycled plastic in Canada, because we have discovered through our research work at the CPT that there was no standard or optimized compliance process in place in Canada to support recyclers and other stakeholders when they wanted to get the approval from Health Canada to produce those food grade recycle resins.

Speaker 2:

So the aim of this project is to identify what are the best compliance practices that are applied elsewhere, looking at the US, but also Europe and how we could possibly replicate those best practices and come up with some sort of a roadmap or toolbox that could be provided to recyclers to facilitate this compliance and authorization process, which can be quite complex and lengthy.

Speaker 2:

And the fact is we know, based on all of the upcoming regulations, that we will be asked to use more and more recycled content to our products in the future.

Speaker 2:

And we do believe that to support this increased use we'll have to produce higher volumes of food-grade recycled content and for that we really need to have an optimized and efficient system in place to support that higher volume of demands that CalCanada will receive in the end to support this compliance. So those are just a few examples of what the CPT is working on really concrete projects on those types of resin. But also we're looking at PET thermoform how we can support the recycling of PET bales that comprise higher proportion of thermoform plastic inside, because we think that with the expansion of deposit system, those higher proportion will become the norm in the future. So just a couple of examples of the work that the CPT is undertaking. But it's great partnership, great collaboration, and we've gathered a lot of interest from players across Canada but also from the US. We're going to Texas just next week to present at the Plastics Recycling Conference. So really nice work, nice collaboration that we are supporting with this.

Speaker 1:

You're doing so much. I mean you're not just working on one or two projects, You're working on really systems change for the circular economy as well. You mentioned about creating a roadmap. On your website. There is a section called your commitment to the cup and it's got some longer term goals in terms of, you know, looking ahead, say, to 2030 and where you want to be. Tell us a little about that. What's on your roadmap for the longer term?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So I mentioned in the beginning of our interview that we had four pillars within our Drink Well, do Good sustainability platform. So we strive to support the progress in our work with ambitious goals that we give ourselves in all of those pillars of action. So, of course, we have many goals when it comes to looking at our environmental footprint. So we have a packaging goal, for instance, making sure that 100% of our packaging is either recyclable or compostable by 2025. We have objectives that are related to the use of recycled content in all of that packaging. So 30% is the objective across all of the packaging portfolio by 2025.

Speaker 2:

For plastics, more specifically, we aim to use 25% of post-consumer recycled plastic by 2025 across the plastic packaging portfolio. We also strive to reduce our overall plastic use as a company by 20%. So that encompasses many different types of strategies. So that's for plastic and packaging. But beyond that, we're also looking at our waste management. So our objective in terms of waste management is to make sure that we have zero waste to landfill across all of our operations sites. So that's our goal. We also have goals with regards to water management and water balancing. We have objectives, of course, to reduce our carbon footprint. So we want to reduce by 30% our scope one and two, greenhouse gas emission, 15% for the scope three, indirect emission. And we have objectives to responsibly source all of our priority ingredients and inputs. So goals across all of the four key pillars of our action. Again, we strive to have a very 360 view of whatever that we do and look at all of our operations from that sustainability lens to make sure that we are on a continuous improvement journey across our business operations.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's like walking your talk. I love it. Okay, let's move into our rapid fire how to section where I ask you some how toto questions and you can answer them, either short or long, all depending. My first one is and I feel like you're well-informed to speak on this after this conversation how to curb your company's plastics use.

Speaker 2:

Well, I can only talk for how we do it at KDP, right, but we do it in many different ways, and I think the one thing that's really key to remember is, like, when you think of that waste management hierarchy, what comes first is always reduce. So you strive, you want to make sure that you reduce as much as possible to start with. So for us, what it means is to make sure that we only use the right amount of packaging for the right use, right? So reducing overwraps, making sure that you only use what's required to keep the product fresh, for instance, and maintain the quality so reducing is really key. One other strategy that we apply is lightweighting. So for our pods, for instance, it means really pinning the plastic cup itself to reduce the amount of plastic that's used in each and every cup that we produce and that we sell out there.

Speaker 2:

We also strive to use recycled content across all of our packaging and products. I've talked to that already, but that really feeds into the reduction of virgin plastic that you use across your operation as a company. And what's also important is really to support enhanced recycling capacities. For us, it's really a core part of the work that we do. We do that with the circular plastic task force, but with many other stakeholders. So we want to support enhanced capacity to make sure that, like as many of our products and packaging as possible can be recycled in the end, also for us to be able to eventually recover this plastic and put it back into our products and packaging. An overall vision of the different type of strategies that we apply Again important to come back to this hierarchy. That really starts with the reduce and then reuse, recycle, repurpose, etc.

Speaker 1:

So we strive to keep that in mind as well when we identify the the strategies that we want to use great, okay, next one, and you, from your work on the circular plastics task force, have demonstrated this, like how to find and collaborate with other like-minded companies.

Speaker 2:

Well, I think one of the things that you want to do as a company is to network as much as possible. So attend sustainability events, industry events, be part of a coalition of industry associations. Those are all great places where you can exchange, where you can share best practices. But it's not only just share your successes, it's also share your challenges and even your failures, because that's how you get to learn from each other. That's also how you develop trust among stakeholders by sharing successes but also failures. So that's a key thing, I think, in my perspective Always approach challenges with humility. That's something that we have applied as a company throughout our recyclability journey.

Speaker 2:

As I mentioned, we work with recycling experts. We started we were really humble. We were no recycling or plastic experts. So we went and we sought experts where it was from recycling stakeholders, from plastic engineers and so on and so forth to really feed into and inform our journey. So seek advice and expertise where it is. You do not have to be expert of everything All at once. The expertise exists, so go seek it uh where it is. I I think is really um something that we apply uh in our work and it has really led to a development of fruitful partnerships and relationships, uh, most of which still last today and are really, really important for us in our daily work and, based on something you said earlier, keep having those conversations in the hallways of conferences and connect with those like-minded companies.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely. And most of us know by now that most of the benefits that you derive from attending those conferences do not happen in the conference room but happen actually in the old ways around the coffee machine or during the drink hour at cocktail time, when you get to exchange on those challenges, opportunities, share ideas, and that's how you make progress in the end.

Speaker 1:

Yes, it is so true. Network, network, network. I feel like I could talk with you all day. Network, network I feel like I could talk with you all day. But to wrap this up, marie-anne, what would be one piece of advice that you'd leave listeners with, particularly those who are thinking about their company's sustainability journey and how to move forward in a really meaningful way? What piece of advice would you give to them when there are big challenges to overcome?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you're asking me one. I might offer you three, if that's okay with you, okay, okay.

Speaker 2:

So the first piece I think is very, very important is to make sure that in a company, when you want to embark and develop a sustainability strategy, apply a new initiative, for instance, that you have your leadership buy-in, and by that I mean at the highest level of leadership. This might require you to do some education, a lot of presentation, but leaders are are for most. For most of the time, they are really eager and willing to learn. If you present the fact, the information, and if you share your expertise and knowledge and if you present to them in a clear way where lie the opportunities for them in terms of credibility, of reputation, in terms of consumer engagement, even in terms of financial savings, because sustainability can also lead to economies of sales in many different ways. So, getting your leadership on board, once you have their buying, you'll have it for the long run and that will be tremendously important because you have it at the top level and then it trickles down and you can have everybody around engage in that. That way you can go a really long way. So that would be the first thing and of course I'm saying that because at kdp we really have buying at the highest level of leadership. That's tremendously important and it's really, it's really how you can make uh we can make some great progress into all of our sustainability endeavors.

Speaker 2:

Second piece I think we have talked to that at length already is collaboration. Go, seek advice, expertise, network, team up with colleagues from other companies in association, in coalition, wherever you can find them. Those relationships will bring you great knowledge, expertise and will support your projects, I'm sure, as well. And finally, we are really fond that KDP Canada and KDP generally have the phase journey approach. Really, take it one step at a time and you will learn along the way. Don't take too large of a bite. It's really a step-by-step approach and you will learn and you will improve. It's really continuous learning and innovation and iteration. I think that's how the greatest projects can come to life when you adopt this space journey. It's also more encouraging when you look at that from like a small steps, baby steps perspective, rather than seeing really the long run, which can sometimes seem too large of a buy to take in right or swallow. So those would be my three pieces of advice for you today.

Speaker 1:

Well, I think that's a really wonderful way to summarize this whole conversation. Really wonderful way to summarize this whole conversation Get senior leader buy-in, look for collaboration opportunities and approach it from a phased journey standpoint, taking one step at a time. Thank you so much, marie-anne.

Speaker 2:

That was awesome, my pleasure. It was really a pleasure talking to you today, stephanie Always great exchanges.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. And remember, if you are looking for a partner in IT asset disposition and e-waste recycling, we'd love to chat Head on over to quantumlifecyclecom and contact us. This is a Quantum Lifecycle podcast and the producer is Sanjay Trivedi. Thank you for being a Circular Future Champion in your company and beyond. Logging off.

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