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As vice president of sustainability for the Plastics Industry Association, Patrick Krieger has a plate full of trade group initiatives — promote a circular economy, eliminate waste in the environment, reuse resources responsibly — and his cup is half-full with optimism that progress continues.
To Krieger, who has had the role since 2022, plastic should be the sustainable material of choice for its ability to replicate, insulate, be lightweight and more. However, some hurdles have to be cleared, Krieger said. His message to the industry: We've done some good. Now let's do better.
"First, the industry should be recognized for the efforts to improve sustainability that they have already done. Whether lightweighting, bioplastics or new recycling technologies, there has been a lot of work done to improve sustainability. How can we continue to move forward? I think it's about moving past blame and looking to capability," Krieger said.
"If you are capable of making something better, I think you should. Even if you didn't cause the problem in the first place. And to be frank, there are many challenges that exist to make plastics more sustainable. Very few of them are unique to plastics. All material manufacturing can do a better job reducing their carbon footprints or addressing their end-of-life challenges. And the materials that solve them first will have a larger role in the future of our society and world," he said.
All facets of the industry have a part to play to make plastics better, Krieger said.
For his part, the vice president of sustainability regularly attends events, conferences and trade shows; speaks at industry events and webinars; and worked on educational campaigns with designated weeks focused on bioplastics and recycling.
To expand Operation Clean Sweep, the largest resin stewardship program in the world, Krieger oversaw changes in membership requirements to improve reporting and verification of management practices.
Krieger also worked with industry members to launch the Flexible Film Recycling Alliance, which is a new initiative of flexible film value chain members to improve recycling.
In addition, Krieger serves as an observer for the negotiations for the United Nation's Plastics Pollution Treaty, and he represents the industry's voice to negotiators and keeps the industry abreast of what is going on.
The biggest external challenge Krieger said he faces is the skepticism the plastics industry receives when it tries something new.
"I think the industry is filled with people who want to make great products and also want to make the world a better place. But oftentimes these efforts are dismissed, and when something fails, it's taken as a sign that sustainability is impossible or that the industry wasn't really all that committed to it," Krieger said. "So, I spend a lot of my time now trying to build trust and transparency, explaining why something is the way it is."
Krieger's biggest internal challenge is dealing with expectations about how the industry will solve problems when solutions need to be a group effort.
"You can't be a sustainable company if you aren't participating in a sustainable value chain," Krieger said. "And the world is changing, so you need to be involved to ensure that your company can be positioned to respond if you want to be successful."
In his earlier days with the trade group, Krieger created Bioplastics Week as a social media campaign to promote and educate about bioplastics — it has reached more than 2 million people — as well as its sister event, Recycling Week, which is in its fourth year.
Krieger's first job in the plastics industry was heading up the trade group's bioplastics division and what is called the Organic Peroxide Producer Safety division. The position appealed to him because it combined his educational and personal interest in agriculture with his professional background in regulatory affairs for technical and scientific industries.
"Being able to work in the association is a unique privilege, with the ability to collaborate with colleagues from diverse companies throughout the value chain," Krieger said. "You get to help people come together, reach agreement and ultimately [ideally] make a difference. Working in plastics in particular is great because the industry is in such an important time right now, facing a lot of pressure and new expectations. This requires innovation, not just of new materials, but also new businesses, products and services."
Krieger earned his bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University, where he studied agricultural leadership and development. He began his career with the Animal Health Institute, working to promote the development and approval of vaccines for livestock and pets.
In 2015, Krieger joined the Plastics Industry Association to manage the bioplastics division. Five years later, he was promoted to lead the association's Material Suppliers Council and sustainability initiatives. Then, in 2022, he became the vice president of sustainability and started heading up the trade group's programs and working with members to shape the industry's priorities and positions.
Almost every week, Krieger said he learns about an emerging technology or proposed effort to make plastics more sustainable, but he wouldn't single out any as more promising than the others.
"Our industry is full of people trying something new to solve a problem," Krieger said. "Whether developing bioplastics from renewable feedstocks, building new recycling technologies or creating products that make peoples' lives better, there's too much to pick just one."
In his downtime from the plastics industry, Krieger is tackling home-away-from-home projects. He recently purchased a small cabin in West Virginia and is spending his free time setting it up so he can host his friends and family.