Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors presented by Atlantic Packaging
Join industry leaders, innovators, and changemakers as we explore the future of packaging through the lens of sustainability. Hosted by Cory Connors, an industry expert with over 25 years of experience, and presented by Atlantic Packaging, the leader in innovative sustainable solutions, we dive into what’s working (and what’s not) from cutting-edge materials to circular design strategies that can reduce waste and protect our planet.
Each episode blends real data, expert insights, and a dose of fun to help you stay informed and inspired. Whether you're in the packaging industry or simply passionate about sustainability, this podcast is your weekly go-to resource for making smarter, greener choices.
Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors presented by Atlantic Packaging
Summer School with Cory Connors / The Packaging School with Drew Felty and Dr. Julie Rice
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How can you further your career in sustainable packaging?
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https://packagingschool.com/
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/
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Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. Today's guests are my friends from thepackagingschool. com. Dr. Julie Rice is the academic director and Mr. Drew Felty is the co founder and CEO. Welcome to both of you. I'm a huge fan of what you do and how you support the industry in so many ways, but let's start a little bit with your background. Julie, if you don't mind telling us where you came from and how you started in packaging.
Dr. Julie Rice:Awesome, Corey, well, thank you so much for having drew and I, it is a pleasure. Love being on with you and I love everything you do. yeah, so my background, I came from a small liberal arts college in. Royal Pennsylvania, I really had no idea. Where my passion was, even though I did study chemistry, chemistries. Interesting. I went to NC state, and I did a summer scholars program through Cornell university. And I really found that I loved food science and packaging, and that's where it all came together. And then I decided to go to Clemson for grad school, and I found Dr. Hurley just on a whim. And at that time, him and Drew were starting up the packaging school. And then once I graduated. Working under Dr. Hurley at Clemson, got my PhD in food technology and packaging, and I've been working with Drew and Dr. Hurley ever since. it's been a great experience, and it's been, I think, almost over a decade of knowing them and working with them in some capacity. great to be here.
Cory Connors:Well, keep up the good work. We're proud of you. And Mr. Felty.
Drew Felty:Oh, sure. let's see. I, pursued an MBA at Clemson University, and that focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. It was about starting businesses and things along these lines. And at the end of that program, I also met, Dr. Andrew Hurley, who is a full time professor in packaging science at Clemson University. And, he and I hit it off really well. And we've actually started a couple of businesses together. one of them, is now a part of, Quad, and is focused on consumer research and, the other one is, packaging school. com and we've been going for, 10 years and have well over 10, 000 students from around the world that are a part of, our system now, it's been pretty fantastic ride, learned tremendous amounts and enjoying every moment.
Cory Connors:Those are big numbers. I didn't realize it had been 10 years already and over 10, 000 students. That's really impressive. And, I've had, Dr early on as well. And, we've talked about. all kinds of things with the packaging school, but I'm really excited for we have an announcement later today for those listening about a partnership we're working on, but we'll start 1st with some of the nuts and bolts of why this is so important. So Julie, why is continued education so important in today's evolving world? And how does this translate into professional growth? A lot of people are constantly asking me, how do I learn more about packaging? And more importantly, sustainable packaging.
Dr. Julie Rice:That's a great question, Corey. And I, I may be biased because, continuing education is my day job, but, I really think it's so important to grow. online learning beyond, traditional brick and mortar schools, which we also support, but it's a really great way to receive an education in today's world. Basically, lots of things have changed in the past, 5, 6 years and a lot of folks that don't have time and resources to go back to school need something like the packaging school to offer those, to basically offer them a quick and I wouldn't say easy, but a quick and Great way to learn packaging. so basically, as far as I feel like continuing education holds such an immense importance for, both personal and professional spheres. Really one of the major things is, skill enhancement. Obviously that is so important, industries such as packaging are, constantly evolving with new technologies, methods, and practices. so it's really important for To, use continuing education to allow them to update their skills and stay relevant. I think that's 1 of the crucial things. another really important thing that, probably more on the professional side is career advancement, learning new skills and obtaining advanced degrees, particular programs. It opens doors to promotions and raises better job opportunities. it demonstrates commitment, which I think is really crucial in any type of, workplace setting and also professional growth and development. another great 1, and I know, Corey, this is big for you is networking opportunities, contingent continued education offers a lot of ways to interact with peers. Instructors and industry professionals, and it can lead to new collaborations, partnerships and, mentorship opportunities, which we think is really crucial. and then the last 1, I'll talk about is professional credibility. this is big for us, acquiring additional qualifications. Or certifications enhances your professional credibility and reputation, it demonstrates expertise and dedication to maintaining those high standards within your industry. I would say a lot of our students really aim for this when they take our courses. They already have a background in education. a background in packaging education, some of them maybe don't, and some of them have just stumbled along in packaging, but they want to be more credible by their peers, their bosses, their customers, and that's why they take our courses. again, overall, I think continued education is crucial for both, professional success, personal growth and adaptability in today's really ever changing world. this investment in yourself and sometimes companies investment in you. Really helps, yield those long term benefits that will help change the world of packaging. So obviously I'm super passionate about it, but I think it's really important.
Cory Connors:Well, very true and very well said. I wanted to commend you before I go too far in this, podcast, because I've taken some of your courses and they are so convenient, I think, you think of college, you think of education, you think of, oh, I have to drive to this place and sit with this group of people and talk to the professor, listen to the professor for hours. No, you can do, these courses are all broken up into little tiny segments that are very consumable during the day, during your professional day. Rather than taking Five minutes away to check TikTok, which is fun. yes, but, and you can still do that, but it's about that much time that is needed to continue the next segment in your packaging school, course. So it's been very simple, and To squeeze this in, and then at the end of the day, you feel like, wow, I've gone 20 percent further into this course. And I've learned a lot. And wow, that was really interesting. And I can use that today. I actually have a meeting tomorrow about that. And I think it's the kind of thing where people need to understand how easy this is to, absorb and how, how well it's laid out for you as the student, and the consumer of the, Of the education so well done to you and your team.
Dr. Julie Rice:Awesome. Cory. Well, I can't take full credit for that. I know That ideology really was what why he started the packaging school basically, you know being a professor at clemson You know learning all that curriculum we took that and then we were able to license that curriculum from clemson and then just again make it more Formatted for online education, like you said
Cory Connors:Aiming it
Dr. Julie Rice:to be very accessible adaptable and easy to learn on the go and easy for working professionals like yourself. So thank you. Awesome.
Cory Connors:Andrew, sustainability is the new buzzword and, it's really taken off in this world of packaging. Why is sustainability education so important for this packaging workforce today?
Drew Felty:Oh, goodness. because it is a part of each and every, the, all the nooks and crannies of packaging. And, basically, From what we understand, in listening to industry, it's a part of all decisions, now and probably going forward, sustainability was absolutely, considered a buzzword 10 years ago when we, started cracking into, this education format, but. In the last decade, whole industries, companies, executive positions at, companies that employ tens of thousands of people, have been created, and funded and formalized, around that word sustainability. It's just part of the packaging world now. and there's a reason for that. it's something that, packaging is something that kind of. Binds all of us as humans around the world, packaging is a part of our daily lives. we're, we interact with packaging, dozens of times, per day, whether we want to or not. and sustainability just goes hand in hand with that, with something that has such far reaching ripple effects. In its production and life cycle, it's just an important concept to understand. And so that's what, we have, Sustainability really woven throughout all of our, courses and curriculums. but we have, a few that focus very directly on sustainability. understanding the basic building blocks of a compliance and regulations, because that is often what triggers any kind of movement, in a business sort of setting. there is, impacts on corporate reputation. obviously, Then, looking at, more of a glass half full, it's opportunities for innovation and adaptability and, meeting, changing consumer demands, on what they need from their products, that they're purchasing, every single day, every week, as a, in this, consumer, driven economy that we're a part of. finally, so understanding, what are the realities of, sustainabilities for, fact versus fiction, which is something that, that you and your, your team of folks who are awesome on podcasts, you know, weave through on a weekly and monthly basis. we also, try to help people, discern, be able to recognize, what is greenwashing? What is, what is something, if it's a factor of claim or even just a suggestion, how should your company, represent themselves in that world, what are those parameters, right? there's a, going back to that regulation side, extended producer responsibility is something that came about, because of greenwashing very specifically. Right. and, we don't want folks misled by, claims that are being made out there in the world and, information that's communicated that people are making by purchase decisions on. all of this ties back to, the package, the material sciences behind it, the industrial processes that are part of making, and distributing that package. and then of course, what is the total life cycle of that package? what happens to it after it served its purpose of protecting the product, and delivering that successfully to a consumer or a business or what have you, the intended death, destination. What then, right? these are important things that are part of a big equation. and it's, can be very large and intimidating to wrap your head around in a lot of ways. and so we, we try to help folks cut through. a lot of that fog and understand what's important to them, their job, their business, their company, is mission and how to, find a path forward, that, that is sustainable, right?
Cory Connors:Yeah, very well said sustainability all of a sudden is taking a hold in all business. And it's, you're exactly right. We, if you're not on board and ready to learn about this, you're going to be very likely find you're going to, it's going to cost, I think it will actually shut businesses down that aren't paying attention because, You're going to have massive fines. You're going to have, different laws, different truth and labeling things. And EPR, is going to affect every package that your company ships. And you need to know what that means. so people are creating new jobs, like you mentioned, that are, Sustainability titles and it's cool to see chief sustainability officer and, director of sustainable packaging. Those kinds of titles weren't around before and, it seems to be a very high level, very big need for industry. which is why I think your school is so valuable to, Executives and to, workers like me and people that need to learn more to set themselves apart. Like Julie mentioned. what we're offering here in this announcement is something very different, in a way of, Of learning, it's called a cohort. Julie, can you explain to the audience what a cohort is? And I know you've done this with other programs like your CMPM program that have been very successful. How does it work?
Dr. Julie Rice:Yeah, so great question, Corey. learning in a cohort really refers to a group of students processing, working through the program together, It offers a lot of benefits that we've seen through our CMPM program that we've been running for, Drew, correct me if I'm wrong, five or six years at this point. So it's been, a longstanding program for us and it's run through Clemson Center for Corporate Learning. And we've had some great success. We want to replicate that here with you. so yeah, some really great benefits we see. And I think another crucial one that really important to you, Corey is, social support and networking. I really think they offer. A lot of sense of community, which I found super important recently in the online community, because, students don't want to feel in isolation. They want to feel like they belong in a program bigger than themselves. it provides, again, a lot of opportunity for collaboration. They can share experiences, ideas, resources, and it helps them enhance their learning. Through those discussions with professionals, like yourself and group projects. another thing I think is really crucial for our students. Because again, a lot of them, the majority of them are working professionals. Is that motivation? cohorts often feature a schedule of curriculum, basically, Making it a more consistent and, scheduled learning experience and, that structure helps keep students motivated and accountable because, a lot of times students enroll in our courses, and then they just sometimes forget that it exists work happens. Life happens. And that's okay. We understand that, but, working through a cohort helps, just keep them on track and we really like to see that. And again, those students can support each other and be supported by that leader or instructor of the program as well. another really important thing is building those professional relationships, obviously, in educational settings, cohorts can be from all kinds of different backgrounds, different. jobs, different job titles, different experiences in their lives, and you can learn a lot about this. they can have discussions and be exposed to different viewpoints and, again, experiences in their packaging career and so forth. and it can really help them learn for their future career and help them collaborate with people. They never thought about in the past. I have a really cool example from our program to our students. we got on an office hours call and the 1 student actually found out that the other student was his supplier. we got to have a great discussion about that, and they got to reconnect and. I think it worked out well for them, and lastly, I think a really important thing is that alumni network. We have a great, alumni network from the packaging school, though. We're not a traditional brick and mortar school. We do still have, people that proudly present their packaging school, credentials and I think that's super important. cohorts often stay connected. After they've completed the program, we've had a lot of success with that again with our program where, the students continue to talk to each other after long after they've graduated and they continue to talk to me. I'm the instructor of that program. I have been since the, the Genesis of it and I've written a lot of, recommendation letters for students. I've, help them with job interviews and it's been really valuable for me because, I'm. Always wanting to learn in the packaging industry, and these, they're my students, but they're also helping me learn and grow as well. So I think it's really great. again, I think that alumni network that they form is really good and helpful in their career advancement and helping. also helping us grow packaging school. We love to see, different folks from all over the packaging industry. Promote our courses online, promote our courses on LinkedIn, and it just builds again, that great alumni network. So
Cory Connors:it's
Dr. Julie Rice:been good,
Cory Connors:but real quick, what does CMPM stand for? Yeah.
Dr. Julie Rice:Yeah. Sorry. I know we use that acronym a lot. It's a certificate of master in packaging management. It is a mouthful. So that's why we lessen it down. And it again is run through Clemson center for corporate learning. On your certificate, when you graduate, you actually do see Clemson University. So a lot of students love to proudly display this in their office or in their home and. We've had some, some fun pictures being sent back to us of people being really excited and, happy to have that certificate. We've actually had 1 student. He flew from India. It's a long story, but he came and found us in Greenville, South Carolina. We got to meet him for coffee, and he took a picture and it was just really fun to see, like, students making this level of effort to. to further their education.
Cory Connors:It seems like you get the best of both worlds you get the convenience of I can fit this in whenever I have a spare five minutes and then you get to meet a group of people that are like you that are working through these challenges together and get to connect with other students and professors it's it's a lot better than the old night classes. I used to take back in my college days, which everybody looks like a zombie and, we're all exhausted. this is, this is a really neat opportunity. I think. I remember in college, having a professor say, okay, take your paper and hand it to the student to your right. And we said, what? And they said, they're going to grade your paper. and then one of the students next to me said, well, if I knew that I would have done a better job. And I think that is the key to what you were saying is when you have accountability of a fellow students helping you through the program, you're going to be a better, student, you're going to pay attention, you're going to do your best. And so I
Dr. Julie Rice:love that. That actually gave me a shock because I do remember that happened to me in college and it was a quite fearful experience. So I'm here on that one.
Cory Connors:Yeah, well, thank you, Julie. And this leads us right into the segue of our announcement of what we're working on together. Drew, can you tell the world about what we're doing here?
Drew Felty:Well, absolutely. If you haven't put the puzzle pieces together by now, the packaging school, has a fantastic course. It's online. it's available, 24 seven on demand. You can be a part of it right now. if you'd like, it's, our sustainable packaging course that's underneath our CPS, certificate of packaging science program. Fantastic course, Fortune 100 companies have invested in it being a part of, their continuing education process, for employees, really, a top notch course that helps you define sustainability, overview, how it, impacts you and where you are, in your business world or your personal journey, it helps you, create structure and evaluation and metrics around, that concept of sustainability and the packaging that you are responsible for or want to be responsible for, if you're, working on customer projects and things along this line, a really robust, and fantastic program. however, with our friend, Cory Connors. We see an opportunity to significantly enhance it. And it's through that cohort process, not just learning with your peers, but getting to the opportunity to interface, with Corey on a weekly basis, go through part of the course, and then, meet in an online forum setting like this, and interact and be able to discuss as a group, what have we just, walked through, in the curriculum, right? what are the questions that, you might have, that you would want to air to Cory, who has been around, the sustainability, how long have you had your podcast, Cory? It's
Cory Connors:three years and been in the industry for 27 years.
Drew Felty:Yeah, so there's some significant experience there and hundreds and literally hundreds of conversations, taking place between Cory and, executive leaders, boots on the ground, movers and shakers and all throughout, the supply chain of packaging, that have impacted sustainability. So this knowledge, this experience, factual, applicable case studies, that Cory, has, interface with, these are all things that are a part of a cohort experience. It's that classroom discussion, right? learning from each other, and from the person who's leading your group, right? that's what we're offering. and so as a result, this is a program that will be calendar based, not available 24 seven, although you can take the lessons, in a given week, we'll have a schedule set out for you. So whether you take it, first thing when you wake up Monday morning, or, maybe in the last, 30 minutes of productivity that you allocate on Monday evening or some other time during a lunch break or what have you, Throughout the week before, that, that online collaboration opportunity, we'll have a schedule and guidelines for you to stick to. and then you'll get the opportunity, for this classroom discussion. again, led by Corey Connors here, in an online format. Format, so you don't need to buy any plane tickets. you don't need to get in the car. maybe you want to have a cup of coffee nearby, but that's about it. this is, the program that we're offering. let's see, what am I missing here, Julie? There's a link obviously to sign up, right?
Cory Connors:We'll put that link in the show notes. Yep. Very exciting.
Drew Felty:Very good. I think we're calling this, this initial session, summer school, with Cory Connors, to take place here is as, the summer of 2024 closes out and, if you are looking back at what you've done so far, this summer, and it's mostly rest and relaxation or catching up with Q1 and Q2, activities at work and the, you don't have, anything or not enough allocated to continue an education or improving yourself, there's still time, you've got that capability, and over the next month or so, you can actually, add, some, great credential and, learning experience, to your resume.
Cory Connors:Thank you again for partnering with me. I'm very excited to be a part of your school and to be a quote unquote professor and, really an honor to, to be a part of this. It's exciting. It's a small investment for a lot of training, a lot of education. you'll complete it with a, certificate. I believe some kind of, packaging school degree, that you can show off to your friends and post about on LinkedIn and social media and really show your team that you're working hard to differentiate yourself and, make those real connections with real people and develop relationships that could change your career. I truly believe that if we take this time and do the things that other people aren't, Your opportunities in the future will be so great. it offers you more choice and that's what we all want, right? It's more choice, more things that we can do. we can maybe, advance our career in our current company or, find something in a, Company that we've always wanted to work at whatever the case may be this gives you that opportunity to improve and to be the best you can be Yes, I know that sounds corny, but it's really how I feel in it's spending time doing the things that other people aren't is what makes us better makes us different and That's why this is so exciting Thank you. Well, Julie, what are some tangible outcomes that you've seen resulting from continued education initiatives like this course that we're talking about?
Dr. Julie Rice:Yeah, great question, Corey. And, I have to start with a, a quick disclaimer. This is all based on correlation, not causation. We can't necessarily prove that our courses are the only Reason that these people have gotten promotions for advancements in their career, but we definitely think they help. And we've heard that from our testimonials and our feedback from our students, which has been really positive. for example, 1 of our students recently graduated from the program. She got promoted to the head of materials, for her company, she previously was, a lower ranked employee and by taking this initiative with this. Cohort program that we did, she was able to prove that she knew. More than she did when she started, and she was able to prove that she put so much time and effort into her education and her bosses were really impressed by this. And that really helped her get that promotion. another program that we run through, we do like, like a rising star situation with a lot of our. a lot of the people in the industry, we have them, it helps younger folks in the industry that are just getting their feet wet, getting started, and helps them this early and career development program that CMPM is a part of. And that's really exciting because we get to be part of this, like, large HR, development process. And we love to see that. That really helps when a lot of companies come together and they do that with, their actual employees and colleagues. We love to see that. another really great example, or Success I've seen are a tangible outcome is one of our students. He was actually in the automotive industry and he took our CMPM course. And he was like, Hey, I really think I want to get more into the CPG space. I want to apply for a job at Godiva chocolate, to be their packaging engineer, and I was like, Whoa, that's a big, that's a big change. but we were here for it. And, I helped him go through his PDP, which is his packaging development plan, which is part of, like a homework assignment that you have with our CMPM program. And he focused on the chocolate industry, the chocolate packaging industry, and he brought that with him to his interview. And he got the job, and it was super exciting to see that, extreme shift in, packaging profession, but he was able to use our program to advance himself in that way. I love to see that, obviously. In general, continued education helps enhance skills, professional development, all things we've been talking about today. I really think it also helps increase employee satisfaction. I think if, if, your company is investing in your education, you feel more willing to stay more willing to commit to your company because it's goes both ways. As far as, you feeling invested in and also your company investing in you. We see that to be really important. Again, retention of top talent, employees can see this tangible outcome of getting to keep the, the employees that are bettering themselves every day. and obviously, and just an overall positive experience in organizational performance, and I really truly think, the packaging school or online education should be the cornerstone of every business. I think, you should always start your onboarding and you're, the start of your job with. Continued education with education about your company and education about the packaging space that you're about to get into again. I'm biased, but I do think, a lot of companies have adapted this model and I think it's going to keep growing in the future. and with help with you, Corey, I think this program is going to take off and they're going to learn a lot from you.
Cory Connors:Thank you so much. I'm honored to be a part of it and to get to add professor to, to my list of careers is really neat. I'm excited about that. The packaging industry is a very tight knit community. And when you can. Connect with people on a real level and have a real relationship with them. the amount of opportunities, the amount of knowledge that you'll learn is incredible. And, like I said, I've been doing this for 27 years. I still learn something new every single day. Every day and it's very humbling, but it's very necessary because there's so many changes, especially now with the extended producer responsibility laws and these different, legal things that are changing in the industry. We all need to be on our best, Game here, so how do we sign up for this cohort is, we just go to the website. We'll put a link in the show notes, right?
Drew Felty:That is, that is absolutely step 1, go to the website. we'll have the schedule, posted there. we'll have the path to purchase. we'll have, if you need any additional, information on the course content, the learning objectives, the outline, et cetera, all of that will be there. you can even have a, a free preview of what some of the course content is, if you need to validate it, just one extra level. and then of course, these materials are shareable. if you are seeking reimbursement, for your continuing education from your employer, there's, good resources there as well to support that process that are a part of business. Right. Yeah. click the link below.
Cory Connors:Yeah. And that's a great point. A lot of companies will offer, Reimbursement, like you said, for continued education, they want their employees to be the best version of themselves. They want their employees to be, leaders in the industry. that's a great, point true. what's the best way to get in touch with each of you? you both are stars in the industry and we want to connect people with you.
Drew Felty:Sure. well, if you need anything from the packaging school, info at packaging school. com, is staffed by a team of people. and you can see a reply definitely within a 24 hours of a business day. but, to connect with me directly or Julie directly, we're both, well established on LinkedIn. Just look us up, Drew Felty, packaging school. com, Julie Rice Suggs, Dr. Julie Rice Suggs, if that was not mentioned previously in this conversation. she's our academic director at, packaging school. com. definitely reach out to us, email, LinkedIn, what have you, we're available for any questions that you may have.
Cory Connors:Thank you both and looking forward to this very much.
Dr. Julie Rice:Thanks, Corey.
Cory Connors:Thank you, Corey.
