Sustainable Packaging
Industry Experts discuss all the new materials and ways that packaging can be more sustainable and how we can do our parts to help recycle and reuse. Sustainable Packaging is and will continue to affect us all in our daily lives. We have lots of fun and get down to the real data of what's working to help our planet!
Sustainable Packaging
Women in Cleantech and Sustainability (Trish Pinnella)
https://www.womenincleantechsustainability.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/trishdavispinnella/
Check out our sponsor Orora Packaging Solutions
https://ororapackagingsolutions.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/
I'm here to help you make your packaging more sustainable! Reach out today and I'll get back to you asap.
This podcast is an independent production and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.
Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. Today's guest is Trish Piniella, and she's got a really cool story and a really cool background, but I'm going to let her tell you, because I think it's, it's really unique in the industry. So, Trish, welcome. Can you tell us about your background a little bit before you start? Yes.
Trish Pinnella:Thank you Corey. Thank you for having me on your podcast. I do love it. and to talk about, women in clean tech and sustainability. I started my career in tech startups, and I was focusing on demand generation and growth strategies and moved into, sustainable building and got my lead accreditation with the U. S. Green Building Council. And then I was recruited into renewable energy. And I worked for a German startup, and we manufactured solar inverters and this was when rooftop solar was taking off. And it was really exciting, and we had a line of 3 phase. String inverters. And we became a market leader and, I helped us get to number three within a year. then we got acquired.
Cory Connors:Oh, congratulations. Wasn't
Trish Pinnella:the plan.
Cory Connors:Right. Right.
Trish Pinnella:So it was good and bad. the company that acquired us, was a semiconductor company. And, after about 10 years, they exited the solar business.
Cory Connors:So
Trish Pinnella:I found myself back in tech. Semiconductor industrial power controllers. so I, after those 5 years, I went to work at Google and I, optimized their, marketing automation programs for customers and partners. That was really exciting. And then right before COVID, I joined an IT solutions provider. And within a year we got acquired. That was the ninth acquisition in my career. I stayed there another two years and then realized that the most interesting roles that I had were, focused on products and solutions that were good for our planet. So I started, consulting and cleantech and I attended the verge conference in San Jose. and I was inspired by the startup pavilion
Cory Connors:and
Trish Pinnella:talked to a lot of those companies and I connected with Leslie Bain Petrie there. She is WCS. And I also reconnected with Lisa Ann Pinkerton, who was the Founder and original chairwoman of WCS, and I had met her back in 2013 when I was really involved with the U. S. Green Building Council, and I was vice chair of their Northern California chapter doing events and press and outreach. Anyway, I loved it. Anyway, Leslie asked if I would participate in the WCS mentorship program and I said, yes, I attended the WCS talks event in January. It's like a Ted style talk all day event and. At the end of the day, I realized it was so well done. I had to get more involved with this organization. so now I get to focus on what I value most, reducing single use plastic and. Minimizing carbon emissions, promoting circularity and, that's where I find meaning and purpose and it's fulfilling. And I've always been involved with, our women and leadership groups at every organization I've been at. And if there wasn't 1, I created it. Because it's really important. It
Cory Connors:is really important. I applaud you and commend you for that because, there's so many young, particularly women that, struggle to find a voice. I've talked to many of them and they say, like at Landsberg Orora , where I work, we have a, women in leadership organization, our willow team that takes women volunteers and, in the organization and helps them, on a path to success in the world of, packaging is it's amazing. It's very awesome. Very needed. so well done. Good for you.
Trish Pinnella:Thank you.
Cory Connors:So women in clean tech and sustainability. That's the organization. Can you talk about a little bit? I know our mutual friend, Sarah Fuentes is a part of this group. She's amazing. She's been on the show before. can you talk about the group and what you do?
Trish Pinnella:Yes, women in clean tech and sustainability is a nonprofit organization, more than 5, 000 women and men all focused on furthering the roles of women in the green economy and furthering. positive impact on the environment. we work together. We cultivate community. We're an international organization in 18 countries, and we have, 4 organizational objectives, to achieve gender parity in leadership, in entrepreneurship and employment, to create a diverse, network of allies. To, engage in our local communities and to be a thought leader in clean tech and sustainability. And we have programs in career development and entrepreneurship, and we have a scholarship program and we have a job board. So all of these are really helpful for, women at every stage of their career.
Cory Connors:It sounds like a great organization. And I think Sarah's mentioned it to me in the past, but, so it sounds like it's really focused on networking and creating opportunities and training is that those are the focuses. Yeah. Yeah.
Trish Pinnella:Yeah, we have members from, students and entry level professionals through founders and C suites and investors, and our members are engineers and scientists and marketers and global sustainability leads, and, we, it's important though, to mention that we ensure that, inclusivity is implemented into all WCS. Messaging and programming that's really important. and we have members in sustainable packaging and I talked to 1 just the other day, which was difficult because she's in Switzerland, but she's there competing, Sonali bioplastics. They are currently in a prestigious program called mass challenge Switzerland. Have you heard of this?
Cory Connors:No, that's amazing.
Trish Pinnella:I know they were selected out of 1400 startups. And are competing to be in the final 12 winners. And they're focused on solving plastic pollution and, they have sustainable plant based solutions, both rigid and flexible packaging.
Cory Connors:So you
Trish Pinnella:might need to have them on your podcast.
Cory Connors:I would love to talk to them. That sounds incredible.
Trish Pinnella:Yeah.
Cory Connors:Well done. If you're listening, congratulations. I
Trish Pinnella:think she's really busy. She was talking about all the meetings and it's weeks long. I can't remember how long it takes, but it's, it sounds amazing. And it's really important.
Cory Connors:Well, I think that's so important. I hear about these programs and it just brings me joy to hear that people are focusing on solutions and innovations and progress in the industry, because that's what we have to do. We have to keep Progressing and changing to more sustainable packaging materials. I know you, you brought some props with you to show us, some of these new projects that are coming through to fruition. can you show us those and what they are?
Trish Pinnella:I did. so, locally in Santa Cruz, we have cruise phone, which you've had on your show. Making packaging from shrimp shells, which is amazing. we have, some brio packaging, which is 100 year old company. That's been innovating packaging, and has a new line. I don't know how new it is ready cycle. And this 1 is my favorite because it's. Replaces all the clamshells it's. 100%. Recyclable, no wax, no PFAs. It's customizable in size and printing. This was my lion's mane mushrooms, you see it at the farmer's market with berries and all the produce, but less in stores. It'd be great to see this everywhere. It'd be almost mandatory.
Cory Connors:Yeah. We'll see what, extended producer responsibility does to some of those solutions. I think they'll increase. Exactly. And
Trish Pinnella:then this one's another favorite. Verve Coffee is doing a pilot with 3D printed to go cups. It's made of clay, water, and salt. And it's good for up to 10 uses. I'm participating in the pilot. So this is my real, I gently wash it out. I don't put it in the dishwasher cause I'm guessing it would just dissolve. I don't know. but I'd given up on, to go coffee. If I don't have my mug, I'm not going to do it. I'm going to either sit down and have the cup, we need a solution for this. and so I want to support their. their pilot, it's a company called Gaia star. They have kind of dual headquarters, I think, in Germany and us and big fan of German companies. They just are always coming up with amazing things.
Cory Connors:They, I agree, they certainly have, led the way in many times in many ways for sustainable initiatives, especially recycling and reuse. so is that compostable?
Trish Pinnella:Yeah. it just you could plant in it, you could crumble it. it's just clay.
Cory Connors:Incredible. So you use it a few times and then, you plant it or you throw it in the compost bin.
Trish Pinnella:it's better than using a trash to go cup every time you go. And, They are working on a lid option. I'm not up to date on that, but I did meet with Verve and, get more information and, and in the city of Santa Cruz, they charge a cut fee to cover the cost of using compostable products, which costs a little more. So, you get that credit. And then you get 25 cents for, well, you have to purchase the cup for 2, but then you get 50 cents back every time you use it. So it pays for itself in four uses. And I think, not all sustainable solutions are there yet, where you're, it's breaking even, but this one truly is. And I think it's amazing.
Cory Connors:I really enjoy those kinds of concepts where they're, Trying them out. They're there. Here we go. Let's do this. Let's figure out how this works How what the consumer experience is and how popular it is, but yeah, that sounds great I reusable is a huge part of the future of sustainable packaging in my opinion. So let's talk about What can packaging professionals do to join your group or help the movement?
Trish Pinnella:Oh, So many things, so I did want to highlight our events because you mentioned events and where we do in person in virtual events. We have a quarterly professional development workshops. So, for all stages of career, the next 1, I think is August 9th. about reporting, we have entrepreneurship, programs and an E circle group that meets and talks about all the challenges of entrepreneurship. we have our quarterly, our yearly Ted talk event and then we have also a female focused pitch competitions and we
Cory Connors:have
Trish Pinnella:1 in June. And it was amazing. We had sustainable solutions in textiles and plastic and film industry and even space.
Cory Connors:just the basics. Well, let's deal
Trish Pinnella:with emissions in space.
Cory Connors:That's something we need to talk about too. Yeah. Yeah.
Trish Pinnella:we do have chapters. So our New York chapter just launched, last week and it was wildly successful later in the month. Our London chapter will have a kickoff. next week we'll be at Pacific Northwest climate week.
Cory Connors:Oh, cool.
Trish Pinnella:We'll have three events there. We'll have, we'll. Be on a panel where we put together a panel, we'll have, a networking event, a coffee and tea. There's all kinds of events. We'll be at Ari plus, in September. We'll be at verge back at verge in San Jose in October. there's so many events, I really hope that people will check out our events on. Our website, as far as, how people can get involved from packaging. you can there are so many ways that you can support this mission. attend the event, become a member. corporate member or an individual member, speak at one of our events, like our panel events at RE plus or verge, sponsor an event, it's not that costly. It exposes you to an amazing group of women. you can join one of our programs, you can volunteer and you can join the board.
Cory Connors:That sounds, it sounds great. How many board members are there? Do you know?
Trish Pinnella:That's a good question. I'm one of the newest board members. So that's like a test question I'm going to get. And, it kind of rotates out. So in September myself and, another new board member will, take over the marketing committee. and so we're working with the current, board members to, do a smooth handoff.
Cory Connors:Well, that's important to transition. Yeah, that's excellent. So, what's the best way for people to get in touch the website? Is there other social media?
Trish Pinnella:Yeah. reach out to me on LinkedIn. I'm the only Trish Pinilla. Two N's, two L's. follow us on, LinkedIn. Follow Women in Clean Tech. so our events pop up, go to the website, check out our different programs. There's a contact us form and there's individual emails for sponsorship membership, all the different committees, entrepreneurship, so you can reach out and get in touch with the right person. it's just a great organization.
Cory Connors:It sounds like it. And, I appreciate you coming on to tell us about it. Thank you so much. Well, I look forward to seeing you at one of these events someday soon. And, yeah, thanks again, Trish. Really appreciate your wisdom.
Trish Pinnella:Absolutely. Thanks, Corey.
