OPRL has joined the UN Global Compact and the UN Global Compact Network UK — a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible business practices.

The OPRL scheme aims to deliver a UK-wide recycling message on retailer and brand packaging to help consumers reuse and recycle more material correctly, more often and currently has over 650 members using it.

The UN Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, and to take action in support of UN goals and issues embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The latest initiative contributing to OPRL’s SDG commitments is its #MakeItEasy campaign to ensure mandatory recycling labelling, due to come into force under Extended Producer Responsibility packaging reforms included in the Environment Bill, enhances consumer engagement in recycling through clear, consistent and evidenced recycling labelling.

Jane Bevis, executive chair at OPRL, said: “Our initial engagement with the SDGs has focused on good housekeeping, making sure our own operations comply with the objectives of our chosen priority SDGs. But as a small not-for-profit our main impact is via the services we supply to our members and the extent to which we, collectively, engage consumers in making better choices in the disposal of packaging at end-of-life. We believe membership of the UN Global Compact will enable us both to learn from others – including many of our leading members – more advanced in this endeavour, and to help develop solutions to shared problems.”

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