100 Coaches Agency

Stakeholder Centered Individual and Team Coaching

Member of Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches

Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching

Mentor six cohorts annually of Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaches from 20+ countries

Master Coach and Mentor

Are you a Founder or CEO and looking to improve collaboration and performance of your team?  

For those ready to invest a few hours a month we provide a simple, structured, (not easy) process.  

We believe so strongly in the process that you pay nothing until your board and co-workers validate that you are a measurably better leader.   We call this "No Growth, No Pay" and designed this for founders.

Teamwork is a metaskill, a muscle which  gets stronger with regular training.

Over the last 5 years our team has been privileged to accompany dozens of successful leaders to measurably strengthen their collaboration and business performance muscles.

Master Certified Coach

infinitas SA

WARNING!   If you are not looking to achieve transformational growth over at least 12 months, we are not the right partner for you.

Collaboration and Performance.  Both can be measurably improved with a simple, highly time effective process.  We help you see and unleash the value inside yourself, your team and your business processes. 

Our clients regularly achieve  their "Best Year Ever" and have a clear path to an even better 2023.   

Curious?  Book a Zoom meeting  https://calendly.com/teamperformance/20min discovery call 

or email    bill.zeeb@infinitas.coach

Founder

Accenture   George Group

First George Group employee hired in Europe in 2003.  Recruited and built the business to 35+ Master Black Belts before acquisition by Accenture.  Delivered Black Belt, Sponsor, Green Belt, Executive Coaching and Training and supported Kaizen events to help clients execute their strategies.  Performed Deployment Assessments and designed and led deployments which delivered in 7 languages,

Master Black Belt & Dir. Client Services 

Delphi Automotive

Responsible for launch of Lean Six Sigma in 11 factories and 13,000 employees in Turkey, Rumania, Hungary, Poland, Czech, Slovakia, and Austria.  Largest plant with 2,000 employees was able to realize financial benefits in the first 18 months from Lean Six Sigma, equal to over 2% of the annual budget.

Master Black Belt, Eastern Europe

GE Power Controls

Black Belt and Master Black Belt leading and coaching numerous projects in Human Resources, Manufacturing, IT, Sourcing, Supply Chain, Quality and Sales.  Deep Six Sigma expertise though using CAP and building from the 7 GE business units different  Six Sigma curricula as well as the combined Book of Knowledge.

Master Black Belt

Veba Energie   Raab Karcher Energy Services

Process Improvement Consultant for Heating Cost Allocation Service Providor; responsible for the introduction of Six Sigma

International Management Consultant

Opel

Group Leader Capital Budgets, Capital Investment Value Stream Improvement Leader, Manager Accounts Receivable, Manager Account Payable, Pan-European Procurement-Payables Reengineering Leader

Various Leadership Roles in Finance

Various Positions in Sales; Lanier Business Products, Melchior and Associates, Empire

Delivered consistent top line B2B sales growth in complex environments; responsible for the entire sales cycle from prospecting till execution of contract

Sales Representative, Business Broker

about Bill....

- privileged to have trained and coached 2,000 talents in identifying, prioritizing and executing Lean Six Sigma projects to deliver $1B+ in business value

 - provide individual and collective  coaching in over 100 businesses to deliver measurable improvment in leadership behaviors - - -  unleashing better collaboration and performance

- provide award winning sales and sales management development to unleash topline growth 

Our work begins with simple, highly time efficient assessments.

Curious to learn more about co-creating a brighter future for your business? 

Let's connect!  bill.zeeb@infinitas.coach   ++41 79 549 6380

Bill Zeeb

Self-care. I learned this lesson late in life.

And as I celebrate today my 66th birthday, my mission is clear.

To help successful leaders and their teams to even balance caring for themselves, and with the positive energy received, even better care for both those in their charge and business results.

Thank you today to 3 of my many mentors who were willing to spend 5 weeks with me.

Marshall Goldsmith 

Robert (Bob) J. Anderson 

William A. (Bill) Adams

Leadership, Business Performance and Topline Growth

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.....unless I can celebrate day 4 skiing! 

How do you make your Mondays exrraordinary?

Please share your best tips to inspire others.

What are you grateful for today?

Gratitude is a magical emotion, unleashing positivity.

Try it and share!

When I became a trailing spouse and followed my darling French/Italian wife to Gex, France, just outside of Geneva, I could not have believed what goodness would unfold.

Massive gratitude gives me the energy to be, according to the words of one highly successful Swiss Entrepreneur of the Year, "The most positive person I have ever met."

Are you or is someone you know looking for an Executive Coach able to infuse you with massive positivity AND hold the mirror with authentic courage to share what is holding you back?  DM me.

So much to be thankful for on ski day 14 this season.

What are you thankful for today?

The best distillation of change I have in my library of 1000+ books.  Top 10 takeaways with many links included.

This post came through me to support you. Many links fun and valuable included.  Like this so you can easily find it again.

If you find this useful, please repost, comment, subscribe to my newsletter or buy one or all of the books!  The world never more needed even better leadership.

Special Thanks to Joel Monk, who I have not yet enjoyed the pleasure to meet personally. His podcast, Coaches Rising is a true gem.

Are you interested in change, either individually, with your partner, with your team, with your company, your country or the planet? For 65+ years I h

Open article: The Most Comprehensive Thinking yet on Change?!? by Bill Zeeb • 3 min read

The Most Comprehensive Thinking yet on Change?!?

Self-care. What we can give to others is limited by what we give ourselves. 

What will you give yourself this weekend?

Please comment to share your positive energy  to support others.

Gratitude. Nature gifts us many opportunities to feel the healing power of gratitude daily.

What are you grateful for today?

Follow me for a daily dose of gratitude.

When one conversation unleashes $1B in cost reduction.  Includes my best project explained in detail.  

I spent a week to get the embedded video to less than 5 minutes.  

Reshare or follow, or comment to learn more from client success practices I have been privilege to accompany.

Bill Zeeb Leadership, Business Performance and Topline Growth Most Lean Six Sigma initiatives either fail or fail miserably. And this failure can be p

Open article: Grow Your Market and Reduce Your COGS by Bill Zeeb • 6 min read

What a wonderful 66th birthday gift! 

What unexpected positivity did the universe reveal to you today?

Repost or comment to share your positivity!

Proud to hear these words in my Northwestern Purple.

Never before has advancing our state of development as a "human becoming" been better understood and measurable than today.

Thank you Robert (Bob) J. Anderson for dedicating decades of your life to synthesizing hundreds of years of human development learning  and distilling this into The Univeral Model of Leadership as contained in your books Mastering Leadership and Scaling Leadership with William A. (Bill) Adams .

Solving Critical Business Challenges | Co-Founder KAIZUNO (Built on 85+ Years Combined Excellence Expertise) | Proven 5-Step Formula + AI-Enhanced System + Expert Coaches | EFQM Global Excellence Award Winner

“The best way to spot an idiot? Look for the person who is cruel. … The kindest person in the room is often the smartest.”

Brilliant insights from Governor JB Pritzker

Leadership is a transmission of energy.

Do you know your WHY?  

If not, most likely, you are not impacting the world with your greatness.

Watch this 2 minute video to feel the impact of knowing your WHY.  WARNING Contains sound.


https://lnkd.in/ehcK2_Ra 


The work of Simon Sinek and his book Start with WHY inspired Gary Sanchez DDS to develop a 10 minute WHY assessment.  Which of the 9 WHY's are most ready to send your leadership vibrations to the world?

When I learned this, I experienced a positive shift in my connection with family, coworkers and friends.

If you are curious to learn more about the online WHY assessment or take one this month, write WHY! in the comments. As a coach, I buy these by the thousands and I love sharing them.

Follow me or comment to help receive and share valuable tips on leadership, teamwork and how these unleash $$$ business growth. 

William Robert Ardian Bekim Herolinda Andrea Christian Mohsen Erik Dean Nika Adrian Ivan Ivan Kurt Dror Olaf Carlos Toomas

And thank you Michael Jr. for this great video

Open article: Michael Jr Video shorter.mp4 by drive.google.com

Best visualization ever of 
unconditional positive regard.

If, like me, you learn visually, gollow Pejman Milani !

@milanicreative | Visual teacher simplifying complexity with visual metaphors | +20 years high school teacher

What’s the difference between generosity and strategy?

Or more precisely, what connects your actions and your expectations?
(whether it’s spoken aloud or a silent understanding)

• “I’ll help you ONLY WHEN you help me" → Transactional
• "I'll help you BECAUSE you helped me" → Reciprocal
• "I'll help you SO THAT you'll help me later" → Manipulative
• "I'll help you." → Unconditional

Some relationships are meant to be transactional. That's okay.
It’s how most of the world works.

But the relationships that hit different are the ones that don’t keep score. 

And it's worth knowing which kind you're in and which kind you're offering.

P.S. If you're new here, I'm Pejman Milani (milanicreative).

I've made hundreds of visual metaphors like this as friendly reminders to help live a more intentional and creative life.

If that's your jam, follow me for more daily insights.

$30B lost in < 2 years!!!

Customer Focus. Process Improvement.    

Both can transform a business.

When treated as an "either/or" even Starbucks can be brought to their knees.

Customer Focus. Process Improvement. These are a "both/and." 

Question for you, dear reader and the insightful Leysan :

Would you agree that Exec Team continuous leadership growth is as important as Customer Focus and Process Improvement?

Follow me for another example of  massive value creation and loss.

CFO | Strategic Business Partner | Financial Performance

Starbucks is on its 4th CEO in less than 3 years.

September 2024: Brian Niccol takes over. His job: fix the $30B mess Narasimhan left in 17 months.

So what happened there?

March 2023: Laxman Narasimhan becomes CEO.

On paper, he looked perfect. 19 years at McKinsey. PepsiCo executive across 100+ countries. Just turned around Reckitt (saved £2B, grew 8.6%).

The board gave him 6 months to train as a barista. He relocated from London to Seattle. He was all in.

His plan? "Triple Shot Reinvention With Two Pumps."

Yes, that was the actual name.

$600M in technology. 
Supply chain optimization. 
Data-driven decisions.
It looked smart. It sounded strategic.

But he brought the wrong playbook.

At Reckitt, success came from cost cutting and portfolio optimization.

At Starbucks, success comes from customer experience and baristas who know your name.

And he never asked customers why they stopped coming.

Mobile orders hit 31%. The coffeehouse where people loved to hangout for hours became a pickup counter they rushed through.

Sales dropped for the first time in 3 years. 
Then traffic down 6%. 
Then stock down 20%.

$30B in market value — gone.

August 13, 2024. Before market open.

Board announces Narasimhan out. Effective immediately.
No transition. Just out.

Stock soars 24% that day. 

Biggest gain in Starbucks history. 
$20B in value created by his departure.

Brian Niccol's first move? "Get back to what made us special."

Not more data. Not more technology. Customer experience.

He spent 6 years turning around Chipotle after food safety scandals. 

Stock up 773%. Margins from 17% to 26%.

But Chipotle took 3 years to turn around and Starbucks is 10x bigger: 41,000 stores across 80+ countries.

That's the CFO lesson:

You can spend $600M on technology and optimize every part of supply chain — but the wrong playbook costs billions. 

No amount of data replaces listening to your customers.

Can Brian Niccol pull off a turnaround 10x bigger than Chipotle — or will the board panic before year 3?

♻️ If this resonates, share it with your network. 
🔔 Follow me for more CFO insights. 

#CFOLeadership #BusinessModel #Starbucks #Turnaround #Founders

For decades my childhood operating system ran me.

As the oldest of 6 kids, my parents mantra?

"If you do not have anything nice to say, don't say anything." 

Helped me earn the description from a Swiss Entrepreneur of the Year, 

"Bill Zeeb is the most positive person I have ever met."

Not useful when a critical word is needed, which is ever more often in today's chaotic world.

The good news is that this operating system can be upgraded.

Thank you to William A. (Bill) Adams and Robert (Bob) J. Anderson and Paul Crick  and many others for introducing me to The Leadership Circle Assessment to diagnose and see this and to Marshall Goldsmith and Frank Wagner and Brandon James Mergard - Marshall Goldsmith Coaching for helping me with a simple (never easy!) and highly time efficient system to reboot my new operating system.

Repost, follow or comment if you are curious about upgrading your leadership operating system.

Life is Good!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁?
In this #SurfacingCreativeLeadership conversation, Leadership Circle Co-Founders William A. (Bill) Adams and Robert (Bob) J. Anderson explore the 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 dimension of the Leadership Circle Profile®—and what it really takes to tell the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.

At its best, Courageous Authenticity opens the door to trust, growth, and genuine connection. But when fear takes the lead, we self-protect, withdraw, or withhold what most needs to be said.

Bill and Bob unpack how leaders can move from guarded to grounded—speaking truth in ways that strengthen, not sever, relationships.

📽️ 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.👇

#SurfacingCreativeLeadership #CreativeLeadership #CourageousAuthenticity

How do you deal with setbacks?  A few insights from decades of work to see the positive in a world that often seems ever more chaotic.

For much of my life, I was not a good reframer. Fortunately reframing is a learnable skill, a muscle we can train. The more I train, the more ease I h

Open article: For Self-Care, Your Loved Ones, or Your Co-Workers, Reframing is Magic! by Bill Zeeb • 4 min read

For Self-Care, Your Loved Ones, or Your Co-Workers, Reframing is Magic!

Can love be measured?

Can leadership effectiveness be measured?

Today I celebrate the 65+ million  leaders and stakeholders who have participated in perhaps the greatest experiment on leadership. Over 20+ years.  

Follow me if you want to learn more about the Harvard defined different levels of human development and latest research on how to grow your leadership faster with less pain and even some fun.

Thank you Vinay for this powerful graphic on the 3 measurable and trainable (like a muscle) stages of leadership effectiveness.

Scaling Leadership * Strengthening Individuals & Teams * Creating Sustainable Impact

Being a Chemical Engineer by training, before working with any instrument, it's important to me to understand the core premise upon which it is built, the research behind it, and evidence of connection to business performance. Here's what it is for Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) as I have come to understand it, and why today LCP is the only leadership 360 instrument I choose to work with. 

LCP's Core Premise

1. Structure Determines Performance.  

Deeper the roots, the better the tree withstands the storms.  A warehouse is built for storage and shipping, a home for living. Different structures, different performance.  Similarly, for us humans, our conscious is our structure, our operating system. Therefore, if we want to increase our effectiveness and create higher levels of performance, we must be restructured. As it's said, what got us here isn't going to get us there.

2. Humans grow, IF they grow, vertically through a series of stages. Think of these as stages of levels of maturation.   Per research, as leaders grow vertically, they become more effective. This matters - a LOT - as effectiveness is directly connected to business performance.

As can be seen in the graph below, as leaders move up from Reactive to Creative to Integral, which points to different stages of development, they become significantly more effective.

Where Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) comes in is that it helps leaders gain invaluable insights into the level they're operating from, and what their unlocking move is to grow further in their level of consciousness.  

In my own personal experience, and that of having worked with leaders at various levels and many industries, here are some of the changes I have observed that result from these shifts:

* Leaders become much more self-aware, which is important and serves as the foundation upon which they develop personal mastery.
* Leaders are able to take more perspective, see more options and choices, and reflect and contemplate on those choices.
* As a result of the above, leaders are then able to take wiser decisions and more effective actions, which ultimately leads to better business outcomes.

If you're a leader and you are committed to growing further in the coming year, I encourage you to learn more about LCP.  You can do that by visiting: https://lnkd.in/eTszRRFS.

Coaches Rising is a great podcast I recommend for anyone seeking more consciousness or self-awareness or leadership effectiveness.

Today, ski day one this season, I celebrate the talented Joel Monk who brings a creative flow of valuable topics.  

See you tomorrow for a day 2 sunrise.

How do you plan to refuel yourself this weekend?

Leave a comment or repost to inspire others.

Life is good!

Self-care, nature, gratitude.

When we care for ourselves, we can even better care for others.

How do you care for yourself?

Leave a comment to inspire others.

(View of Mt. Blanc on ski day 2 this season)

Life is good!

Thank you Marshall for this reminder.   A positive attitude is a learnable skill which can be strengthened with practice.

And as Richard Boyatzis documents in his 2024 book, The Science of Change, Human and Leadership growth arise much faster from positivity.

Tomorrow I will share how my cancer journey brings some of the greatest opportunities of my life!

Life is good!

My latest project: MarshallGoldsmith.ai Ask me any question. Everything I know is available for free! | Thinkers50 Hall of Fame | #1 Executive Coach | #1 Leadership Thought Leader | #1 NYT Bestselling Author

Never be embarrassed to be an optimist.

The world will always have threats.

The question is: What do you see first?

People who believe they can succeed see opportunities where others see threats.

They aren’t naïve - they’re focused.

They aren’t ignoring reality - they’re choosing where to invest their energy.

Optimism is not denial.
Optimism is courage.

Life is good.
Marshall

The Leadership Circle is 'A Universal Model of Leadership'which the Swiss have chosen as their favorite.  

Roche, Syngenta, Dectris, Optotune, Swisscom, Tillotts, Tocco and AXPO are a few of the successful Swiss organizations using this "Leadership MRI" to measure 27 leadership behavioral tendencies - - - on a 1 to 100 percentile scale leveraging a global database of 684,000 leaders and over 1,000,000,000 (that's one billion) observer answered questions.  

As a Lean Six Sigma data freak, I find even more powerful the available correlations and text comment research revealing correlations between these leadership tendencies and leadership effectiveness itself.

Game changing for me. And for the successful leaders I accompany.

Thank you Christian Hofstetter for sharing this example of the powerful Leadership Circle mat, which has helped me and thousands of other leaders to physically "step into" our leadership.

Step into?  What does this mean? 

1.Both  "reactive" tendencies (safety based, or 'play not to lose') which cancel out our leadership. 

2. And our "creative" tendencies (purpose based or growth mindset or  'play to win') which expand our leadership.

Starting in January I will be running a monthly meet-up in Zurich to share with leaders who do not yet know this model or who wish to learn more a multitude of specific examples of measurable individual and collective leadership growth.

The past years I have been privileged to spend 5 weeks with the Founder and Chief Knowledge Officer of "A Universal Model of Leadership,'  Robert (Bob) J. Anderson  and Ambassador - CEO  William A. (Bill) Adams.   As a European Ambassador for The Leadership Circle it is my turn to share this gift with the planet.

Repost or comment to receive advance notice and an invitation to join one of the monthly sessions starting in January.

We loved this powerful reflection from Christian Hofstetter as he kicked off a new cohort at Swisscom exploring the inner dynamics of leadership through the Leadership Circle Profile.

💡 Rather than adding tools to the toolkit, this program invites leaders to explore the stories, beliefs, and nervous system responses that shape their leadership—consciously or unconsciously.

As Christian puts it:
“Are you acting to avoid discomfort, or acting for what you want to create?”

The journey of transformation is personal, profound, and never linear. But with tools like the LCP, leaders gain a clear, grounded path to more conscious, creative leadership.

#LeadershipCircle #CreativeLeadership #ConsciousLeadership
#LCP #LeadershipDevelopment #InnerWork #Transformation #Swisscom

Elevate Packaging, Inc.

ELEVATE PACKAGING is a Leader in Circular Compostable Packaging systems, enabling companies of every size seeking Zero-Waste, plastic-free solutions to meet their sustainability goals and reduce their carbon footprint.

We make sustainability easy and simple.

Visit ElevatePackaging.com to find the widest range of compostable products (bags, pouches, labels, shipping supplies, food service supplies) shipped within 24 hours, with No Minimums!
Get fully custom and full color printed compostable solutions with speedy expert service.

Elevate enables your sustainability success with a frictionless on-ramp to sustainability leadership.
For 25 years, we're the #1 trusted expert and leading source for circular compostable packaging solutions for natural, organic, and sustainable brands.

President and Founder

US Composting Council

Collaborating with stakeholders to accelerate composting infrastructure.  Believing that compost manufacturing and compost utilization are central to creating healthy soils, clean air and water, a stable climate, and a sustainable society.

Founding Member, Corporate Compost Leadership Council 

UL Solutions

SaaS sustainability data management solutions for global businesses. Architected efficient and effective process workflows to manage and analyze sustainable business operations in centralized cloud database. UL purchased CR360 in 2016.

Senior Business Development Manager

Artelys

Fully responsible for all business functions, business development and strategy.  Developed growth within domestic and international markets and built new markets for KNITRO software, a world-class non-linear mathematical optimization algorithm for advanced optimization software programs. Ziena was purchased by Artelys.

Director

University of Illinois Chicago

Lectured on International Strategic Planning.  This program was focused toward professional in global organizations and was a joint collaboration with Bradley University.

Adjunct Instructor

Precision Software

Led teams at mid-sized client sites to customize, integrate and implement Global Trade Management Software within Client's ERP supply chain and logistics system.  Improved existing international supply chain processes to create seamless and efficient exports and imports for our global business clients.

Senior Project Manager

Loyola University Chicago

Lecturer on JAVA Programming to undergraduate students.

W.W. Grainger, Inc.

► International strategic planning (China and Latin American markets)
► Corporate strategy development with key executives of the company's business units
► Competitive research and analysis for C-level decision making
► Developed innovative technologies applications using emerging technologies  (mobile e-commerce network design, RFID, network architecture, genetic algorithms, neural networks).
► Managed concurrent projects and initiatives
► Business process design, documentation, and implementation
► Technology Innovation and Conceptual Modeling

Strategy and Business Development Manager

► Managed an application development team to support company's systems for this $50M business
► Re-organized technology group and a $1M+ technology budget to strategically retool business for next generation technology capabilities.
► Led team to design, implement and train IT department on ISO9000 quality processes to improve efficiencies.

Technology Manager, PCA

Northern Trust Bank

► Software Applications Programmer using COBOL, PL/1, JCL, IMS, VSAM, FOCUS Relational Database for CRM application.

Programmer

🌎 On a Mission to Eliminate 1 BILLION Pounds of Plastic Annually! 👉 Let’s connect today!

I'm dedicated to eliminating BILLIONS of pounds of plastic by making circular compostable packaging a reality for every brand.  We've made circular compostable packaging solutions easily accessible, and help brands get them effectively composted, powering sustainability impact to drive brand value and financial success.

With 25 years at the helm of Elevate Packaging, I have pioneered and led the charge in providing world leading, reliable, high-quality compostable packaging solutions for the leading sustainable brands.

Our mission is to make it easy for your business to seamlessly move beyond traditional plastics to circular compostable packaging, making sustainability an easy choice and a big win for your business.

Leveraging my deep expertise in strategy, technology, and business innovation, I've identified and developed market leading solutions to reduce packaging waste, introducing industry-first compostable products and enabling circular packaging systems.

As a speaker, investor, and a key contributor to sustainability councils, I strive to lead by example in both my professional and personal life and promoting a healthier planet for future generations.

Let's make a difference together!

Rich Cohen

This statement rings so true:
➡️“An economy built on plastic is an economy built on financial risk.”

The debate isn’t whether we CAN recycle disposable #plastics.
Decades of data show we have failed to date and still unable to recycle all plastics reliably at scale without incurring massive downstream costs.

Plastic is a liability.⚠️

Plastic drives expenses at every stage: waste management, contamination, EPR fees, regulatory risk, and long-term environmental harm. 
#Microplastics as a serious human health issue is likely the next significant costly liability for plastics.

👍🏽Compostable, circular materials turn waste into value.
🚫Plastic turns waste into cost.

The choice isn’t plastic vs. compostable.
It’s liability vs. circular value.

#businessstrategy #plasticpollution

Europe is fighting over cheap plastic imports when the real crisis sits at the heart of the material itself.

INEOS has warned that “time is running out” for Europe’s chemical industry. Brussels is drowning in anti-dumping cases. Politicians are scrambling to protect an industry crushed by high energy costs, collapsing demand and a wave of cheaper plastics from abroad.

Noise that masks a deep systemic failure. An economy that depends on plastic is an economy built on financial risk. 

Investors know this already. In 2025, the chemicals sector has become one of the most downgraded globally, with credit agencies flagging weak demand, overcapacity and collapsing margins. Ineos is just one example: its debt has swollen to nearly €12 billion, and ratings agencies have pushed it deeper into junk territory as bond values fall.

And the litigation risk hovering over the entire plastics value chain is only accelerating. Independent analysts project more than 20 billion dollars in plastic-related liabilities this decade, with no sign of the curve slowing.
 
So while we point fingers at “cheap imports”, the real story is a material whose economics no longer stack up. 
Plastic carries rising financial risk, rising legal exposure and rising harm to the people who bear its pollution. Almost 80 percent of the global population now live in areas where plastic waste has exceeded their waste management capacity.

We keep treating this as a trade problem. It feels more like a reality check. 

Maybe this is the moment to shift the conversation. Europe can protect its future by cutting its dependence on a material that drags down our health and our economy. Or we can keep giving in to Big Plastic’s propaganda that puts every one of our futures at risk.

This is a #funny image! 🤣 

But seriously, current #EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) frameworks are at risk of backfiring.
Many policies are being written through a recycling-centric lens, unintentionally penalizing compostable packaging, the very solutions designed to eliminate plastic and #microplastics at the source.

By failing to differentiate between circular compostable systems and conventional recycling, EPR regulations are slowing innovation and retarding the adoption of the next generation of truly sustainable materials.
This will soon prove shortsighted.
It's quite likely EPR as we know it today will be short-lived in its current form due these gross shortcomings.

Growing scientific evidence shows that microplastics are hazardous to human health, not just the planet.  As this becomes undeniable in just the next few years, the demand for compostable, plastic-free solutions will surge.

At Elevate Packaging, we’ve created an EPR-compliant pathway for compostable packaging, enabling producers and brands to even stay compliant today while preparing for a future that prioritizes human and planetary health.

If EPR is to succeed in its intended mission, it must evolve to include compostables as a recognized recovery pathway, rather than forcing all packaging into a recycling model.

The future of packaging isn’t recyclable plastic.
The future remains compostable, regenerative materials that safely return to the soil and restore balance to our ecosystems. 🌎

Business Development | Circularity Solutions | Sustainability Intrapreneur

While I try to be positive over the wave of EPR laws I keep seeing too many unintended consequences and a lack of focus on areas of impact.

First lets just say as I have elsewhere that the grocery store aisles should all look like the beverage aisle if we want  to promote recycling - standard materials and limiting colors to easily removable labels would make recycling more retail packaging easier. That is all great and EPR will nudge us in this direction - but that isn't what we need most today.

Plastic recycling is not feedstock limited it is demand limited. Making more formats easier to recycle is all well and good but those nice packages will still end up in landfill until there is a demand driver from brands to use it at a price point that makes economic sense for conversion. That is a bigger topic for another day.

The unintended consequences though are also disappointing. Recycling is a great end of life option for many products if not most products. Applying one size fits all fees though will drive counterproductive decisions to try and make products 'recyclable' in cases where a non-recyclable option may be better. We are pigeonholing all packaging into PET or HDPE (and a lesser degree PP) while demonizing flexible packaging and biodegradable solutions. Some products have a use case or food content that will always make them very unlikely to be recycled (looking at you coffee pods!). As long as the easier path to lower fees is to just stick everything in HDPE the market for any new or innovative material is dead.

RIP PHA we hardly got to know you, and any new materials making their way through academia and universities are dead on arrival. 

Am I being too negative or do new materials or compostable solutions have a realistic path to market in the face of 4-5X EPR fees and a non-recyclable label?

#plastics #sustainability #recycling #EPR

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