How was 2022 for Accord? What were the highlights? What were the challenges?
I know it’s a cliché of the last few years, but 2022 was very busy! The ongoing effects of covid-related disruptions were still being felt by members (read: supply chain issues) and were exacerbated by new factors in 2022 such as the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, projects and policy priorities that were put on the back burner during the height of the pandemic, such as climate change and packaging waste, were firmly back on the agenda.
Pairing that with balancing the call for a return to face-to-face meetings and events with the continuing demand for online options—it’s been a very busy 12 months!
That said, when I think about the highlights, it would have to be tools that we developed for the hygiene industry such as the new FitForFood website, as well as the return to face-to-face meetings.
We had several successful face to face events—the two most popular were our Canberra Day Seminar in September, featuring presentations from government and regulators, and our Packaging Workshop at the ISSA Expo.
It was so great to connect with members old and new again, the Accord team had really missed that. Zoom and Teams just can’t compare!
What do you see as the main challenges the market is facing in 2023?
Inflation and the escalating costs of doing business are obvious ones. These are already presenting huge challenges for industry and it’s hard to say when these pressures will ease.
COVID proved however that ours is a nimble and resilient industry, one that’s successfully weathered the unprecedented storms since 2020, and Accord stands ready to continue to provide information, connections and solutions to support our members through these tough times.
Another challenge will be Australia’s tight labour market and skills shortage.
On this front, in our ongoing efforts to research and source industry-focused employment solutions, Accord is delighted to announce the commencement of a unique collaboration with employment services provider, Asuria.
This partnership aims to bring our industry front and centre to create strategies for demand-driven, employer-led, workforce development. We’re excited to see where this takes us in 2023.
What are Accord’s main priorities for 2023?
As if we didn’t have enough on during 2022, we also found time to review our strategic plan with our Board of Directors. 2023 will be all about implementing this new framework.
The core benefits of our association are Access, Advocacy, Knowledge and Networking, so we’ll be focused on delivering on those promises to members.
We’re busy working on our 2023 events calendar and first up will be a sustainability-focused event in Q1. Canberra Day will be back, as well as refreshed industry-specific training leveraging the expertise of the Accord team and our networks. Watch this space!
For the cleaning products sector specifically, a priority for Accord will be expanding partnerships for CSR initiatives. It’s not enough for a business to just sell products anymore, it needs to consider its social license to operate.
For example, the cosmetics side of our membership has the wonderfully important Look Good Feel Better cancer patients’ charity to rally behind.
Having more partnerships facilitated through Accord will increase a company’s capacity to give back to the community in meaningful and accessible ways, particularly for those small and family-owned businesses within our membership that simply don’t have the same resources for such projects as big companies do.
What do you expect to be the big sustainability trends of 2023?
Transparency and greenwashing. With the spate of recent negative media surrounding take-back schemes and collected materials being warehoused rather than recycled, companies need to be realistic and transparent about their sustainability targets and practices.
It’s better to be upfront about where you are on your sustainability journey, and strive for improvement, than to be caught out misleading customers.
Similarly, the ACCC has made greenwashing a compliance priority area, so it’s not just reputational damage that’s at stake if a business is engaged in false and misleading claims!
Third-party accreditation and certifications are a great way companies can bolster their sustainability credentials in a compliant way. Accord, for example, administers the Recognised eco-label, which identifies environmentally preferable commercial cleaning products.
The scheme recently passed its probity audit again with flying colours! This is just one example of an industry led initiative, with more on the horizon for plastics and packaging circularity.
One thing we’re passionate about at Accord is international alignment, and from a sustainability point of view, harmonising local regulations with those of comparable countries, say the EU and USA, will not only allow more new and novel ingredients for environmentally preferable products to be available for the Australian cleaning industry, but it will also ensure we are able to readily access new and novel packaging presentations. This is an important work area for our association.
Is there a message that you would like to share with the industry?
If you are not already a member, join your relevant industry association! For companies that manufacture and supply formulated cleaning and hygiene products, that’s Accord.
We provide targeted information, training, sustainability and innovation programs, representation of your concerns to decision-makers, access to our extensive local and global networks including the International Network of Cleaning Products Associations, and many member-only tools and resources.
With Accord, you have a specialist expert team just a phone call away ready to help with any issues your company might be facing. At our heart, we are focused on creating a better business operating environment so that our members can focus on creating world-class formulated cleaning and hygiene products.
This first appeared in the January/February issue of INCLEAN magazine.Â
Read the original article here.Â
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