On April 16, 2025, the Sustainable Packaging Leadership Council (SPLC) hosted a webinar for purchasing and procurement professionals about leveraging the UP Scorecard to make more informed sustainable food packaging choices.
SPLC is a global community of purchasers, suppliers, advocates, and experts committed to driving positive impact through the power of procurement. Members are connected directly with sustainable procurement expertise and gain access to training opportunities, networks of engaged peers, and other resources. As a part of the Single-Use Material Decelerator (SUM’D), SPLC has contributed to the ongoing development of the UP Scorecard.
Thank you to SPLC for hosting this event and to all our speakers for their participation and insights.
While often convenient, some food packaging and foodware can have significant impacts on environmental and human health. Limited access to quality information, lack of transparency from manufacturers, and ignorance to the presence of chemicals of concern can make choosing more sustainable food packaging and foodware options challenging for procurement and purchasing professionals.
To address these challenges, the Single-Use Material Decelerator (SUM’D) – a group of scientists, food industry professionals, and non-governmental organizations – developed a tool that would allow the food packaging industry to easily compare the benefits and tradeoffs of different food packaging and foodware options. The free, science-backed UP Scorecard allows for the easy assessment and comparison of the sustainability and health impacts of common food packaging and foodware. The tool looks at six metrics, including climate impact, water use, plastic pollution, sustainable sourcing, recoverability, and uniquely, chemicals of concern.
There is increasing awareness that hazardous chemicals can migrate into food from food packaging and foodware. However, current regulatory requirements are inadequate as they do not cover the full range of potential toxic impacts, and they largely fail to consider thousands of non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) that can be present in some products. The UP Scorecard goes beyond regulatory requirements for chemicals of concern, increasing transparency along the supply chain and limiting or eliminating known harmful substances in food packaging and foodware.
With its comprehensive assessment, international food service organizations, such as Aramark & Avendra International and Sodexo, are using the UP Scorecard to support clients in making more sustainable food packaging and foodware choices. Aramark is a global leader in food and facilities services with operations spanning education, health care, business, and sports. The responsible sourcing team supports Avendra International hospitality clients and Aramark operations achieving their waste reduction and sustainability goals. Utilizing the UP Scorecard, the Aramark & Avendra team has developed a materials spectrum for food service disposables which considers regionally available waste streams, recommending certified compostable plant-based materials as the most sustainable options, followed by recyclable plastics. For more detail-oriented clients, they offer customizable guidance into the impacts of different food packaging and foodware options and provide clients and sourcing teams an educational webinar with SUM’D.
Sodexo is a global food service company. The organization is committed to sustainability and innovation, including reducing food waste, promoting responsible sourcing, and supporting local economies, and is prioritizing a move from single use to reusables. Sodexo has developed several tools to help operators compare products and choose the most sustainable food packaging product, including their Enhanced Food Service Packaging Guide, Reusable To-Go Container Guide, and Disposable Product Identification Tool. To corroborate the knowledge gained from these internal tools, Sodexo encourages the use of other science-backed resources and hosted a workshop with the UP Scorecard in 2024.
Are you a procurement professional interested in making more sustainable choices? Try the UP Scorecard for free!
Webinar Speakers
Etienne Cabane
Engagement Director
Food Packaging Forum
Etienne is the Engagement Director at the Food Packaging Forum. He is responsible for creating and supporting opportunities for collaboration and engaging with stakeholders to ensure real impact. He also leads the ongoing development of the Understanding Packaging (UP) Scorecard.
Etienne is a learning and engagement specialist with scientific training as a materials scientist. He studied chemistry and materials science at CPE Lyon and the University of New Hampshire and holds a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Basel. After finishing his degree, Etienne completed postdoctoral work at ETH Zurich, where he also built and led an independent research group focused on simple and versatile protocols for functionalizing wood with novel properties. Through his work, Etienne hopes to raise awareness of environmental health issues and drive change.
As Engagement Director at the Food Packaging Forum, Etienne leads the ongoing development of the Understanding Packaging (UP) Scorecard and connects with stakeholders to encourage implementation. He creates and supports opportunities for collaboration and manages and fosters relationships. Since joining the Food Packaging Forum in 2023, Etienne has redefined the UP Scorecard strategy and successfully reached out to new stakeholders who are now active users.
Justin Boucher
Operations Director
Food Packaging Forum
An environmental engineer by training, Justin works internationally at the science-policy interface to help stakeholders make better decisions using the latest science on chemicals in products and on the environmental and human health impacts of foodware and packaging. His previous academic research at ETH Zürich focused on modeling the emissions and fate of fluorinated substances in the environment, mapping the life cycles of endocrine disrupting chemicals, and strengthening international science-policy communication. He is a co-author and reviewer of multiple reports for the United Nations Environment Programme on chemicals and waste, has supported scientific discussions within the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the forthcoming United Nations plastics treaty, and was the coordinating author of the Springer Nature textbook “Chemical Products and Processes” which teaches the environmentally oriented design of chemical products and processes.
Kira Austin
Sustainable Sourcing Manager
Aramark
Kira is the Sustainable Sourcing Manager for Aramark & Avendra International. In her role she supports the sourcing goals of Aramark’s global enterprise as well as Avendra’s GPO clients. This includes providing guidance and recommendations on more-sustainable sourcing options, researching and vetting new supplier and product opportunities, and providing client reports on key commodities to measure spend trends from conventional to more preferred products. Kira leads the company’s supplier sustainability engagement programs including the EcoVadis assessment, coordinating internal and external outreach and providing one on one support to suppliers as needed. She is the Responsible Sourcing Team’s lead on a number of high priority commodities, such as Coffee, Textiles, and Food Service Disposables.
Kira has been with Aramark for 3 years, with previous tenures at Hyatt Hotels and World Resources Institute (a global research organization). She holds a Bachelor’s in Hospitality Management from the University of Delaware and a Masters’ Degree in Sustainability Management from American University. Her role with Aramark combines her passions for hospitality and sustainability, and through her work she strives to influence and support more responsible purchasing decisions.
Sevrine Bethy
Head of Responsible Sourcing
Sodexo North America
Sevrine Bethy joined Sodexo Group in 2007 as a Quality Manager, where she oversaw the portfolio of suppliers. She quickly began collaborating with the Corporate Responsibility Department on initiatives to enhance the social and environmental impacts of supply chains. Driven by her passion for safeguarding human health and rights and her commitment to conserving resources, she formalized Sodexo’s Responsible Sourcing roadmap. This initiative focused on sourcing healthy solutions and ingredients, fostering social equity, and protecting and restoring natural ecosystems.
Currently, she serves as Head of Responsible Sourcing for Sodexo North America, where she supports category managers in making purchasing decisions that prioritize the well-being of people and the planet while safeguarding the company’s brand and reputation. Originally from the Caribbean, Sevrine holds an engineering degree specializing in food safety and quality for the food industry.
