APCO CEO Brooke Donnelly steps down

Brooke Donnelly, APCO Chief Executive Officer has announced her intention to step down after five years in the role.

Donnelly said it was the right time for a new challenge. She will leave APCO at the end of July 2022 and assist with the transition to a new CEO in the interim.

Under Donnelly’s leadership, the APCO was reinvigorated and regained government trust to influence policy on a national scale.

Membership grew from 700 to 2200 in that time, expanding the geographical scope to regional participants and global participants and the organisation led the nation in setting the National Packaging Targets as the way forward to achieve circularity in packaging.

It also developed consistent reporting of the packaging value chain, established strong partnerships with Planet Ark, PREP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, developed and launched a regional approach to tackle plastic packaging waste in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands through the ANZPAC Plastics Pact and initiated game-changing programs of work which have informed government and members of the challenges ahead.

More than 750 companies have been engaged to participate in the ARL and work together to design packaging that is recyclable, reusable or compostable. APCO has also collaborated with organisations across the supply chain to develop innovative solutions to Australia’s most pressing sustainable packaging challenges.

In a statement, APCO members thanked Donnelly for her dedication and wished her well for the future.