Host: Ms Zainab Naeem, Associate Research Fellow, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan

Speakers/Guests:

• Mohammad Bin Shahzad, Sustainability Manager, Tetra Pak Pakistan
• Ms Ayesha Aziz, Group Manager Sustainability, Packages Group
• Mr Tayyab Aijaz, CEO, Roshan Packages
• Ms Youngran Hur, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Mr Hafiz Jawad Sohail, Senior Project Officer, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Key Recommendations:

•  Costs associated with circular practices hinder the shift towards sustainable consumption and production. We need to provide a level playing field to ethical and sustainable producers. Moreover, consumer awareness is necessary to shift consumption behaviours.
• To decrease plastic footprint, companies should adopt biodegradable plastic packaging instead of single-use plastic. Every package should be recyclable and should be collected for recycling. Multi-stakeholder collaboration is needed to create a robust infrastructure for recycling. UNEP's experience shows that value-added creation through eco-innovation can lead to
• UNEP's experience shows that value-added creation through eco-innovation can lead to 15% growth for businesses, creating new jobs. Developing countries can meet the increased production and consumption by harnessing innovation and adopting efficient and cleaner production through green technologies.
• LinkedIn data shows that while green skills increased by 12% in the last year, green job postings increased by 24%. There is a high need to build green skills in the workforce.