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is also a key part of our strategy . This means we will continue to provide customer service excellence across the world , combining local market knowledge with a global supply chain .
Tell us more about the business ’ dedication to giving women a platform in the industry and to diversity ? I ’ m aware that I ’ m in the minority as a female leader in a very male-dominated industry . It ’ s a point of pride that we see so much female representation at Parkside , especially in senior roles . Following our recent management restructure , over half of our senior management is female . This isn ’ t the result of any specific policy of ours , we simply believe in giving people a platform to show what they can do , regardless of their gender or any other characteristic . Our success has been built on including diverse perspectives from people of every background .
How do you create and maintain a winning culture within Parkside ? We have a highly collaborative open-door policy where anyone is free to share ideas with anyone else . It fosters a positive culture where employees are always consulted and supported in terms of their health and wellbeing , but also in terms of their careers and development . We continually work to upskill our team through training and new qualifications , while also supporting new blood in the industry through apprenticeships .
Most importantly , we always try to celebrate both individual and team successes whenever we can . Once you have the fundamentals of safety , happiness , and wellbeing taken care of , the winning culture just falls into place because employees can bring their whole selves to work every day . And , going back to our commitment to diversity , people know they will be given a platform to succeed here regardless of their background .
Looking ahead but more generally , with your expertise , what do you think is next for the packaging sector ? Sustainability is the longest , most important consumer trend , to the point where many in the industry don ’ t consider it to be a trend at all – it ’ s just the new norm . There ’ s no denying that packaging has a huge part to play , but the many sustainable innovations the industry is producing every day need to become more widely used to make an impact . The need for legislation and recycling infrastructure changes will become more pressing , as the packaging industry has innovated and is ready and waiting with solutions like recyclable monopolymer films .
Other emerging trends include AI , which has all sorts of potential applications for optimizing packaging design and supply chains . More sophisticated smart packaging is another future trend that we will see at some point in the future . The market isn ’ t quite there yet , although we have seen some interesting applications in the luxury and pharmaceutical packaging segments .
If there was one critical insight from the packaging sector you ’ d like a reader to take from this piece , what would it be ? The purpose of packaging is to prevent waste by preserving its contents – not to generate waste itself . While technology allows paper to ‘ be more plastic ’ by adding
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