Elina Iamsia, CSR Manager at Edelmann Group

Renzo Sparavier, Senior Sales Executive at Edelmann Group

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

Elina – We are fully aware of the challenges our customers are facing to balance functionality, cost and sustainability aspects of packaging. Environmental performance of packaging is quickly becoming a consumer demand, legislation and a market trend, therefore webinar attendees will learn how to take the first steps in this journey. Rest assured it will go beyond theory, as we’re also preparing a practical case study.

Renzo – Sustainability is very topical, and I would expect all our attendees have challenges from their consumers to provide safe, cost effective, and sustainable products and packaging. Our goal is to give everyone some basic knowledge on how paper based secondary packaging can be part of their solution. Attendees will leave with ideas on a path towards more sustainable packaging and know that Edelmann USA is a resource for these and other challenges.

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

Elina – I am interested to hear about their priorities, targets and challenges and where Edelmann USA can support them. It’s very likely that we have the expertise and solutions to resolve many of the existing pain points of attending companies.

Renzo – I would love to hear about how they go about making decisions for their secondary packaging – design, functionality, cost, etc. – and where sustainability comes into the process, if at all. Also, how do they approach the customer and consumer challenges, which are not always aligned.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Elina – Sustainability is among those functions where I get to work with development, sales, procurement and many others all at once. It’s so interconnecting and overlapping, taking different shapes and forms day by day. The sense of meaningfulness and value are another two things that make me feel fulfilled and have a purpose. I love it!

Renzo – The interaction with customers has always motivated and energized me. I also love challenges and am truly driven by finding new methods and solutions. I know it sounds cliché but even in failure we learn something that will help us in the future, so learning has always been a passion for me.

How did you get into the industry?

Elina – Sustainability field has been my choice since the time I moved to Scandinavia (you might know they’re simply living it), however packaging itself has been quite a coincidence when I was hired here in Germany. A lucky coincidence I would say, because the world of packaging looks different to me now after working in the industry.

Renzo – I literally started at the bottom as a mail room clerk! I’m sure they don’t exist anymore. Since I always loved numbers, I then found my way into estimating, purchasing, production planning, operations, customer service and finally sales. The fact that I had an opportunity to see the business from so many functions helped me be more well-rounded and able to understand the business more holistically. Hopefully my customers benefit from this knowledge.

Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

Elina – I can’t name one. It’s very interesting how places sometimes don’t matter as opposed to people and experiences. I can recall many occasions of feeling purely happy, but there was nothing special about the place itself. So, I’d say I rather live in the moment

Renzo – This will be somewhat of a ‘homer’ answer, but I don’t make any apologies for that! I’m originally from Montreal so Mount Royal in Montreal. It’s a very small mountain – easy to climb in less than 1 hour although I mostly drove up and it sits almost in the middle of the city. You have such beautiful views of the city and the St. Lawrence River, and it has a great park near the top. It’s actually a dormant volcano. Brings back many great memories as it’s a perfect place to spend a relaxing or eventful summer afternoon!