January 27, 2025

Atlanta – Georgia-Pacific’s Consumer Products business has joined the Circular Action Alliance (CAA) as a founding member to help inform extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws for paper and packaging in the United States.

CAA is the only organization approved to implement U.S. EPR laws for paper and packaging and is operating as the sole Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) in California and Colorado. CAA has submitted a program plan to operate as the PRO in Oregon in 2025, an application to serve as the PRO in Minnesota, and has also been selected to represent producer interests as the PRO on the State Producer Responsibility Advisory Council in Maryland.

“CAA is honored to welcome representatives from Georgia-Pacific to its board of directors, further enriching its collective expertise,” said Charlie Schwarze, CAA Board Chair and Senior Director of Sustainability at Keurig Dr Pepper. “As we move closer to implementation of EPR laws, their experience and leadership will play a critical role in delivering on the requirements state to state and advancing a circular economy."

According to John Mulcahy, vice president-stewardship for Georgia-Pacific, “Our involvement with CAA gives us the opportunity to inform implementation of states’ EPR laws in a way that matches our Stewardship Framework commitment to help people improve their lives while managing resources responsibly. CAA has been tasked by the states to make recommendations on implementation rules, and we believe that our involvement can add value to this process.”

Georgia-Pacific joins CAA’s existing founding board members: Amazon, The Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Conagra Brands, Danone, Ferrero, General Mills, Keurig Dr Pepper, The Kraft Heinz Company, L’Oréal, Mars Incorporated, Mondelēz International, Nestlé USA, Niagara Bottling, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson, Target and Walmart.

“One of CAA’s strategic operating principles is to provide strong producer governance of EPR programs and effective representation of producers’ priorities,” said Jeff Fielkow, CEO of CAA. “The leadership provided by our board members directly supports our mission to help all producers comply with EPR laws, deliver harmonized, best-in-class compliance services, and work with governments, businesses and communities to reduce waste and recycle more.”

For more information about CAA visit: circularactionalliance.org.