27th November 2023
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The free-to-use Open 3P Data Standard for packaging, launched earlier this year to support efficient and consistent data capture, sharing, and reporting across the packaging supply chain, has recruited new members to its Standard Custodian Board (SCB) to oversee the future maintenance and development of the standard.
The Open 3P Data Standard has been collaboratively developed by a consortium of industry partners comprising Dsposal, Ecosurety, Open Data Manchester CIC, OPRL and RECOUP, with funding from UK Research & Innovation’s Smart Sustainable Plastics Packaging Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK. The aim is to make the packaging supply chain more data-enabled and sustainable, and support the transition to a more circular economy within the packaging sector.
Recruited to provide expertise in both packaging and data management, the new SCB members are:
- Frances Dickman – Head of Compliance at Colpac Ltd
- Lucy Knight – Co-founder and Data Lead at The Data Place
- Steve Morgan – Head of Policy and Infrastructure at RECOUP Ltd
- Adaobi Obi – Business Intelligence Analyst
- Tom Shaw – Packaging Analyst at Waitrose & Partners
- Julian Tait – CEO of Open Data Manchester CIC (Chair)
- Sophie Walker – CEO of Dsposal Ltd
In line with good governance principles for open data standards, the remit of the SCB is to promote and protect the Open 3P data standard. Its main task will be to oversee Open 3P’s international development. This will allow users of the standard to share data across and within borders to accommodate different reporting regulations, such as the soon to be introduced EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and Canadian regulations.
More broadly, it will be responsible for overseeing the standard’s development and future use to ensure that it continues to fulfil the needs of the packaging value chain and those affected by it. This includes evaluating proposals to change the standard and determining the necessary action, providing expert advice, and ensuring that the proceedings of the Board are open and transparent.
Technical and secretariat support for the SCB will be provided Open Data Manchester (ODM) CIC in its role as the Data Standard Holding Body. ODM is a not-for-profit organisation based in the UK which holds the Intellectual Property Rights to the standard within an asset-lock, which means that the standard cannot be exploited or transferred to private individuals or other companies for their own advantage.
Commenting on the appointments, ODM chief executive Julian Tait says:
“We are delighted to welcome the new board members and the breadth of expertise that they bring with them. This is an exciting moment in the evolution of the Open 3P Data Standard as the UK packaging industry starts to adopt and use it and it moves on to its next stage of international development.”
ENDS
Media contact: Pat Jennings
Pat.jennings17@outlook.com
Notes to Editors:
Open Standards are standards that are free to adopt, implement and extend, and are usually developed and maintained through consensus and collaboration. They are already widely used – HTML, the standard global markup language for creating Web pages, is one example – and have driven transformational change in areas including open banking and government IT.
The aim of the Open 3P data standard is that it:
- is a technology agnostic, open and extensible data standard that can be used ‘freely’ by anyone
- will enable data to be shared within and beyond the packaging value chain
- offers resource and process efficiencies enabling more sustainable practices
- balances the needs of stakeholders within and beyond the packaging value chain
- satisfies the needs of statutory and regulatory reporting regimes
- is compatible with international reporting regimes and requirements
The SCB members:
Frances Dickman – Head of Compliance, Colpac Ltd
Frances manages product compliance to international food contact standards for award-winning British designer and leading food packaging manufacturer Colpac Ltd. Frances is also directly responsible for maintaining the business’ compliance with internationally recognised certifications including ISO9001, BRCGS, ISO14001, ISO45001, FSC®, PEFC, and Sedex.
Lucy Knight – Co-founder and Data Lead at The Data Place
Lucy is Co-founder and Data Lead At The Data Place and Co-founder of the Open Data Institute’s Devon node. An experienced data scientist, Lucy also has prior experience working at the Food Standards Agency and dealing with complex and inter-related standards and schemas across international borders.
Steve Morgan – Head of Policy and Infrastructure, RECOUP Ltd
Steve is Head of Policy & Infrastructure at RECOUP. Recycling infrastructure and policy development for plastics are both focal areas of Steve’s remit. Both areas are centred around providing evidence that can be used by members, stakeholders and the Government to report on recycling performance, systems and structure needed to develop the policy and infrastructure in the UK.
Adaobi Obi– Business Intelligence Analyst
Adaobi is a data analyst and monitoring and evaluation specialist. She has experience in developing solutions for data collection, analysis, and reporting for internationally funded public health programs. She is passionate about finding insights from data and communicating them effectively to stakeholders, and she has led some data-driven projects that resulted in improved organisational performance.
Tom Shaw – Packaging Analyst for Waitrose & Partners
Tom is a Packaging Analyst for Waitrose & Partners, working in the Packaging Delivery and Innovation Team. He is responsible for the maintenance and development of packaging data for over 7500 own brand products to support packaging compliance. A member of UK Plastic Pact Advisory Group on packaging data, Tom has in-depth knowledge of the packaging policy and regulatory landscape including packaging EPR and the UK Plastic Packaging Tax.
Julian Tait – CEO, Open Data Manchester CIC (Chair)
Julian is co-founder and CEO of Open Data Manchester CIC, a not-for-profit organisation that helps organisations and communities understand and use data for people, planet and prosperity. He oversees the development of the Open3P data standard for the packaging value chain – an open standard that seeks to help organisations interchange packaging data, to enable process and resource efficiencies – reducing packaging’s impact on the environment.
Sophie Walker – Co-Founder of Dsposal, Founding Director of social enterprise Your Dsposal and Founding Director of the not-for-profit GING
Sophie is an award-winning entrepreneur working at the intersection of the circular economy, technology, open standards and packaging. She has led a number of major data innovation projects, including the PPP Phase 2 project on packaging data funded by Innovate UK (leading to the development of the Open 3P data standard for packaging and the GING data sharing platform), and a Women in Innovation Award to develop waste compliance software for the NHS.