TLMI outlines strategic plan for next 3 to 5 years

TLMI’s president Mark Tibbetts, who took over his role in January, also was introduced at a Labelexpo press conference.

In TLMI’s strategic planning document, sustainability took top billing as the trade association aims to help converters reduce matrix in landfills by 30 percent and increase liner recycling by 30 percent. TLMI hopes to achieve this between the next three to five years.

In addition to reviving its LIFE environmental program, TLMI is starting a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) project to evaluate the impact the label supply chain has on the environment. Two analyses have been completed with both film and paper label stocks.

The idea of the LCA is to have a verifiable system in place for calculating how much waste is produced along the supply chain, and to look for areas of improvement.

‘You can’t improve things if you don’t know what your baseline is,’ TLMI chairman Dan Muenzer said.

Tibbetts added: ‘As an industry we need to prepare for this, we need to get ahead of the curve now, rather than being reactive.’

Other key strategies outlined in the document are improving the association’s external affairs by working with other trade associations such as FINAT and other L9 member organizations.

‘TLMI historically has been focused on its members, going forward it’s a concrete priority for TLMI to focus externally,’ Tibbetts said.

The association recently moved to Washington, D.C. to be at the center of America’s lobbying hub. Close proximity to other trade organizations will help TLMI better interface and networking with its peer organizations.

TLMI also wants to be at the forefront of assisting members in attracting skilled workers and ensure that TLMI’s revenue streams and positioned to fund the strategic plan.