The President's Perspective: Lynn Dyer | Fall 2026
Summer often shifts the legislative calendar as state sessions wind down and Congress enters its August district work period, but it certainly didn’t mean a slowdown for AMERIPEN. While legislative schedules changed, our team continued advancing advocacy priorities, developing new resources for members, and preparing for what is sure to be a busy 2027.
As we look ahead, we’re also taking a close look at how we can provide even more value to you and your colleagues.
In our annual member survey, one message came through clearly: members want more tangible resources. You want not only updates on what is happening in packaging policy, but tools you can share across your organization to help colleagues understand the issues, prepare for what may be ahead, and better see the value of AMERIPEN membership.
We’ve been working to put that feedback into action.
One of our biggest steps is the new Packaging Policy Learning Center. Until now, AMERIPEN did not have one centralized place on our website to help people navigate the breadth of packaging policy information we provide. The Learning Center creates that starting point and makes it easier to find the right level of information for your needs.
It is built around a simple approach: Learn. Understand. Lead.
Learn provides a foundation through accessible, publicly available educational resources. Understand goes deeper into what policy developments could mean for the packaging value chain through resources such as our new Policy Briefs. Lead connects AMERIPEN members with legislative and regulatory intelligence, updates, and additional resources through the Member Portal.
That same member feedback also shaped improvements to our Member Portal. We’ve simplified the experience so the information you use most is easier to find. If you haven’t visited in a while, I encourage you to take another look and let us know what you think.
As packaging requirements continue to evolve, our goal is to go beyond simply telling you what changed. We want to help members understand why it matters, how it could affect the packaging value chain, and what organizations should consider as they prepare for new laws.
This summer, the PACK Act showed how quickly AMERIPEN’s education and advocacy work can come together. Ahead of the bill’s first congressional hearing on July 22, we mobilized the PACK Act Coalition, developed an advocacy toolkit, and gave members and supporters practical ways to engage lawmakers. That work continued throughout the summer as we coordinated coalition activity and encouraged stakeholders across the packaging value chain to engage ahead of the September 1 subcommittee markup.
The PACK Act is a good example of the role we want AMERIPEN resources to play: helping members understand an issue, act on it, and bring informed industry perspectives into the policy process.
All of this work is connected. Whether we are helping members understand a complex policy issue, supporting an advocacy effort, or improving access to information, our goal is to make AMERIPEN more useful to our members and strengthen our role as a trusted voice on packaging policy.
As we prepare for 2027, we’ll keep listening to what you need and using that feedback to shape the tools, advocacy, and information we provide.
Thank you for your continued engagement and for helping shape what AMERIPEN builds next.
Lynn Dyer
President, AMERIPEN