In conversation: Ariane van Mancius, NowNewNext

Packaging specialist, Ariane van Mancius of NOW NEW NEXT insists good can come from the current traumas and upheaval of COVID-19

COVID-19 has brought with it a hard lesson. We have to change. We are taking too much from our planet, abusing our environment, and that is exactly when viruses thrive. It is a very hard reality check but this kind of crisis is often needed to make change happen and we have to use it to rethink how we live, work and run our businesses.

Airline catering operations are all but ceased and that’s a great time to rebuild the entire supply change system in a more sustainable way. We need new business models and for that we need vision and leadership.

We need to consume less and push on to a circular system fast. Airlines can pick up on retail trends and push towards pre-order and pre-loading, it's a way to adjust your stock and supply chain better, as well as giving your passengers the choice they want. Give them exactly what they ask for and the product won’t become catering waste. If more catering becomes paid catering that will also help reduce waste.

We have to look at how we can do things completely differently. I have done a lot of scenario planning and trend forecasting, and have been assessing the impact of self-distancing, online shopping, local initiatives, prepacked foods and PPE litter. We can all see we are in uncertain times. Everything feels very fluid, we don’t know where we are going, but that is ok, we are creative creatures so let’s keep fluid and act fast to make the changes that are needed.

Until COVID-19, customer experience was all about meaningful contact moments with passengers but now people want the exact opposite. Hygiene and disposable items it seems go hand in hand and plastic wrapping is making a come back.

Currently it seems nearly all sustainable initiatives are on hold and that sustainability is not a priority but as we rebuild our post-COVID-19 services we will need to re-think service onboard with this topic in mind because it is still essential. Airlines have agreed that getting rid of 6.1 billion tonnes of cabin waste is an imperative and were working towards the July 3, 2021 deadline for the Single Use Plastics Law.

Now we see that when nothing flies, there is no cabin waste at all. As we restart from zero let’s be thoughtful about how we return to the new normal and make it better.•