Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. delivered a keynote address to more than 400 attendees this morning at the TLMI (Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute) Annual Meeting being held in Palm Beach, Florida. To reinforce the association’s commitment to sustainability education initiatives throughout the packaging supply chain, hundreds of printers and converters are gathered for the three-day conference currently being held in Palm Beach, Florida.

During his presentation Kennedy discussed what he believes are the most important conservationist programs occurring on a global scale today, in addition to those developing within the United States. Emphasizing the importance of adopting industry-wide sustainability programs and the continued development of green initiatives, Kennedy stated, “The Pentagon just released a report saying that within this century global warming is going to be more of a threat than war or terrorism.”

Kennedy repeatedly made a case for what he referred to as national de-carbonization and the need to cease dependence on foreign energy supply channels. “Currently, this country is hemorrhaging money to subsidize certain industries,” he explained. “We give $1.3 trillion annually to the oil industry; $1 trillion to coal and $.5 trillion to nuclear. These subsidies are preventing more prosperous efficiencies from being developed and adopted.”

The central theme of the TLMI conference is sustainability and ways printers and converters can position their own companies to meet increasing green and recyclability requirements being passed down the supply chain. Frank Sablone, TLMI President, comments, “We were thrilled Robert Kennedy agreed to join us at our Annual Meeting in Florida. Our association has been a pioneer in educating this sector of the packaging industry in sustainability and exactly what our member companies can do to ensure they are meeting the requirements of their customers.

We just put together an extensive Green Guide for our membership and have introduced an ambitious new program called Project L.I.F.E. - Labeling Initiative for the Environment. As a member-driven association we constantly recognize the need to work directly with our members in making sure they’re able to meet the sustainability requirements dictated by their customers.”