We have the pleasure of speaking with Ana Garcia, previously Systems Transformation and Data Governance Manager at the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), and now, based in Netherlands, collaborating with Cirpass.
Ana brings a truly unique perspective to the intersection of sustainability, data governance, and systems thinking. With a background that spans from plant biology research to packaging compliance and circular economy initiatives, she is someone who works “where systems get real”, helping organizations move from complex frameworks to tools and processes that actually work.
What makes Ana’s expertise particularly compelling is her ability to bridge worlds that often don’t speak the same language. She translates regulation, metrics, and stakeholder needs into scalable systems, moving seamlessly between policy and platforms, sustainability and service design, data and people.
Ana has contributed to major industry reports on circular economy initiatives. Her journey began in plant biology research at the University of São Paulo before transitioning through corporate roles to find her calling helping governments, startups, and global initiatives navigate complex regulatory landscapes.
Let’s deep dive in her view of the current sustainability landscape.
Wyconi Team: How would you define systems transformation in the context of sustainability, and what skills do you consider essential to effectively lead it within organizations?
Ana Garcia: In my perspective, systems transformation in the context of sustainability is an approach that combines the use of existing frameworks (e.g. ESG), regulatory intelligence analysis (e.g. current regulations) and data governance for driving circularity. There is not need to reinvent the wheel when there are so many sustainability frameworks already available and the regulation is evolving. For a company, the key questions are:
– How can we combine existing sustainability frameworks with regulations to avoid reporting burden?
– Do we have sufficient data, or what are our data-related priorities for compliance?
Nowadays I strongly believe that any person working in sustainability should know how to navigate through data governance, regulatory intelligence, stakeholder influence and advocacy. It would be impossible for someone to be technically specialised in these 3 things, but what companies are missing nowadays is people that can bridge these areas for “connecting the dots” and bringing teams together.
Wyconi team: In your view, what are the main challenges and opportunities in adopting effective sustainability data governance? Can you share a concrete example where the integration of policy, strategy, and technology led to measurable impact?
Ana Garcia: I believe that the current main challenges in sustainability data governance starts with the internal lack of understanding of what data governance really is. I have seen organisations understanding that data governance was data analysis, which is incorrect. Other challenges would be related to internal sponsorship for data governance activities, as well as internal data quality and availability.
I live this current example: ISO 59020 is part of the ISO 59000 series on the circular economy. Published in 2024, it provides a methodological framework for measuring and assessing circularity performance through well-defined metrics.
The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) are a key component of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), with the reporting cycle due in 2026 for the 2025 financial year.
ISO 59020 is closely aligned with ESRS E5 and addresses most of its reporting requirements. As a result, several companies have developed software solutions that support circularity assessments (at the part, component, product, or portfolio level) using ISO 59020, helping organisations meet the majority of ESRS 5 obligations under CSRD.
This example demonstrates how a company’s strategy (e.g. following ISO 59020) can reduce reporting burden from policy-related compliance (e.g. CSRD / ESRS 5) and implement technologies (e.g. software for circularity compliant with ISO 59020) to literally lead a measurable impact (e.g. how circular a part, component, product or portfolio is).
Wyconi team: What do you see as the most promising trends in sustainable packaging at a global level?
Ana Garcia: This is a great question, and I will answer this not from the technical packaging perspective as I feel that “packaging” is a whole world with endless innovation possibilities, thus being hard to mention “trends”.
On the other hand, a sort of “promising trend” I guarantee will occur is for companies that deal with packaging (either purchasing or manufacturing) to drive a global enhancement of data quality and trust. Not all countries have regulatory frameworks to give this push for better data quality, however packaging supply-chains are global, which means that to some extent, all stakeholders will be affected due to compliance demands of local markets.
Wyconi team: Could you share a concrete example of your impact in the sector, for instance through your work with APCO or Grounded Packaging?
Ana Garcia: With great pleasure. Something I am really proud of is to have worked with partners (WBCSD, Open3P and others) to bring harmonisation to data exchange for the packaging industry. In this working group, we analysed 9 data standards/models for packaging against 10 extended producer responsibilities (EPRs) schemes, 5 European regulations and 3 plastic taxes. The results can be found in this hyperlink.
As part of this work and during my time at APCO, I went through a detailed process for developing a new version of a data standard for compliance purposes, and I documented it, which is also available at this hyperlink. Now, any organization (regardless if part of the packaging industry or not) can implement the 11 steps from LUCIDA Framework to bring its data into alignment with the future of compliance.
Wyconi team: In your experience working in public-private collaborative settings, what key factors are essential to building trust among stakeholders and fostering a proactive and transparent approach to material sustainability and data management?
Ana Garcia: Something that is fascinating in this space is that the people working in it are truly committed to the advancement of sustainability. I am not sure if this is a common behaviour elsewhere, but everyone I have worked with understands or is willing to learn about the challenges. Having said that, the key factors I see as being essential to build trust are:
- Communicate about your specialty and where you come from: sustainability is a very broad are of expertise. It is impossible to know everything “under the sun” about sustainability. How can you truly help, what are your assumptions, and where you need support?
- Agree on principles: everyone has a different perspective and priority, but they are involved in this for common reasons. Agreeing on principles for the work that needs to be developed is essential as a first step for commitment. Understanding that there will be disagreements along the line, what are the common beliefs that will maintain stakeholders collaborating?
- Be honest about the current scenario: specially when it comes to data governance, it is essential to be honest about an organisation’s current state. Only from this truth, it will then be possible to understand what is required to achieve the goal.
Wyconi team: If you could recommend one concrete action that all companies should adopt to improve their environmental impact, what would it be?
Ana Garcia: Can I list two very basic ones? First one is to elect or empower someone internally to be this central person that will navigate or coordinate the following activities: data governance, regulatory intelligence and digital innovation. Second is to get an internal C-suite sponsor that will effectively align and embed sustainability priorities and intentions as part of the organisation’s culture.
Ana Garcia @ linkedin.com/in/data-with-purpose