Telly Chauke appointed as new CEO at Petco
One of South Africa’s leading producer responsibility organisations (PRO), Petco, has bid farewell to industry stalwart Cheri Scholtz and welcomed a new chief executive officer, Telly Chauke, as of January 1 this year. Chauke replaces long-standing CEO Scholtz, who has helmed the organisation since its incorporation in 2004 and led its successful transition from voluntary to government-legislated mandatory extended producer responsibility (EPR), which came into effect in 2021.
The EPR regulations require that producers in the paper and packaging sector – brand owners, retailers and importers – discharge their obligations individually or collectively by joining a PRO to take responsibility for the full life cycle of their post-consumer packaging, so that it does not end up in the environment or landfill.
Experienced sustainability specialist Chauke joined Petco as CEO designate in September last year, beginning a strategic, planned leadership handover for one of the country’s longest standing and most successful PROs.
She is the former chief sustainability officer for the Coega Development Corporation and was the specialist on environment, climate change and sustainability policies for the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) for 10 years prior to that.
“We are exceptionally pleased to have someone of Telly’s calibre on board in this role, as she brings a wealth of experience in navigating the public policy space,” said Scholtz. “But, more than that, as a climate and environmental scientist, she brings a unique additional skillset to the role. I leave Petco in very capable hands.”
Scholtz was part of the industry-led team that kickstarted a voluntary mechanism for collection and recycling of PET in South Africa. The result was Petco, which developed a sustainable collection and recycling funding model almost two decades before the landscape of post-consumer packaging was legislated by government.
During Scholtz’s tenure, Petco surpassed its medium-term goal to collect and recycle 50% of post-consumer PET beverage bottles by 2015. Collection for recycling grew from approximately 10,000 t/a to over 90,000 t/a, which represented an increase of more 600% when considering the growth in the volume of PET placed onto the market during this time.
The most recent audited results show that Petco achieved 98% of legislated targets set by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s (DFFE) for these products by volume.
In 2023, Petco achieved the required 64% collection rate and exceeded the 58% (60% achieved) recycling rate for post-consumer PET beverage bottles placed on the market by its members. It also achieved 80% of the legislated recycling target for its new EPR scheme for liquid board packaging (LBP), and followed this with 100% of targets met in 2024.
Scholtz said building a sustainable value chain had been critical to the organisation’s success so far. “We’ve attended to the end-use market, created value for collectors and buy-back centres, encouraged the development of recycling capacity and capability, and then worked to unlock the feedstock through enabling collection. I believe this balanced approach will stand Petco in good stead for continued success and resilience in the years to come.”
Chauke said she looked forward to guiding members towards meeting their EPR targets and broader strategic sustainability goals. “An enabling public policy regime and a healthy relationship between industry, the government and consumers are core to successful EPR; and I look forward to steering Petco in maintaining these relationships for the benefit of our members and recycling partners,” Chauke added.
Petco currently counts brand owners such as Unilever, Tiger Brands, Twizza, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, and retailers Pick n Pay and Woolworths among its members.
“Coming from a governance and sustainability background myself, I understand the rand value of being compliant both in terms of public policy and the broader global ESG [environmental, social and governance] reporting metrics. So, I’m excited to contribute and to build on the solid foundation of Cheri’s 20 years of stewardship.”
Photo: Petco’s new chief executive officer, Telly Chauke
