A webinar dedicated to the future of sustainable packaging was held on Monday, July 6, 2020, organized by Politico1, one of the leading journalistic organizations present internationally, in collaboration with Fefco2, the European corrugated packaging association.
As the European Commission considers measures to increase packaging reuse and recycling, Politico convenes a high-level discussion to share the future of Green Packaging.
The live event entitled “#FutureOfPackaging” was presented by American journalist Eline Schaart who kicked off a series of speeches; speakers included:
- Dr. Fady Gemayel, president of Fefco
- Piotr Barczak, senior policy officer for waste at the European Environmental Bureau.
- Christoph Epping, Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany
- Joanna Drake, Deputy Director General of the European Commission.
The contents of the webinar ‘Future Of Packaging’
During the speeches, it emerged how each industry sector increasingly wants to be sure that its demands have the highest relevance to governments and EU institutions.
The crisis due to the pandemic has brought to the forefront the question of which sectors and products are to be considered essential. Also due to forced store closures and other restrictions, remote sales have increased, and this for the packaging industry has led to a further increase in demand.
The growth in packaging demands in the short to medium term poses a simple question: what needs to be done to make and maintain environmentally sustainable packaging?
Let’s see what respondents think about this:
- According to Joanna Drake we need to address the most important threats and challenges to the environment when we look at packaging, and she also says that we need to be even smarter in terms of packaging innovation to make it more recyclable and more reusable.
- Piotr Barczak argues that few EU member states have transposed the Packaging Waste Directive into national legislation. Barczak says the circular economy is not only about recycling, but also about appropriate prevention policies.
- Christoph Epping says the German Presidency supports the Commission’s plans on the circular economy. He believes the Commission’sCircular Economy Action Plan will pave the way for a more sustainable future in Europe.
The event concluded with remarks by Dr. Fady Gemayel, president of Fefco:
“Packaging is essential in our society to transport and protect goods on the journey between producer and consumer. Without packaging our economy cannot function. European institutions have recognized the need for a sustainable economy, and we are happy to be able to support this process by producing a truly sustainable product.”
The event concluded with remarks by Dr. Fady Gemayel, president of Fefco:
“Packaging is essential in our society to transport and protect goods on the journey between producer and consumer. Without packaging our economy cannot function. European institutions have recognized the need for a sustainable economy, and we are happy to be able to support this process by producing a truly sustainable product.”
What needs to be done to make packaging more sustainable?
The first response that emerged during the event was “reducing the complexity of materials and products.”
Other useful measures follow:
- A market that works better for secondary materials
- Establish mandatory targets for recycled content
- Restrict the use of certain packaging materials to certain applications
- Improved implementation of current standards
What are the most important criteria for sustainable packaging?
The response that was most successful among the live audience was “packaging that reduces the footprint.”
To follow:
- Be recyclable
- Be reusable
- Be made from renewable sources
- Packaging that uses a minimal amount of material
Grifal, as a manufacturer of eco-sustainable packaging, mirrors the issues discussed within the live event.
In fact, our company constantly devotes significant resources to R&D of environmentally sustainable products with innovative solutions, such as cushionPaper™-the innovative fully recycled and recyclable corrugated cardboard-staying abreast of product, consumer and market needs.
The world is increasingly heading in a green direction, and Grifal is at the forefront of this environmental preservation“battle.”