The Sustainable Packaging Summit is an event dedicated to accelerating sustainable transformation across the packaging industry. Founded and organized by Packaging Europe, a leading news source for packaging news, the summit brings together key thinkers and producers from across the packaging value chain — including global brands, start-ups, material innovators, policymakers, NGOs, recyclers and academics.
As a leading global materials science and digital identification solutions company, we attended the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht to learn from our peers and discuss with our customers how our products and solutions can enable packaging circularity across the supply chain. During the three day event, we had valuable conversations with customers about current trends, and which solutions are inspiring further innovation. Here’s what we learned.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
For many visitors to the event, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) was top of mind. As the first set of requirements of the PPWR come into effect in August 2026, brands are seeking ways to be compliant while also navigating the wave of secondary legislation that will follow. The Design for Recycling (DfR) guidelines offer a blueprint for adhering to the PPWR, which requires brands and companies to find solutions across packaging formats to help drive more circular packaging. While the DfR helps establish some rules for making more sustainable packaging through the design process, there are still many other challenges to overcome to create a truly circular economy.
Infrastructure for recycling
For example, while creating packaging that’s designed for recyclability is important, if the infrastructure isn’t there to support that effort, implementing DfR offers very little to advance the circular economy. This is a challenge because many businesses are reluctant to make necessary investments to the recycling infrastructure while legislation remains so unclear.
The Extended Producer Responsibility
One way the EU is trying to incentivize better DfR and investments in recycling infrastructure is through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Part of the Waste Framework Directive, EPR was the topic of several panel discussions which mainly focused on how to estimate the EPR fees that are applied to products according to how well they adhere to recycling guidelines and how they’re handled at end-of-life.
One of the main takeaways from these discussions was that properly calculating EPR savings can help companies decide on what materials to use, and how to offer the best solutions for better end-of-life practices. By aligning label material choices with EPR savings, companies can avoid materials that hinder the recycling process and result in higher fees.
