Packaging Europe Issue 16.1

VOLUME 16.1 – 2021

NEW YEAR: SAME CHALLENGES

BRINGING SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION TO NUREMBERG

DESIGN FOR RECYCLING • SAPPI & PEPSICO INTERVIEWS • ROBOTICS • POLYMERS • CONSUMER PROTECTION

Editor

Brand Director

Victoria Hattersley

Tim Sykes

Journalists

Sales Director

Elisabeth Skoda Libby Munford

Jesse Roberts

Digital Editor

Dominic Kurkowski

Fin Slater

Production Manager Rob Czerwinski

VOLUME 16.1 – 2021

Senior Sales Executive Sales Executives Alain Rizk Alex Cheung

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Advertising Coordinator Senior Audience Kayleigh Harvey Development Executive IT Support Syed Hassan

Operations Director

Andrew Wood

Audience Development Executive Dominy Jones

Amber Dawson

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Packaging Europe Ltd

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ISSN 2516-0133 (Print) ISSN 02516-0141 (Online)

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Editorial Victoria Hattersley Circular economy What’s on the agenda in 2021 Introducing the Global Packaging Innovation Forum Embracing new ways of knowledge sharing Robotics in packaging: Integration, safety and collaboration The future of automation Barrier papers or plastics? It’s not so simple Sappi interview Enhancing the properties of polymers The industry perspective The sustainability potential of algae A look at seaweed packaging Consumer protection in the COVID age Packaging for consumer protection Elif: ‘Sustainability is part of our DNA’ The Wider View The brand owner’s perspective: PepsiCo interview On second thoughts... Why shoehorning circularity into disposable business models will not work

EDITORIAL |

A

nd so... we begin again. Already well into a new year and we’ve long said our not-so-fond farewells to 2020. But we moved into 2021 with some tentative shoots of hope. COVID-19 vaccines have been developed astonishingly quickly and maybe – just maybe – the world has had time to reflect a little more on the harsh realities of our climate situation. It is precarious, no doubt about it, but we have also learned what is possible with cross-collaboration on a global scale.

The latter, of course, is something that many voices in the packaging industry have long been crying out for. It is sad, but perhaps inevitable, that it may have taken the global loss of hundreds of thousands of lives to awaken that same sense of urgency; that in some situations there really is no time to lose.

But enough of my ruminations, and on to the point at hand: First and foremost, our annual Sustainability Awards has once again opened for submissions. This year’s ceremony will take place on 29th September at FachPack in Nuremberg as part of our Sustainable Packaging Summit. The latest edition sees the launch of a new e-commerce category and we also welcome eight new experts to our global jury. We’re eagerly awaiting all the entries; previous awards have shown us the sheer breadth of talent, imagination and determination in the industry. We expect this year to be no different.

In this issue, Tim Sykes previews the key challenges, dilemmas and advances we anticipate in the critical circular economy space. Fin Slater highlights the vital role played by packaging in consumer protection, while Elisabeth Skoda takes an exciting dive into the futuristic world of robotics (she arrived back safely, don’t worry). Elsewhere, we talk to some industry experts to get the lowdown on polymer innovation and we also look at the growing potential of seaweed-based packaging.

Our big interviews feature Sappi’s René Köhler and PepsiCo’s Archana Jagannathan. In the former, René and I spoke on the topic of barrier

Victoria Hattersley Senior Writer

papers and Sappi’s determination to ensure their wider use – while acknowledging that it can never be a simple question of ‘plastic vs. paper’. In the latter, Elisabeth Skoda found out how PepsiCo’s collaborative approach has enabled it to develop its current stable of sustainable brands. Our regular ‘On Second Thoughts...’ column comes courtesy of Tracy Sutton, founder of Root, who tells us that simply ‘talking circularity’ is not enough to solve our industry’s dilemmas.

Finally, as you read this, we will be building on last year’s activities in virtual content, both with the first panel of our year-round Sustainable Packaging Summit series and the launch of the brand new Global Packaging Innovation Forum. Acknowledging the new models of communication and knowledge-sharing we have embraced over the past year, the forum will provide a space for the packaging community worldwide to learn about and discuss the innovations driving technology forward.

Visit PackagingEurope.com/GPIF to find out more.

We look forward to another year of fruitful partnerships, and as ever, thank you to our readers, collaborators, sponsors and industry experts for your vital support. See you at the Global Packaging Innovation Forum; and please, don’t forget to get your entries in for n the Sustainability Awards!

To enter, visit: theSustainabilityAwards.com

Victoria Hattersley Victoria Hattersley vh@packagingeurope.com @PackEuropeVicky

Packaging Europe | 3 |

The value chain will continue to progress on design for recycling this year – but needs to continue to build cross-industry alignment and will look to regulators to provide a supportive landscape.

Tim Sykes surveys the key points on the circularity agenda this year.

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN 2021

T

hough we all found ourselves grappling with the challenges of COVID, last year was a busy one in the march toward a circular economy in Europe.

The Circular Economy Action Plan 2.0 was published by the European Commission in March 2020, as a cornerstone of the European Green Deal. In parallel we saw more and more packaging designed for recycling in traditionally hard-to-recycle formats and applications. In the crucial arena of flexibles the CEFLEX consortium published its landmark ‘Designing for a Circular Economy’ guidelines in June. Meanwhile, industry extended the functional boundaries of recyclable packaging with a series of product launches, from mono-polyolefin films tackling increasingly challenging applications to barrier papers.

So what advances should we anticipate in 2021 – and what are the challenges and dilemmas we need to confront?

Flexibles CEFLEX will be working holistically as ever across its workstreams to fill knowledge gaps and identify solutions to the technological, investment case and viability challenges around a circular economy in flexibles. The project is increasingly moving from ‘think tank to act tank’ with a focus shift from theory to implementation.

We can expect, for example, to discover the important conclusions of compositional analysis work aimed at understanding first-hand which waste streams flexible packaging is collected in, along with the types and quantities involved. This work (the product of collaboration with PCEP, Petcore, Styrenics Circular Solutions and More Recycling) will provide a detailed understanding of waste streams which will be crucial in aligning recycle-ready packaging materials with end of life outcomes.

Innovation will be a no less crucial part of the equation. “High potential technologies are breaking through,” CEFLEX project coordinator Graham Houlder commented. “We’ve had the launch of HolyGrail 2.0, and CEFLEX teams are making good progress on assessing the opportunities around | 4 | Packaging Europe

chemical recycling and supporting delamination and separation pioneers.

These technical innovations can, and will, develop promising new solutions that enable better quality and greater quantities of recycled materials to service new end markets. One realization that crystallized during 2020 is that the circular economy for plastics is not possible without chemical recycling so we all need to support its recognition and commercialization as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, stakeholders in CEFLEX such as Amcor, Mondi and Taghleef Industries are focusing on adding to the portfolio of designed-for-recycling packaging solutions. Having made several prominent launches within the food category last year, Amcor’s R&D pipeline features solutions aimed at the even more challenging healthcare segment. Mondi will be continuing its focus on circularity, with more customers trialling recyclable films, and contributing the all-important market pull by increasing recycled content in packaging. Taghleef is launching its 360° reDESIGN approach: a tailor-fit service solution which aims to lead the switch from traditional packaging structures to more sustainable and innovative solutions, across all product families.

Paper While flexible plastics are collectively shifting to polyolefin-based monomaterials, it’s notable that the FMCG world is also investing significantly in the ‘paper where possible’ ethos. November 2020 saw the launch of the 4evergreen alliance by CEPI. This in many respects is the paper value chain’s analogue to CEFLEX: it aims to develop design for circularity guidelines for fibre-based packaging; establish industry-wide recyclability evaluation protocols; publish guidelines for improved collection and sorting across Europe; and drive innovations in areas increasing circularity.

Indeed, 4evergreen features significant membership crossover with CEFLEX, not only among the brand owner stakeholders, but also packaging producers.

Given the fresh experience of many of the same organizations in serious and

Photo credit: Borealis & TOMRA

The advanced mechanical recycling demo plant in Lahnstein will produce high-purity solutions suitable for demanding packaging applications.

wide collaboration around flexible plastics, it can be expected that proactive and rigorous work will be channelled into the alliance’s headline goal of taking the circularity of fibre-based packaging to 90% by 2030. Meanwhile, not only dedicated paper businesses, but also material-agnostic packaging companies will be investing R&D resources into developing a portfolio for a growing space in the circular packaging market. For instance, as part of Amcor’s ongoing focus on recyclability we can expect product launches in recyclable functional/ barrier packaging paper, while Mondi is also leveraging its expertise in paper manufacturing to develop alternatives to plastics in certain applications.

Turning the supertanker For all of the industry’s cumulative collaborative and unilateral efforts, there is a widespread view that one of the most important items of the 2021 agenda is ensuring that the wider world is equipped to embrace a circular economy.

End of life technology is increasingly demonstrating that recycled feedstocks can meet the demanding specifications of packaging. For example, a new state-of-the-art demo plant was recently opened by Borealis and TOMRA in Lahnstein, which will process rigid and flexible plastic household waste, producing high-purity, low-odour outputs with high product consistency, enabling brand owners and converters to qualify and validate PCR for their applications. The hope is that that the technical success of this venture will lay the groundwork for a commercial-scale advanced recycling plant – but across the Europe the transition from technical possibility to scaled up capacity relies on a favourable market.

“We now know the design for recycling guidelines, but the recycling infrastructure has to develop,” said Gerald Rebitzer, sustainability director at Amcor Flexibles. “For flexible household packaging we need to increase from around 500,000 or 600,000 tonnes recycling capacity currently to 4.5 million tonnes. Mono-polyolefin based packaging is likely to be recycled in a handful of European countries but not in others. The challenge is to create incentives for the waste management sector to invest. It’s above all down to EPR schemes and legislators to take this forward. Italy, for

example, has introduced a ‘stream in development’ category with a lower EPR fee. So at this stage the ball is not only in industry’s court. We know what we need to do and understand our responsibilities – and our actions need to be reflected in policy and infrastructure.”

Mondi’s Graeme Smith (head of product sustainability, Flexible Packaging and Engineered Materials) similarly emphasises the importance of regulatory support on this year’s circular economy agenda. “Getting extended producer responsibility and eco-modulation right will be critical in ensuring easier to recycle packaging has a lower burden,” he commented. “There’s a need for harmonized legislation to support this.”

Looking at regulation on a more macro level, 2021 will be a critical year in shaping the future of sustainability in packaging. “The upcoming review of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive can represent a real milestone in the process of moving towards a sustainable packaging value chain in Europe,” Francesca Stevens, managing director of EUROPEN, told Packaging Europe.

“This requires strengthening the regulatory framework and make sure that it is future-proof. This is key to enabling the uptake and growth of sustainable packaging systems, as part of a wider transition towards a circular and climate neutral economy. The systemic changes required to support this transition, for example with regards to waste management infrastructure and commercial distribution models, should also be factored in.”

She continued: “The scale of the Single Market and the certainty of free movement of goods are essential to underpin the major investments in technology and product innovation needed to transition to a circular economy. However, the integrity of the Single Market is increasingly threatened by uneven transposition of EU laws and a growing patchwork of disparate national rules that hinder the free movement of packaging and packaged goods and risk inhibiting investments in innovation.”

No one expects the tangled trade-offs of balancing multiple regulatory objectives to be perfected in the coming year. Even so, evidence that the EU supertanker is turning in the right direction with regard to cultivating confidence to invest in a circular economy will be one of the most significant developments of 2021, and a conversation which every one of us should participate in. n Packaging Europe | 5 |

INTRODUCING THE GLOBAL PACKAGING INNOVATION FORUM

AS

we look ahead to a world in which, eventually, Covid-19 is spoken about in the past tense, we believe we’ll settle into a changed normality, in which we’ll access – and share – information and ideas in different ways. Launching in Q1 2021, Packaging Europe is proud to introduce a forward-looking concept to accelerate adoption of advances in materials, converting and engineering: the Global Packaging Innovation Forum.

Providing a space for the packaged goods community worldwide to learn and talk about the innovations driving packaging technology forward, the Global Packaging Innovation Forum complements the physical expos and events we hope to return to soon.

Designed to meet the needs of the hybrid, virtual/physical post-pandemic world, the Forum is a 365-day resource. A platform to catch up with

the latest product launches, explore deeper content around an innovation or exhibit, discuss technology requirements, and network with suppliers and customers.

Watch out for our forthcoming live events, or sign up to the community and have a browse of our recent content via: PackagingEurope.com/GPIF n

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ROBOTICS IN PACKAGING: INTEGRATION, SAFETY AND COLLABORATION

Elisabeth Skoda speaks to three industry leaders to find out more about how robotics and automation help tackle the challenges the industry faces today.

IN

the autumn of 2020, Japanese engineers presented a 18 metre-tall, 25-tonne heavy humanoid robot that could walk, wave its hand and even take the knee. This giant Gundam robot was inspired by a 1970s anime series that subsequently evolved into a multi-billion-dollar franchise.

The technical challenges that had to be overcome to achieve this kind of movement were immense, given the weight and size of the robot. On a smaller scale, robots have been a key part of the packaging industry for decades, and while advances maybe have not been as spectacular as Gundam, they are just as impressive.

Integration and flexibility A lot has happened in robotics since Unimate, the first industrial robot, and Shakey, the first autonomous robot, appeared in the early 1960s, says Patricia Torres, Industry Marketing Manager Food and Commodities Solutions at Omron Industrial Automation Europe.

“The latest advances to fully integrate industrial robots into the automation system – enabling the capability to have a single brain to control both worlds – is proving to be crucial for the packaging industry, especially for highly automated lines. Also, over the years robotics technology has become more affordable and versatile, meaning it is increasingly being implemented in many industries beyond the traditional automotive sector. Alongside the development of AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) and cobots, this means manufacturers can improve the operations in areas like end of line packaging, co-packing, intralogistics or order fulfilment that were previously not considered as applications ready for robots.” | 8 | Packaging Europe

Mike Loughran, CTO for the UK and Ireland at Rockwell Automation, has also observed that robots are becoming more widely adopted across multiple industries.

“Today, we see more integration of robots of different sizes along the supply chain, being more adaptable and agile. Robots more often make up the very core of a machine.”

“Today, we see more integration of robots of different sizes along the supply chain, being more adaptable and agile. Robots more often make up the very core of a machine.”

Demand has driven the requirement of a much more flexible and agile machine, and one of the answers to that has been a great adoption of robots in all their different forms, as he points out.

“In the past, robots worked in isolation. But today, an overall control scheme and integration are key, especially in areas such as beverages and CPGs with fast moving lines. Rockwell Automation has embraced the integration of robots via its standard control system that controls everything. For example, pick and place robots can be part of an overall system, which facilitates tight integration.”

In order to facilitate integration, Rockwell Automation builds virtual software libraries, which help to set up a digital twin.

Mike Loughran

“This enables virtual design and prototyping, which in turn allows for testing the robot in the digital world before actually building it. It also enables connecting it to a control system earlier, to address operation or sequencing issues before going on site. It also helps with training off site and solving production challenges in the digital world. Once it is put in a real-world environment, digital twins can be used for analytics and predictive maintenance.”

Robots have formed the automation backbone of the packaging sector for many years, showing themselves to be highly effective tools for mass production, says Malte Schlüter, Director Food & Beverage/CPG of Mitsubishi Electric, Factory Automation EMEA. He argues that to remain competitive, businesses need the ability to switch quickly and easily from making one product to another without a complete re-engineering of the line.

“Most recently, enabling even higher levels of production flexibility, robot cells have further increased in importance within the packaging sector. They are designed to handle a number of different products within a single cell, greatly reducing line changeover times.”

Malte Schlüter

work right next to somebody, and risk assessment becomes a lot more difficult.

It comes down to planning: is it the right tool for the job? Does it offer benefits?

It’s important to zoom in on individual factors, such as peoples’ heights, or whether they work sitting down or standing up. There has to be repeatability, and you have to plan safety around that. At Rockwell Automation, we offer consultancy around safety in an industrial environment, taking into account both regulatory and industrial needs.”

In today’s environment, a move towards greater automation is due to food production processes becoming in many ways as important as the product itself. Robotics can bring about fundamental change, and cobots can play a vital role in helping companies to adapt to the changes in the

Humans and robots working together Mr Schlüter identifies a trend towards mass customization or high-mix, lowvolume (HMLV), which requires even more flexibility.

“An example is the assembly and filling of chocolate displays within supermarkets, where every display is tailor-made to the needs of the individual outlet. Here, the latest developments in collaborative robots (cobots) coupled with machine learning technologies and the goals of Industry 4.0 are opening up new opportunities for robotic automation, even down to ‘batch size one’.”

In this HMLV environment, line changeover times need to be kept to a minimum. Collaboratives operate alongside human workers to perform the laborious and repetitive aspects of HMLV packaging while still enabling high levels of flexibility.

“Collaborative robots are now becoming more common on production lines, and the flexibility that they enable isn’t just about their ease of programming, but also their adaptability. This near-human level of flexibility is enabled by deep learning AI technologies, giving the cobots the ability to constantly learn to perform their tasks better.”

Cobots still come with challenges, as Mr Loughran points out. “As cobots work in conjunction with humans, there is a perception of risk. In a typical lineup, a robot will be in its own cell and physically separate from people. Cobots Packaging Europe | 9 |

| 10 | Packaging Europe

current landscape and make the technological and cultural adaptations needed in response to the fifth industrial revolution, Ms Torres points out.

“Consumers are asking more and more questions about the supply chain, the resources consumed by the industry and the working conditions and safety of the workers. On the one hand, there is this increasing consumer attention to issues such as sustainability, safety and quality at the right cost. On the other hand, the food industry needs to establish the rules of interaction between people and machines.”

Some of the advantages of cobots really have come to the fore during the COVID-19 crisis, enabling companies to maintain their levels of productivity while still enabling workers to maintain social distancing, Mr Schlüter points out.

“For example, where two operators might previously have worked side by side, now they can be more easily separated, with the cobot forming the interface between the two and supporting both workers. Further, mounted on trolleys, cobots can be flexibly deployed in many different tasks around the plant floor, with different tasks enabled simply by selecting the appropriate program.”

Robots to the rescue when adapting to the COVID-19 challenge

Looking to the future

2020 was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ms Torres has observed that the pandemic has worked as an accelerator for the industry.

“This pandemic has proven that the manufacturing industry in general is still very dependent on manual human labour, but not necessarily the type of value-added tasks humans deserve and do best. The pandemic has deeply disrupted manufacturing operations and not all industries were well prepared to shift from a fully on-site model to an increasingly remote operation. COVID-19 only accelerated the adoption of automation and robotics technologies, which have proved to be the answer to build resilient businesses in this crisis.”

“Sensorization and machine learning are getting us increasingly closer to the autonomy required to make decisions that are associated with the factory of the future.

But we are still at the start of the journey.”

Mr Loughran notes that the crisis has focused companies’ minds on how they plan their machines for the future to be a lot more resilient to whatever challenge arises.

“A big part of resiliency is agility, and that resiliency will drive a rethink in how people design machines and use robots within them.”

Mr Schlüter is convinced that there is more to come from collaborative robots. As robot motion sequences become more complex, and the interaction with both humans and other robots more frequent, programming the motion sequences can become more complex.

“Mitsubishi Electric continues to focus on easier programming, while at the same time integrating self-optimization technologies to calculate the best motion path on-the-fly.”

Mr Loughran predicts that the digital thread will become even more important from the concept and design stage across the entire machine life cycle.

“More focus will be put on product lifecycle management, and the emphasis will not just be on selling a machine or a robot, but also a service. This servitization of machines and robots requires agility. Customers will expect seamless, frictionless integration. On top of that, we’ll also see an increase in remote connectivity and support, thus being able to monitor and provide feedback not just on performance but likelihood of failure, and take corrective action before it happens. At Rockwell Automation, we are always working with our packaging machine customers to be more secure, productive and more efficient.”

Ms Torres points out that the 4th industrial revolution has opened new horizons for industrial automation.

“For robotics, this happened faster than we thought. Sensorization and machine learning are getting us increasingly closer to the autonomy required to make decisions that are associated with the factory of the future. But we are still at the start of the journey; we’re not yet at the stage of realizing the fully autonomous machine/robot we have seen in fiction films, as high-level functions remain solely human tasks. But our developments are always in line with the words of our founder Kazuma Tateishi: ‘To machines, the work of the n machines, to humans, the thrill of further creation’.”

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BARRIER PAPERS OR PLASTICS? IT’S NOT SO SIMPLE

René Köhler

Victoria Hattersley spoke with René Köhler, Head of Business Development Packaging Solutions at Sappi Europe, to delve into the topic of barrier papers and Sappi’s aim to ensure their wider use as the industry begins to phase out fossil-based materials.

W

hen it comes to barrier packaging, the market is looking very different than it did 10 years ago. For years, non-recyclable polyethylene coated, multilayer laminated flexible materials and aluminium have been the main options for packaging perishables. However, the situation has changed. Although they are certainly not in a position to ‘replace’ plastics, we see the introduction of increasingly sophisticated barrier papers each year.

But not all barrier papers are equal. To put it bluntly, some are high barrier while some are not so much. How do we sort out the genuinely game-changing solutions from the greenwash?

“On the market a lot of people claim they have barrier papers, but what does this really mean? Any paper that contains a layer of another material

can be called a ‘barrier paper’ but that doesn’t mean it fulfils the demands of the market,” says René Köhler.

He states that the ultimate aim for Sappi, as a barrier paper specialist, is to substitute aluminium and plastic multilayer laminates and bring in a truly sustainable alternative that meets all market demands in terms of performance.

The company has already made strides in this direction, for example with its Sappi Guard Gloss 4-OHG – a one-side coated glossy paper with functional high barrier coating and heat sealability that is suitable for both food and nonfood applications.

A common perception within the industry and beyond is that barrier papers can’t be recycled, as they must still contain some kind of polymer-based coating to protect the product. But René stresses that this is not that case – that it is possible to have a paper containing a polymerbased layer that could still be put into existing recycling streams. Part of the problem, as we will see later, is that the recycling infrastructure itself is not set up for this.

Sometimes, with such complex topics, it can be useful to come back to a more fundamental question, and so we ask:

What exactly is a plastic?

The answer, most of us would say, is pretty simple: plastic is the umbrella term for the wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials on the market today made from an ever-growing range of organic raw materials such as fossil fuels, cellulose, gas, salt and so on.

René, however, argues that we need to clarify – or even redefine – the nature of plastics if we are to challenge commonly held beliefs about barrier papers.

“If you have a rigid plastic package, then that is a structural plastic and clearly that can’t be placed in the paper recycling stream. But what we are adding to our papers are very thin functional layers of polymers. We believe that you need to distinguish between the two – structural and functional – because with the latter, provided they are engineered in the right way, it Packaging Europe | 13 |

should be possible to use the paper waste stream as the functional layers can be removed from the fibres. We don’t state our barrier papers are plastic-free because that would be false; it’s all about how you define it.”

Are we over-engineering?

It’s an interesting point, but Sappi is aware that it will take more to convince even more brand owners to make the switch to paper for their FMCG products. It may, indeed – dare we say it – come down to a compromise; a re-evaluation of exactly how long they really need their products to last on the shelf. Are we asking too much of packaging at the expense of the environment? René seems to suggest that in some cases, some complex barriers we use today – while impressive – may be over-engineered.

“Brand owners often come to us with very high functional requirements, but right now the challenge for them is to identify which protection is really needed for their products. Are we willing to continue in the same way or can we make a compromise on shelf life in order to utilize more sustainable materials? I think in many cases it is possible, if we can just change mindsets a little.”

None of this is to say that we should sacrifice functionality – clearly, increased levels of food waste would be the worst scenario so packaging still needs to provide the correct moisture, oxygen, heat, aroma barriers and so on. It’s simply that FMCG goods may be over-packaged when we consider their actual shelf-life requirements. Time for a re-think, perhaps?

Even using barriers that protect for nine months rather than 12 could make a significant environmental difference.

“We try to tailor-make these applications according to the need. So, we discuss individual projects with brand owners, work out their minimum criteria and which packaging material from our end will be suitable for their application.”

What must the wider industry do?

Of course, it’s not just the brand owners; more importantly, the industry itself needs to adapt to the inevitable surge in barrier papers we will see in the coming years. The issue is that, up to now, the majority of papers being recycled have been graphical papers, and that is what the recyclers are used to. | 14 | Packaging Europe

This can’t be the case going forward, says René: the recycling infrastructure must be prepared to process barrier materials on the necessary scales. “Is the infrastructure completely ready now? Frankly, no, so there’s a lot to do. Some recyclers are very keen to include barrier papers and others are more used to the ‘pure’ papers. We have to get the message across that our barrier papers are very recyclable and it’s not complicated to include them in the recycling stream, as long as the industry is prepared to make the small changes required.”

There’s also the production side to consider: manufacturers may have concerns regarding the ability of paper to run on existing converting and packaging machines. Would it require huge investment – possibly even an entire equipment overhaul – if they are to handle the volumes of barrier papers Sappi and others hope we will see in the future?

René argues that it does not, although he can understand the concerns: “These packaging lines are used to working with films, but of course paper is completely different: easy to tear, not as puncture-resistant and so on.

However, contrary to belief, this does not require huge outlay. It is our aim that these barriers should be able to run on existing packaging lines, with just a few modifications, so brand owners would not have to invest in new technologies.”

We need plastic – but how much?

There’s a question we come back to time and again when talking to paper producers, and it’s a big one: What would Sappi say to those who argue that the overall environmental impact of manufacturing paper is higher than for plastics? We’ve heard compelling rebuttals to this – that the paper industry is also a high user of renewable energies, for example, or that we need to factor in the entire LCA – but it remains the case that paper does require a high amount of energy and resources to produce when compared to plastic.

For Sappi, it comes down to a kind of pragmatism: we have to work with the realities of today. “When it comes to energy consumption, yes paper is intensive but we should not lose sight of the problem posed by plastic waste.

It is not so much Europe that is the issue, where the infrastructure is improving, but more the developing world – Asia and the Middle East, for example – where the recycling infrastructure is not in place at all.”

In these cases, he says, there is a mountain to climb: not just in setting up the recycling systems but in bringing about a behavioural change in consumers so that plastics are not simply being put back into the environment, where they will last for hundreds of years – unlike paper, which will disappear. Both these changes – infrastructural and behavioural – while certainly possible could well take decades, and René argues that we do not have that amount of time to wait. Chemical recycling is of course a very exciting field of development which could change the landscape when it comes to building a circular economy for plastics – but again, this is in the very early stages and it will be years before we can expect it to become an industry reality.

Paper, on the other hand, is already the most widely recycled material in the world, putting it in a very strong position to meet the ambitious new recycling targets set by the EU, as René explains. “If we take the global figures for paper and board materials, we are at 70-80% recycling rates and the target is up to 90% so it’s completely different to plastic where the global recycling rate is something like 14%.”

But Sappi is not looking to demonize plastic. “Of course, we need this material – there are cases where it is the only real solution – but there are certain areas where paper can and should play a much bigger role. The clear direction for the packaging industry as a whole is to strive towards 99% recycling in both streams: mono-plastics and barrier papers. Multilayers will naturally fall by the wayside in our view because they can’t be recycled” (although some companies are working on the latter).

The alternative use of biopolymers is not realistic either on a wider scale – at least not for the immediate future. “There was also a question mark as to whether we should go with compostables for emerging markets, but it is more expensive and the performance of these materials is not yet totally proven. I also worry that by offering compostables we are encouraging people to throw it into nature rather than consider the possibilities for recycling.”

Much more is possible I should add here that when stating we need to work within the market constraints we face today, it does not mean we can’t look to a future where more is possible. Just using the example of paper: the kinds of barrier solutions people might have said were unfeasible in the past, we now see on supermarket shelves. Sappi’s aim is to continue reducing the amount of plastic it uses, until finally (a long time in the future, admittedly) there will be no need for a polymer barrier at all.

“First of all, we wanted to show the world that it is possible to create a high barrier paper,” says René. “With the next generations of these papers the barrier layer will be even thinner without sacrificing performance. We will also be working to improve puncture-resistance compared to plastic.”

He feels that the biggest problem is not creating the barrier performance – this will come, as technology evolves – but rather the lack of support to push the paper agenda. The ideal situation, he tells me, would be a unified recycling system in place for the EU, with clear instructions on where consumers can place paper packaging. Finally, the thresholds across Europe need to be changed and harmonized: there should be new thresholds to allow a higher polymer content in barrier papers, otherwise the substitution of plastic and foil-based materials would be impossible to reach in areas such as Germany, where the maximum allowable content is 5%.

There’s no doubt that the industry still has much to do when it comes to wider industry acceptance of barrier papers, but Sappi is confident they will come to hold a bigger share of the market. In short, change is coming: n it’s just not going to happen overnight.

Packaging Europe | 15 |

ENHANCING THE PROPERTIES OF POLYMERS

As we settle into 2021, we take a glance at how some of the leading players in materials science are continuing to address the need to improve the recyclability and functionality of packaging polymers.

Victoria Hattersley spoke with representatives from Covestro, Dow and Imerys.

T

he wide variety of polymers on the market today go a long way to meeting our many and varied packaging needs. However, as we know not all of them are as recyclable, or recycled, as others – whether because of their inherent properties, the infrastructure isn’t there, or because they consist of multiple layers that can’t be separated in existing recycling streams.

At Packaging Europe we always try to keep on the pulse of ongoing developments in polymer research and innovation. In recent years, we have seen clear recurring themes such as monomaterials, biobased plastics and chemical recycling.

Our industry experts today are all from companies involved in the packaging chain at the materials science level rather than packaging production itself. Here the focus is on enhancing polymer properties to improve recyclability, improve barrier properties, reduce material volume, improve impact resistance and so on.

Maintaining mechanical properties One way to enhance properties is through including additives to polymers at the start of the manufacturing process – an area where Imerys, which provides a wide variety of mineral solutions to enhance the properties of finished products and address sustainability requirements, is heavily involved.

“The current challenge is to ensure that mechanical properties, which tend to deteriorate during recycling processes, are maintained or even enhanced to enable them to meet ever more stringent specifications and remain cost-effective,” says Kelvin Thomas, Polymers Development Manager at the company. “Talc can be added to recycled plastic compounds to restore mechanical performance – for example, a recycled PP compound containing a 20% loading of Steagreen® talc can match the performance of a non-recycled, talc-filled PP compound and can therefore be used for high performance applications.”

Packaging Europe | 17 |

Compatibilization, reprocessing and separation Another area a lot of big players are investing in when it comes to polymer additives is compatibilizers, which can not only improve recyclability but also, crucially, allow the more efficient use of post-consumer waste – thus contributing to the all-encompassing goal of circularity.

“Where packaging is currently made up of different layers and materials to meet brand owners’ functional needs, it is difficult to separate and break these down for recycling,” says Carsten Larsen, Commercial Director Recycling EMEA & APAC, Packaging & Specialty Plastics at Dow. “That’s why we also offer compatibilizers, which work in a similar manner to a detergent that can combine oil and water, allowing the homogeneous mixing of plastic waste and enhancing its properties. Compatibilized post-consumer waste can be used in flexible film applications.”

“Unlike multi-material conventional packaging, mono-material packaging can offer greater recyclability without losing the benefits such as optimum product protection.”

At K 2019 Dow showcased its design for recyclability portfolio, where its offerings included concepts for simple multi-layered structures without barriers, more complex packaging with customized barriers for food protection, as well as conversion process redesign – including the use of compatibilizers to help enhance the mechanical recyclability of multilayer packaging and a spout insertion technology.

Dow is also investing in innovation and new technologies to produce high quality resins with plastic waste content. It has been partnering with Fuenix Ecogy Group to recycle plastic waste into pyrolysis oil to produce new polymers which it says ‘will be of the same quality as materials using virgin feedstocks and can be used in all applications, including food packaging’. | 18 | Packaging Europe

Imerys, meanwhile, has developed a mineral-based compatibilizer, ImerLink®, to create effective links between blends of polyethylene and polypropylene – usually incompatible – through a reactive process. This, says Kelvin Thomas, results in a material with improved properties with an optimum stiffness/toughness balance.

“PE and PP are often compatibilized using interfacial agents such as olefin block copolymers (OBCs), but the resulting material can still have two phases. The blend is not truly compatibilized. OBCs can also be quite expensive. ImerLink® is effective because it not only changes the miscibility of the PE and PP phases but also creates a new network of bonds between the phases and the coated mineral. This allows the use of postconsumer plastic waste which is rarely pure PP or PE but more often a mix of both due to contamination.”

Covestro, meanwhile, is involved in a research project, TERMINUS, to investigate the debonding of polymer layers of packaging materials. Its aim is to make the mechanical recycling of laminates less dependent on the adhesive, or in other words, to enable debonding ‘on-demand’ so that layers can be recycled in their material streams to create higher value recyclate.

Recycling challenges However, there are limitations to mechanical recycling, as Carsten Larsen points out. “For example, you cannot easily recycle many types of food packaging into new applications because of contamination issues and stringent packaging regulations. Mechanical recycling also degrades with each round of recycling. This not only limits what it can be used in, but often requires additional virgin resins to increase its performance – this adds more weight and increases CO2 emissions.”

That being the case, chemical recycling offers a very promising future alternative for cases where mechanical does not go far enough. Dow sees chemical recycling (or feedstock recycling, to use an interchangeable term) as a complementary alternative to mechanical as it ‘allows waste to maintain its value and become infinitely recyclable’.

“Feedstock recycling is therefore necessary if we are to meet both the EU’s legally binding plastics packaging recycling target of 55% by 2030 and to deliver possible binding European targets on recycled content,” adds

Carsten. “It will also enable recycled content in highly regulated applications such as food contact packaging; and meet our voluntary commitment under the EU’s Circular Plastic Alliance of 100K MT of recycled plastic to European customers by 2025.”

But moving back to mechanical for a moment, it’s no secret that large parts of the industry believe the future lies in the development of increasingly functional mono materials that can increase recyclability in existing waste management systems.

“With polyethylene (PE), for example, it’s possible to offer mono-material solutions that enable high performing packaging which can make recyclability possible,” says Carsten Larsen. “Unlike multi-material conventional packaging, mono-material packaging can offer greater recyclability without losing the benefits such as optimum product protection.”

Compostables and biopolymers Exciting developments in compostable polymers and novel biopolymers are also ongoing. While they do not yet hold a large share of the market – and there are still many challenges to be overcome, as we shall see – it’s undeniable that they offer promise for the future.

There are areas where compostability, in particular, can be very useful – particularly when organic content can be used to bring nutrition back to the soil, such as with coffee capsules. When it comes to biodegradation, Covestro has launched ‘the first raw materials that can biodegrade under different environmental conditions’.

However, Christos Lecou, Marketing Manager, Industrial Adhesives at the company, does draw our attention to an issue with which many of us will now be familiar: “There is a controversy as to whether composting of packaging should count as recycling. Take the example of an empty crisp pack. Here the material is not further used. It gets lost in the environment, forming mainly CO2 and water without giving back nutrition to the soil.

Therefore, wherever possible waste materials should be utilized rather than being disposed into the environment. We are participating in several projects to generate precursors for our raw materials back from waste streams. For instance, the project BioCatPolymers focuses on bio-catalytic possibilities to extract polymer building blocks out of woody biomass.”

Our contacts at Imerys also note the rising demand for biobased and biodegradable materials, but highlight challenges such as the current low availability of feedstocks and raw materials, processability windows, a need to improve mechanical properties and thermal resistance for packaging applications, and a relatively low cost-effectiveness.

“For rigid applications, process-wise, talc improves PLA and PHA (and that’s a non-exhaustive list of examples) melt strength, eliminating strand breakage during cooling and facilitating compound granulation. As an effective nucleating agent, the use of talc can also significantly increase the crystallization speed of some biopolymers,” explains Anaïs Berjeaud, Polymers Technical Support Manager.

Being a mineral solutions provider, Imerys has developed Eco-Delink™, an engineered calcined kaolin, in order to enhance compostability. “At 20% loading, in PHA, Eco-Delink™ provides faster degradation as well as improving processing conditions,” explains Mike Bird, Development Manager Plastics & Rubber.

Our industry insiders have given us much to consider here. But all of this is a mere snapshot of the ongoing innovation in packaging polymers. Whether it’s the growing use of polymer nanocomposite packaging materials or increased interest in biobased materials such as PEF (a durable plant-based polymer) as a potential alternative to conventional plastics, there is much on the horizon. n

Packaging Europe | 19 |

ON DEMAND

TRUE CIRCULARITY. FOOD CONTACT. POWERED BY STYRENICS.

WEBINAR HOSTED BY PACKAGING EUROPE

ADVANCES IN THE CLOSED LOOP RECYCLING OF POLYSTYRENE. How can circular polystyrene best meet the growing demand for high quality recyclates suitable for food contact applications? What are the achievements so far in fulfilling the intrinsic circularity of styrenics and what are the milestones? Which environmental footprint of the different polystyrene recycling technologies can be expected?

How does recycled polystyrene compare with virgin polystyrene in the production process of food packaging?

These issues are addressed in an online event by Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS), the value chain initiative to increase the circularity of styrenic polymers, together with Packaging

ON DEMAND

Europe. The event is now available to watch on demand. Featuring: • Delivering on the unique circular potential of polystyrene – Jens Kathmann, Secretary-General, Styrenics Circular Solutions • On track with food contact mechanical recycling of polystyrene – Herman Van Roost, General Manager Feedstock & Mechanical Recycling • Advances in depolymerisation food contact recycling of polystyrene – Dr. Norbert Niessner, Global Head of R&D, INEOS Styrolution and Chair Technologies, SCS • First insights into a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis for polystyrene

– Regino Weber, Research Associate Division Polymers, Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH • Recycled polystyrene as a drop-in solution – the converters’ perspective – Anabela Ferreira, Co-owner and Executive Board Member, Intraplás; Iain Sturges, Chief Procurement Officer, COEXPAN; Tobias Strasser, Managing Director, Greiner Packaging • Circular roadmap for styrenics – a look ahead – Jens Kathmann, Secretary-General, SCS • Q&A session

LISTEN NOW https://packagingeurope.com/advances-in-the-closed-loop-recycling-of-polystyrene/

ON DEMAND

HOST CHRISSI SCHOENFELDER Styrenics Circular Solutions, Chair Advocacy & Communications

HERMAN VAN ROOST Styrenics Circular Solutions, General Manager Feedstock & Mechanical Recycling

REGINO WEBER Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH, Research Associate Division Polymers

IAIN STURGES COEXPAN, Chief Procurement Officer

SPEAKERS JENS KATHMANN Styrenics Circular Solutions, Secretary General

DR. NORBERT NIESSNER INEOS Styrolution/SCS Global Head of R&D, INEOS Styrolution and Chair Technologies, SCS

ANABELA FERREIRA Intraplás, Co-owner and Executive Board Member

TOBIAS STRASSER COEXPAN, Chief Procurement Officer

Styrenics Circular Solutions is the value chain initiative to make the circular economy a reality for styrenics through game-changing plastics-to-plastics recycling technologies and partner-driven solutions. It aims to transform the styrenics industry by engaging with the entire value chain to realise polystyrene’s unique circularity capabilities and to extend closed loop food contact recycling beyond bottles to new food grade applications.

Working across print, digital and live media, Packaging Europe is the leading intelligence resource for European packaging professionals.

Our mission is to connect forward thinkers across the value chain with the latest developments in packaging technology and materials, making sense of innovation in the context of the core business challenges packaging is required to meet.

SYSTEMIQ set up the Seaweed for Europe coalition in June 2020 to advance and scale a sustainable and innovative seaweed industry in Europe. Packaging Europe takes an in-depth look at the sustainability potential a growing seaweed industry could have for the packaging industry and beyond.

EXPLORING THE SUSTAINABILITY POTENTIAL OF SEAWEED

T

he coalition has three main objectives. Firstly, the aim is to drive systematic innovation and best practice sharing, as Adrien Vincent, programme director at Seaweed for Europe, points out.

“We take a value chain approach to understanding specific research and technology needs which will propel the industry towards growth. The coalition aims to determine specific intervention points within the value chain where innovation is essential, for example to bring down price points to make products competitive. We also foster knowledge exchange and best practice sharing between our members.”

The second goal is to mobilize investment and to get policy makers on board. “We connect innovative industry players with investors who are interested in contributing to the development of a sustainable ocean economy, to help them understand their respective needs and create new opportunities for investment. We also engage with policy makers to create the right conditions to make investments more attractive in the seaweed space.”

Thirdly, Seaweed for Europe engages with high-level decision makers to elevate the profile of seaweed and create awareness of its potential and the importance of pursuing this opportunity to protect human and planetary boundaries.

“Today, the coalition is comprised of 46 members from 12 European countries. They constitute a balanced portfolio of members, representing seaweed farmers, harvesters, processors, technology providers, investors, incubators, think tanks, NGOs and research institutions.”

“However, at the same time the industry is still struggling to grow, despite an increasing demand for seaweed and seaweed-based products, in particular in the human consumption space. This is due to the fragmented European seaweed landscape, with stakeholders failing to pool together their know-how and experiences to drive growth jointly. In addition, there is also a lack of investment and policy support as the significant potential of seaweed is overlooked or not understood. Seaweed for Europe aims to address that,” Mr Vincent adds.

Why seaweed?

The seaweed industry in Europe represents a remarkable economic, social and environmental opportunity. A recently published report by Seaweed for Europe, anticipating the potential scope of the European seaweed industry in 2030, says that the industry “has the potential to be worth up to €9.3 billion. Under the right conditions, European producers could capture around one-third of this market (€2.7 billion), generating 115,000 jobs. In addition, seaweed could mitigate up to 5.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, remove thousands of tonnes of nitrogen and phosphorus each year from eutrophied European coastal waters, contribute to preserving biodiversity, and help protect European coasts from erosion.”

Scaling up Discussing this topic with several innovative players in Europe, Seaweed for Europe realized many of the conditions required to really scale up seaweed in Europe are already given, such as biological conditions for the water, favourable political support with the European Green Deal, and mushrooming of ventures in the field.

Packaging Europe | 21 |

ON DEMAND

WEBINAR HOSTED BY PACKAGING EUROPE

TEST, ANALYZE, COMPLY Practical Plastic Packaging Testing Solutions in an Age of Covid and Sustainability.

This webinar provides an overview of the packaging industry’s analytical requirements with a focus on the accurate testing of both flexible and rigid, plastic materials. It will draw on compliance with essential international safety & quality regulations and standards, and provide insight on how Covid-19 affects and will continue to affect the industry. It will further explain how these issues are interconnected with the path to greater sustainability and recycling.

This webinar helps scientists, researchers, designers and engineers

ON DEMAND

working in packaging manufacture and across the food, drink, health, beauty and consumer electronics industries to solve today’s plastic packaging challenges.

Key learning objectives: • Learn about the key analytical requirements of packaging with a focus on plastic material • Improve compliance with international safety & quality regulations & standards • Gain insight on how Covid-19 affects laboratory work in the packaging industry • Understand how better analysis in your lab can support your sustainability goals

LISTEN NOW https://packagingeurope.com/test-analyze-comply/

SPEAKERS

GERLINDE WITA Global Market Leader for Materials & Energy PerkinElmer

ON DEMAND

HOST

KIERAN EVANS Material Applications Scientist PerkinElmer

MILES SNOW Research & Technology Applications Scientist PerkinElmer

PerkinElmer enables scientists, researchers and clinicians to address their most critical challenges across science and healthcare. With a mission focused on innovating for a healthier world, we deliver unique solutions to serve the diagnostics, life sciences, food and industrial markets. We strategically partner with customers to enable earlier and more accurate insights supported by deep market knowledge and technical expertise.

ELISABETH SKODA Editor Packaging Europe

Working across print, digital and live media, Packaging Europe is the leading intelligence resource for European packaging professionals.

Our mission is to connect forward thinkers across the value chain with the latest developments in packaging technology and materials, making sense of innovation in the context of the core business challenges packaging is required to meet.

Seaweed is very viable on an industrial scale, as there is an opportunity for a significant increase in seaweed farming as well as processing capacity, as Mr Vincent points out.

“It is important to distinguish harvesting of wild seaweed and seaweed farming. The former consists of harvesting seaweed from natural underwater forests and doing so in a way that allows for the resource to regrow naturally.

Today, 99% of European seaweed production is harvested from the wild, but this part of the industry has been plateauing for the past decade.”

The future of European production therefore has to come from seaweed farming, i.e. seaweed grown on ropes or nets in the water, using seaweed ‘spores’ grown in a hatchery, Mr Vincent says.

“European waters are perfectly suited to grow much more seaweed through such farms than is the case today. The farms can be constructed at a coastal level, for instance in a symbiotic way with existing aquaculture operations and facilities for salmon or shellfish, but there is increasing research and even pilots for offshore, large scale seaweed farms that could also provide large supply of raw materials, and in some cases even integrate with windfarms.”

There is also potential for industrial scale processing of seaweed. “Through the creation of integrated biorefineries producing multiple seaweed-derived products, cost-competitive production of a range of products, including biopolymers, can be enabled.”

For example, Oceanium has developed a proprietary ‘green and clean’ biorefinery technology to process seaweed into high-demand products including plant-based food and nutrition ingredients and ‘home-compostable, marine-safe’ bio-packaging. Oceanium’s mission is to enable the nascent seaweed farming industry and pioneer the development of a new, environmentally-friendly aquaculture industry in Europe and on a global level.

Seaweed for packaging In recent months, a range of demo products and proof-of-concepts have shown the potential for packaging created on the basis of seaweed.

“Compared to many other bioplastics created using land-based materials, seaweed packaging does not give rise to competition for land vs food provisioning. It does not need freshwater nor fertilizer nor pesticides to grow and contributes to restoring ocean ecosystems health. It is possible to develop sustainable packaging materials out of seaweed that is edible and/or truly biodegradable as well as home compostable, which sets it apart from other bioplastics that claim biodegradability, but need to be processed in industrial composters to be properly treated,” says Mr Vincent.

Notpla uses seaweed as the base for a range of packaging products, including its Ooho bubbles for liquids, and the Notpla biodegradable coatings for takeaway boxes.

“Oohos are flexible packages for beverages and sauces. They’re made from seaweed and plant extracts with a capacity between 10 and 100 ml, and are even edible. They can also be discarded with food or normal rubbish, and if they do end up in the environment, they will biodegrade in under six weeks. We recently launched our second product, a coating for paperboard, and had successful trials with online delivery service Just Eat,” explains Pierre Paslier, co-founder of packaging start-up Notpla.

“With Ooho, we focus mainly on instant consumption activities like marathons, festivals, and takeaways. To complement our sustainability efforts, we operate on a circular economy model and only use reusable trays and crates that get washed and reused after use, so nothing is wasted. For our Ooho bubbles, we created a machine that transforms the gel-like seaweed extract into a film that then gets filled with the liquid and sealed. One of the benefits of this technology is its small, compact size, which enables local manufacturing.

By working with distributed hubs that serve their local market, we can have a shorter supply chain and save on transport. Our ketchup sachets reduce CO2 emissions by 68% compared to plastic ones.”

Notpla uses seaweed both from farming and wild harvesting. “We use a lot of brown seaweed which we get from farms with good sustainability credentials. We also use some wild seaweed that is harvested in a way that doesn’t do any damage to its surroundings, similarly to responsibly sourced wood from FSC certified forests. Apart from its biodegradability, another feature that sets it apart is its abundance – in the wild, certain seaweed species can grow up to a metre a day. It can also help with decarbonization efforts, as it is actually able to sequester carbon from the ocean water.”

The right material for the right application Seaweed is not a silver bullet in packaging, but it has an important role to play in areas of on-the-go food and quick consumption.

“We are looking at requirements based on the application, rather than trying to emulate the gold standard of plastic. For example, our Notpla coating works well for takeaway food boxes, as typically they will be in contact with food just for a few hours,” says Mr Paslier.

He has high hopes for the use of seaweed within the packaging industry. “We think seaweed has even further to go. In comparison to plastic packaging, the material is under-researched. After all, plastic packaging has benefited from 70 years of R&D and has had a lot of money spent on it. If we deployed that many resources into alternative materials, I’m sure we can achieve great things.” n Packaging Europe | 23 |

Over the past year, figures from across the value chain have argued that the role played by the packaging industry in society has never been more important, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the realm of consumer protection.

CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE COVID AGE

AS

consumer concern around personal health has grown due to the pandemic, the industry has adapted and innovated to meet changing expectations around exactly how a pack can help its user to stay safe. In this article, we’ll look into some of the key innovations and developments from this field.

Dispensing Hand sanitizer has now become a ubiquitous product in bags and on shop shelves across the world, and the task of dispensing it safely and efficiently has been taken up by our industry.

INEOS, the world’s largest producer of high-purity synthetic ethanol, launched a new range of touchless sanitizer dispensers for the home and workplace in December. Features for this new product include touchless dispensing sanitizer, variable dosage settings, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and lights to indicate low battery life and low cartridge levels.

Also, with human contact in mind, Lifestyle Packaging introduced Snappd – a unique single-use mechanism that dispenses a single dose of hand sanitizer gel when it is bent in half with one hand. The product currently has three different material formulations – compostable, bio-based using renewable sources, and recyclable.

Meanwhile, industry stalwarts like Smurfit Kappa have been busy adapting existing designs to suit this new reality. Its Bag-in-Box range, which | 24 | Packaging Europe

had in the past been used to package and dispense boxed alcoholic beverages, has been extended so that it can now dispense sanitizer. The product is suitable both for end consumers and as a retail solution.

Labelling It comes as no surprise to learn that labelling companies have also been exceptionally busy at this time in the pursuit of keeping consumers safe.

Torsten Scheermann, vice-president of global accounts at All4Labels, told us: “Generally, as disinfectants were selling out fast, labels were needed fast to supply the demand, and at the same time the raw material situation was extremely tough due to limited availability.

“Since without labels, disinfectants cannot be sold due to regulations, the label industry contributed to supplying that very high demand. By prioritizing disinfectant manufacturers and through thorough planning by our supply chain management, we were able to provide short lead times.”

Across the board, as with many packaging-related areas, Scheermann says that the demand for labels related to products used to fight the spread of COVID has increased significantly – this has been especially noticeable as All4Labels works with the key MNCs in the personal care business.

Beyond capacity and demand considerations, one other issue currently facing the labelling and marking industries in the realm of consumer protection is counterfeiting. Since the start of the pandemic, EUROPOL and EUPIO

have been reporting a troubling uptick in cases of pharmaceutical counterfeiting – an issue with clear implications on the health of the consumer.

Indeed, some label producers have seen up to 20% increases in enquiries for brand protection and track and trace solutions since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

“Unsurprisingly, the spread of the coronavirus precipitated a rise in concern for personal health and wellbeing in a more general sense.”

On-pack protection Unsurprisingly, the spread of the coronavirus also precipitated a rise in concern for personal health and wellbeing in a more general sense. As a result, a number of products were launched last year that sought to address this sentiment.

InvisiShield from Aptar is an anti-pathogenic packaging solution that can be integrated into sealed packages to protect fresh-cut produce from harmful pathogens like bacteria, fungi, and viruses. It is activated within sealed packages to release a specially formulated amount of an anti-pathogenic agent into the produce’s packaging environment that is apparently undetectable to the consumer and dissipates from the package within 24-48 hours of activation.

As far as packaging surfaces themselves are concerned, more than half (57%) of consumers say that they now wash their hands thoroughly after touching e-commerce packaged products, while 30% throw packaging away more quickly. A new coating from DS Smith and Touchguard creates an anti-microbial surface finish that inhibits the growth of bacteria and certain types of viruses.

Meanwhile, the EU-funded REFUCOAT project announced in October 2020 that it was ending, after having successfully developed a coating based on bacteriophage organisms that reduces the proliferation of Salmonella bacteria in chicken breast samples packaged in a modified atmosphere.

ing, which raised questions about the safety of reusable packaging. Indeed, chains such as Starbucks went so far as to ban the use of reusable packaging in-store for a period of time.

These concerns prompted bodies like EuPC to urge the EU to postpone its Single-Use Plastic Directive, saying: “The EU Commission did not take into account the hygienic consequences of banning or reducing single-use plastics. We are, and will be, in a completely different world where hygiene and consumer health will be the number one priority for all of us.”

Now that the world has come to grips with many of the effects of the pandemic, bodies like the WHO and FDA have concluded that the chances of transmission via surfaces are low, especially given the existing rigorous cleaning and sterilization processes associated with reuse systems.

In light of these learnings, key retailers and brands now seem to be embracing reusable systems even more keenly than before. In 2020, British retailer Marks and Spencer expanded its grocery refill concept to more stores, and Carrefour became the first retailer to offer Loop’s reuse system in-store. Meanwhile, P&G Beauty announced the launch of its first refillable bottle system at scale, and Unilever launched its biggest refill and reuse trial n in Europe.

Reuse Reusable and refillable packaging systems have been gaining momentum over the past few years, with some commentators describing them as the most viable long-term solution to the issue of packaging sustainability.

However, during the early weeks and months of the pandemic, stories emerged regarding the coronavirus being transmitted via surfaces and packagPackaging Europe | 25 |

ELIF: ‘SUSTAINABILITY IS PART OF OUR DNA’

Elif, a global benchmark company for flexible packaging, explains how the philosophy of ‘Sustainable packaging for life’ encapsulates its belief that producers in this field must innovate to develop the best solutions for everyone around the world to live a healthier and more sustainable life. Victoria Hattersley spoke to Sustainability Director, Dr Betül Türel Erbay.

W

hile many of us have moved into 2021 with a cautious sense of renewed hope following a testing year, the key environmental challenges we face are still looming large as ever. Each year, millions upon millions of tonnes of plastics are leaked into the environment, and according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation only around 10% of the total produced is recycled. There are no simple answers.

We all know that the packaging industry – and the world into which it feeds – has a huge task to face when it comes to getting on a more sustainable, circular path. Sometimes this task looks insurmountable, because it is so multi-faceted. What does Elif believe are the major challenges to be faced by the flexible packaging sector in particular?

“Packaging is part of the solution to future challenges. However, one of the biggest challenges for sustainability so far is the various processes of collecting and sorting the packaging waste and how to include them in the cycle in order to create a real circular economy,” begins Dr Betül Türel Erbay, Sustainability Director at Elif.

“Successful examples exist, but these are too few and costs are higher. We need waste collection to be easier and cheaper in order to reach wider geographies – and finally, we could then talk about a real circular economy. “On the other hand, the market share of single-use plastics is still high. Therefore, Elif’s aim is also to convert these products into a fully recyclable structure.

As a result, the company tries hard to continuously adapt to changing markets as customers and consumers require even more sustainable solutions. It consequently adapts to stay ahead of trends such as environmental concerns and as well digitalization and demographic shifts.

‘Smart business fosters sustainability’ Elif’s own response to these challenges and more can be summed up in the above-mentioned motto of ‘Sustainable packaging for life’. But what does this mean in real terms? After all, there’s no denying there are a lot | 26 | Packaging Europe

of sustainability ‘buzzwords’ flying around: how does this company hope to practically translate its own philosophy into helping the world transition to a circular economy in plastics?

“Smart business fosters sustainability,” says Dr Erbay. “Therefore, we decided to expand our goal to produce continuously ‘Sustainable Packaging for life’, and to offer solutions that always target the ‘best’ for society, the environment, and humanity. Sustainability is part of our DNA. Our packaging reaches millions of people all around the world every day, helping to create a happier and healthier life and, consequently, our business really is ‘Packaging for life’.”

For Elif, this means the confluence of many factors, from increased use of mono-materials to biobased plastics, chemical recycling and – perhaps most importantly – greater cross-industry collaboration. Elif works closely with customers to reach their sustainability goals by using more recycled content, bio-based materials, bio-degradable green PE, and fully recyclable HyPEr/PE laminate structures. Its concrete goal for consumer goods products in Europe, to be achieved by 2025, is to develop packaging that is 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable. Polyolefin-based flexible packaging materials constitute 93% of its product portfolio, which it tells us is already 100% recyclable.

Some of the brands and solutions within Elif’s sustainable product offering for the personal care, food & beverage, pet care and home care sectors include ElifGreen, ElifHybr, ElifNatty and ElifProLite, each addressing a particular challenge or environmental goal. Consequently, Elif recently launched its Elif Sustainable Eco Solutions range. As we go on, we will look more closely at some of these and how they serve as an illustration of the company’s approach in action.

The role of biomaterials As we have already touched upon, Elif believes strongly in the increased use of bio-based and biodegradable materials as one of the routes to achieving our collective sustainability goals. This can be a challenging subject: many in the industry are still wary of incorporating bioplastics,

possibly due to the cost factors or their perceived lack of recyclability; consumers, meanwhile, do not always understand the difference between terms such as ‘biobased’ or ‘biodegradable’, sometimes leading, unfortunately, to contamination of the recycling chain.

“The cost of biobased products is still higher than the cost of standard products due to the lack of sources,” Dr Erbay concedes. “However, we are convinced that the cost will be more reasonable in the mid-term due to the smart initiatives from the packaging industry. This development will help us to further improve the image of the packaging industry and will be a result of the considerable efforts of companies involved, like ourselves.”

And indeed, examples of these ‘smart initiatives’ she mentions can be glimpsed within Elif’s own brand stable. According to the company’s latest Sustainability Report: ‘ElifGreen is a renewable resource PE flexible packaging film filled with green PE granules made from sugar cane in various percentages up to 100%. It is a 100% recyclable, 100% renewable and 100% sustainable film solution’ that is ‘applicable for all kinds of flexible film packaging products.’

In the area of compostables, Elif’s latest offering is Elif Natty, ‘a compostable PE film formulated with a family of innovative bioplastics alloys based on biodegradable polymers totally or partially obtained from renewable resources’.

The future for recycling technology Aside from the feedstocks and materials themselves, what about the end of the chain? Nobody in the industry can have failed to miss the high expectations that continue to accumulate around chemical recycling, through which plastics are broken down into their molecular building blocks, potentially opening up

new plastics streams which cannot be recycled with current technology. Will it, even, provide the answer to the challenge of achieving food-grade recyclate – an important and oftentimes elusive goal for achieving circularity?

“Yes, definitely,” says Dr Erbay. “Chemical recycling is the preferred option for the time being. Why? The chemical recycling methodology enables us to produce pure materials. This is the best scenario in recycling for food grade with current technologies.”

Given the undeniable prospects for chemical recycling, some would even argue that in the future traditional mechanical recycling technology could be phased out entirely. Others – and Elif is among them – are more pragmatic and feel the reality is more likely to be the use of both approaches. After all, we are still a long way off the industrial reality of chemical recycling and the infrastructure for mechanical is in place throughout the world, ready to be employed.

In this case, what is needed is simply a means to produce more high-quality recyclate that can be put through the mechanical process again and again. (I use the word ‘simply’, but naturally we all know that this in itself is anything but.)

An example of a solution developed for circularity using the existing mechanical infrastructure is Elif2Pouch, which is ‘created to meet the growing demand for recyclable packaging... and is in line with the 2030 recyclability target of the EU Commission’. It can be recycled with all other PE materials, including shopping bags, and is ‘compatible with existing post-consumer recycled waste streams’.

“Both [chemical and mechanical] will be used in the near- and mid-term future,” continues Dr Erbay. “Mechanical recycling will ensure the best result, if the source is known and recyclable. Chemical recycling will be a better option if the source has a non-recyclable structure.”

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“We decided to expand our goal to produce continuously ‘Sustainable Packaging for life’, and to offer solutions that always target the ‘best’ for society, the environment, and humanity.”

Combining performance and sustainability We should also remember that sustainability, while it must undoubtedly remain the biggest priority, is not the only one: global demand dictates that it should also combined with ever-higher performance, functionality and – ideally – cost efficiency. Elif’s customer-centricity programme ensures continuous innovation in packaging to deliver product superiority based on enhanced customer and consumer engagement. These are not easy goals to reconcile, as Elif is aware, but it believes the industry must continue to strive for them.

Some recent examples: ElifHybr is a state-of-the-art printing technology that combines both recyclability and the highest quality printing. It uses a combination of different solvent-free ink transfer systems around a CI (central impression) drum together with rapid electron beam (EB) curing and an extended gamut colour system. It is also, says Elif, cost-efficient for short runs – an important consideration as we are of course seeing an increasing appetite for customization.

“ElifHybr enables the pre-printing preparations to be cost efficient for short runs by eliminating the high plate and cylinder costs and also optimises the lost time due to set up by lowering the time spent between two jobs thanks to the robot technology,” explains Dr Erbay.

Efficient barrier performance is also increasingly important for resource efficiency – and Elif believes strongly in the use of monomaterials for these.

Elif ProLite is a ‘new high barrier laminated packaging solution’ that is ‘fully recyclable thanks to its monomaterial structure and homogenous composites

which are suitable for recycling through the available corresponding recycling streams’. Furthermore, says the company, its ‘high barrier laminate features offer excellent aroma protection and prolonged shelf life’.

Urgent need for global collaboration One thing I have gleaned from my conversations with Elif is its belief – shared by many others – that one company taking such measures is only part of the solution. A single company, or even one entire segment of an industry cannot tackle the many problems we face. What is needed is cross-collaboration across the entire industry – from producers, to recyclers, to brands owners, even through to consumers themselves.

One of the major challenges identified by Dr Erbay for flexible packaging – a lack of standardized collection processes – is just one case in point: “The appreciated model for the global economy is changing and further developing from a linear into a circular economy. Therefore, the whole supply chain should be aligned with the standardization of recycling processes both nationally and internationally. This is the key success driver to establish an efficiently working global circular economy.”

“...the whole supply chain should be aligned with the standardization of recycling processes both nationally and internationally. This is the key success driver to establish an efficiently working global circular economy...”

Elif is playing its part in cross-industry collaboration, as many others are and hopefully many more will follow their example. It recently joined HolyGrail 2.0: this initiative – the overall winner at Packaging Europe’s Sustainability Awards 2019 – was formed to prove the viability of digital watermarking technologies for accurate sorting and therefore higher-quality recycling. It is also a member of various initiatives and associations including Save Food, CEFLEX, UN Global Compact and UNICEF. In addition, What I personally think resonates in the phrase ‘Sustainable packaging for life’ is the implication that packaging is not just an industry: it forms a part of all our lives and it’s not too dramatic to say that it has the power to shape the lives of future generations for good – or for bad.

And indeed, our current global environmental predicament demands that ‘Sustainable packaging for life’ – in whichever way we choose to understand n this – becomes a reality.

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THE BRAND OWNER’S PERSPECTIVE: PEPSICO

Elisabeth Skoda catches up with Archana Jagannathan, senior director for sustainable packaging at PepsiCo, and explores how a collaborative approach helps the company to develop sustainable packaging solutions.

ES: Could you tell us a bit more about your role at PepsiCo, and what responsibilities it entails?

AJ: My role at PepsiCo focuses on driving a much more sustainable future for packaging, focusing on Europe. I see this as an opportunity to make a difference to PepsiCo and what PepsiCo does, but also use the reach and scale that we have to influence and drive change in the industry more broadly, so I’m hoping we can make a small difference to the health of our planet for the future generations.

ES: Earlier this year, PepsiCo published its 2019 Sustainability Report.

Could you give our readers a quick overview on the report highlights in the area of packaging?

AJ: PepsiCo’s sustainability strategy overall, and what we have laid out in the report, focuses on three key things. First of all is Reduce. We think it’s really important to genuinely reduce the amount of packaging and plastics that we use overall, and a great example that we’ve highlighted in our Sustainability Report is the use of technology, the use of charged compaction technology for our snack films, which we’ve used to successfully reduce their size. It means that we use technology to make sure that the chips settle down in the bag a bit better, and therefore you can have a smaller size bag. But equally, we have used technology in Europe to reduce the size of our outer bags for our snack multipacks by 30%.

That might seem small, but given the amount of snacks that PepsiCo produces, that is a huge amount of virgin plastics savings. We are continuing to lightweight our bottles, reduce our films, and there are some great examples that we have laid out in the Sustainability Report.

The second key area is Recycling, firstly making sure that all our packaging is recyclable, compostable and biodegradable, and we’ve committed to 100% by 2025. We are at 88% now. But equally important is making sure that we close the loop, making sure that we support systems that collect, sort and recycle materials. After the report was published, we announced that we joined the leadership team of Holy Grail, which is a really innovative digital watermarking technology that will hopefully help to sort waste much more efficiently and give waste a better second life. We have included 100% recycled PET in Tropicana, Naked and Lipton, and we are looking to go much further in the coming years as well.

The third line of what we talk about in the report is Reinvent, i.e. radically rethinking materials and business models. SodaStream is a great example of that. We acquired the business in 2018 and are expanding it in Europe as we speak. We estimate that we will probably save about 67 billion bottles from the expansion of SodaStream. But equally, use of alternate materials is a really important part of our Reinvent strategy. We have recently announced a consortium with Diageo and Unilever on a project called Pulpex, which will be a first of its kind paper bottle, and we are really looking forward to bringing it to market and testing it on one of our brands in 2021. On the snacks side, we are working with Danimer Scientific on compostable materials. I think technology is evolving so fast in this space, so making sure that we are continuing to explore alternative materials is a key part of our strategy.

ES: You mentioned that PepsiCo is 88% on the way towards its goal of using 100% recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025. What would you say are the biggest challenges of the remaining 12%, and how is the company planning on getting there?

Archana Jagannathan

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AJ: The single biggest challenge for us to get there globally is recycling

AJ: This is something that we are actually working on with a company called

of our snack films, so the bags we use for Walkers, Lays, Doritos etc.

There are two elements in that. One is making sure that the packaging is designed for recycling, and we’ve worked with CEFLEX and co-developed with them a set of design guidelines for what we think actually makes the package recyclable. But equally important, and this is where the challenge lies, is the development of infrastructure to collect and recycle crisp packets. Crisp packets are actually recycled in some parts of Europe at very small scale, for example in Germany. We are working with government, policy makers and packaging recovery organizations to make sure that that is widespread across Europe in the coming years.

I mentioned Holy Grail, which will hopefully help flexible packaging be sorted and recycled, but we are also in constant conversation with recyclers and packaging recovery organizations. The reasons this is so challenging is because it requires a system-wide value chain approach to drive the infrastructure that is required for recycling the product.

Danimer Scientific, and we are trialling this in the US and in Chile. We are looking at understanding and learning what the consumer reaction is to compostable film, but equally, how they dispose of it, how they behave in the systems that are prevalent in a country. We are not trialling these in Europe, because Europe for a long time has been pursuing the recycling route, and we want to make sure, whatever system we adopt, is looking at the wider environmental outcomes, but also what’s right given the ease for the consumer and the infrastructure that exists in that market. So, in Europe, all of the work we are doing with CEFLEX focuses on continuing to develop a recycling stream and the right recycling infrastructure for crisp packets.

Globally, we are learning from both solutions: from the compostable films in the US and some of the other markets, and from the recycling infrastructure development in Europe, so we want to be able to take the best learnings from everywhere and develop a system that works.

ES: I wanted to delve a bit deeper into your work with the CEFLEX consortium. You mentioned design for recycling criteria; are there any other projects you have been working on with them?

AJ: CEFLEX has about 160 companies across the value chain, so it’s a great opportunity to collaborate and drive the change that’s required for this system.

In addition to the design for recycling guidelines, we are working with CEFLEX on a whole host of other workstreams, including shaping extended producer responsibility and what that should look like in all of the markets, also working with them on assessing what the end market use for flexible packaging would look like. Generating that demand from the end market for flexible packaging will be really important to drive the whole process of recycling, so again, working with them across the value chain, designing the right system, ensuring the right collection system, the right sorting systems, figuring out what the end markets are, feasibility in those end markets etc.

ES: You mentioned testing 100% industrially compostable thin film plantbased snack bags. Could you tell us a bit more about this?

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ES: In 2019, PepsiCo launched within the framework of the Loop initiative, and in cooperation with Terracycle, reusable packaging for orange juice and muesli. Could you update us on this trial?

AJ: We worked with Terracycle very closely to launch Loop in France last year. That trial has gone well, and we’re now expanding it to launch with Carrefour as a key strategic retail partner in France, so I’m really looking forward to the learnings from that trial, and understanding how it goes, so we are gearing up to launch the Loop platform with Carrefour.

ES: Also on the subject of project updates, I’d be interested in finding out more about the progress on the work with the Natural Bottle Alliance, which has set out to develop and recycle 100% plant-based PET bottles from biomass. How is work coming along with this?

AJ: It’s great. It is a California-based start-up that we partner with on this, with other PR companies, and our R&D teams are working really closely with the teams at Origin as part of the Natural Bottle Alliance to develop PET from biomass-based materials, used cardboard, used sawdust etc., so something

that could really be revolutionary. But more broadly, investing, like I said, staying on top of technology, staying on top of innovations in this space is really important for us. We recently launched this collaboration with Pulpex, and I’m looking forward to getting the first fully recyclable paper bottle into the market very soon.

ES: On a more general note, what role do packaging suppliers play in PepsiCo’s sustainability efforts? What innovations have you seen that particularly stood out for you, and what more would you like to see in the future?

AJ: A very, very important role! I have alluded to this a couple of times already, but collaborative innovation is going to play a huge role in this industry. We regularly hold innovation days with all our suppliers, because we want to understand what is in the pipeline and what is applicable to our products. Suppliers understand the packaging material, they understand the technology, and we think it is very critical for us to be partnering with them to bring some of these technologies to life for our products in the marketplace.

ES: Constructing a circular packaging value chain comes with big challenges. Have you seen any improvements in the harmonization of recyclability standards across different markets, or clear guidelines on food grade recycled plastics? What more could be done to achieve that?

AJ: My view is that COVID-19 has actually shown how important it is to build resilient food systems overall, and how important food security is. That’s something I think everybody took for granted. In our view, sustainability is going to become an even more important topic. Coming out of the pandemic we have recently signed the EU Parliament’s Green Recovery Alliance as well, and we also recently signed the UN Global Business Ambition for the one and a half degrees pledge, so we are still very committed to this agenda. Within Europe, policy makers seem to be really committed to this agenda, and to the green recovery overall, which is very heartening to see.

ES: In conclusion, what is next on PepsiCo’s sustainability journey? What challenges do you particularly look forward to tackling in the coming months?

AJ: I’m looking forward to continuing a lot of the great work that we’ve been doing, to use more recycled materials, continuing to work with policy bodies on collection, recycling infrastructure, but also continuing to keep an eye on interesting technology and innovations that we can bring to market. The pace of innovation in this industry is immense, so every day is a new day, and I’m always looking to how we can shape the future to be a lot better and a lot more n sustainable going forward.

AJ: We have been speaking to policy bodies at the EU level and at national level about harmonizing the collection systems across all of the markets. Even within a market, for example in the UK or France, different parts of the country have different systems, and ultimately, as a consumer product company, we want to make it as easy as possible for our consumers to dispose of the packaging. It’s so important to have that harmonized framework of extended producer responsibility in place, that collects materials in predefined streams, that gives very clear labelling and instructions to consumers on where to dispose of the packet etc, so that at the end of the day, the system is designed as efficiently as it possibly can be.

ES: On a subject that is likely to stay with us for some time, what have the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic been on sustainability efforts?

Packaging Europe | 31 |

ON SECOND THOUGHTS...

WHY SHOEHORNING CIRCULARITY INTO DISPOSABLE BUSINESS MODELS WILL NOT WORK Tracy Sutton, packaging design consultant and founder of Root, tells us why ‘talking circularity’ will not solve the industry’s environmental dilemmas.

‘C

ircular Economy’ and ‘Circular’ were my greenwash words for 2020. I predict these have comfortable longevity to be used by many right through the forthcoming year, too. Hopefully, as a result of this article, we might see a fraction fewer mentions of these vague and misleading words.

Talking about how your business supports the circular economy and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation sounds great to non-environmental experts.

Having a wonderful sustainability strategy talking about how you support circularity will entice and reassure many. Better still, having packaging that is circular sounds more impressive than recyclable, and is likely to remove a healthy amount of potential guilt a customer may feel when on the go, grasping for that single-use PET water bottle.

‘Circular economy’ is industry jargon I see used on old-style lengthy corporate social responsibility reports. I notice it more so in reports from companies who produce packaging that is not (and is never likely to be) widely recyclable or from industries whose packaging is particularly high carbon.

The crux is that there is only so much airtime and respect you can get shifting from one in-vogue marketing term to the next. There will only be so much light-weighting, simplifying and purifying single-use packaging you can do until you hit an environmental – and soon – economic brick wall. Even signing up to be the next brand on a reuse pilot will only get the NGOs off your heels for a little while.

Businesses built to be part of a disposable system or service are trying to shoehorn a few principles of the circular economy into their single-use products but it’s not working. They have forgotten a key factor: that materials should be designed to be in use for as long as possible. How many packaging producers or brands do you know who lead the way in refillable or reusable packaging?

Why are we not seeing more investment or choice for reusable packaging? One of the challenges we face is that reuse models require the

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same attention and more investment than disposable models. While the intent might exist, the demand is simply not there yet – many citizens are interested in the novelty factor which overrides the initial extra expense, or time needed to do something differently. But, as many reusable pilots are done with insufficient budget or attention to user experience, the inevitable compromise occurs and the opportunity to convert a willing customer has been lost.

When it comes to the economics, some businesses expect a reuse model to bring home the same profits as a disposable model and when producers consider volumes, ROI and margins compared to single-use packaging, it’s not going to stack up because it’s being compared against a disposable business model.

Governments currently enable it to be economically viable to grow a business that uses resources via a single-use model. Over time, however, this will shift as governments increasingly tax polluters and focus more on penalizing single-use packaging – not just plastic.

In the years to come it will become less economically viable for the public and business to use resources in the linear, wasteful way that we do today. We will see a few entrepreneurial start-ups who have built their business model around the principles of a true circular economy. Those who have done the research, met and exceeded customer expectations and jumped on the opportunity of new home-based behaviours as a result of COVID will thrive.

I’m yet to be convinced that some of the world’s biggest FMCG brands will truly succeed in successfully integrating reuse into their businesses. My feeling is that younger, more agile brands with business models and delivery systems suited to meet the needs of new consumers will drive the end of a few of the big players unless they unlock some real innovation in n the next decade.

ON DEMAND

WEBINAR FIVE WAYS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR PACKAGING OPERATIONS IN 2021 Running multiple packaging lines 24/7 requires endless planning to avoid downtime and issues. It’s critical to get the right code on the right product to deliver accurate real-time supply chain insight, actionable product data and digital connectivity.

Organizations can improve line output, ensure coding excellence and create operational efficiencies by leveraging

ON DEMAND

the key pillars of packaging intelligence: message management, verification, line control and insight.

This webinar will introduce you to the latest developments in integrated packaging intelligence solutions. And we’ll highlight the actual benefits of implementing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) solutions in realworld scenarios.

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Learn how forward-thinking companies are optimizing packaging operations to: 1. Reduce the time needed to prepare and start production runs 2. Ensure product codes meet regulations and supplier specifications 3. Eliminate incorrectly coded and packaged products before they are created 4. Decrease unscheduled line-stoppage to optimize printer performance 5. Increase production output by adding OEE to existing or new packaging systems

LISTEN NOW https://packagingeurope.com/five-ways-to-optimize-your-packaging-operations-in-2021/

SPEAKERS

MARK HATHAWAY Product Marketing Manager, Packaging Intelligence Systech

ON DEMAND

HOST

STEPHANE VALETTE OEE Solutions Manager, Industrial Solutions Group Systech

Systech provides packaging coding, product authentication and traceability solutions to combat counterfeiting and diversion, optimize processes and meet compliance. Our comprehensive brand protection and packaging intelligence suites deliver the accurate real-time insight, actionable product data and digital connectivity needed to fight supply chain threats. Global brands across industries rely on us to keep their products authentic, safe and connected.

ELISABETH SKODA Editor Packaging Europe

Working across print, digital and live media, Packaging Europe is the leading intelligence resource for European packaging professionals.

Our mission is to connect forward thinkers across the value chain with the latest developments in packaging technology and materials, making sense of innovation in the context of the core business challenges packaging is required to meet.