EU Packaging Sustainability: A Year in Review and a Look Forward to 2022

In 2021, new EU regulations came into place, brands progressed on their sustainability commitments, and consumer expectations around the environmental credentials of packaging continued to rise. Along with our customers and partners, Amcor has been meeting these sustainability challenges with exciting new innovations, collaborations, and fresh insights into consumer and industry trends.

This round-up includes our European sustainability highlights from the past year and looks forward to 2022.

1) DEVELOPMENTS IN RECYCLING & CARBON FOOTPRINT REDUCTION

CAN TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE RECYCLING? HOLY GRAIL 2.0

The HolyGrail 2.0 project, spearheaded by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, uses "digital watermarks" to improve the sorting of recyclable packaging across the European Union. Following a successful first phase with partners including P&G, PepsiCo, Nestle as well as Amcor, the project is now entering phase 3 and looking for more partners.

Find out more about what's happened so far, what's planned for HolyGrail 2.0 phase 3, and how your brand can get involved.

WHAT IS CHEMICAL RECYCLING AND IS IT THE SOLUTION THE INDUSTRY IS LOOKING FOR?

What is chemical (or advanced) recycling? And what challenges and opportunities does this new process present for flexible packaging? Amcor took a look at how chemical recycling works in Europe and the future role it will likely play for the packaging industry.

Find out more about chemical recycling for flexible packaging in Europe.

STAYING AHEAD OF EUROPEAN LEGISLATION

The European legislative landscape around sustainability is incredibly complex. Our team can help make things easier for businesses who want to take action now and prepare for what's coming next. With initiatives such as the Packaging & Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD), plastic taxes and upcoming changes to Extended Producer Responsiblity (EPR) programs, it's a contantly evolvoing topic and one we'll continue to share insights on in 2022.

Take a look at the packaging regulatory changes introduced in 2021, what's coming up next, and tips on how best to prepare.

LIFECYCLE ASSESSMENT DEMO

A lifecycle assessment tool, such as ASSET™, helps brands measure, understand and lower their packaging's environmental impact. We recently developed a demo tool to allow you to see how simple packaging changes can reduce your pack's carbon footprint.

Try our ASSET™ life cycle assessment demo to see what you could learn, and find out how you can work with us to conduct a full lifecycle assessement of your packaging.

2) PRODUCTS & SERVICES LAUNCHED IN 2021

MORE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS

Discover just a few of the successful innovations launched over the last year:

In March, Amcor and Mars Food launched a new designed to be recycled microwavable rice pouches in the UK.

We helped the family-owned Italian meat company, Chiola, create packaging with 80% less plastic.

Amcor worked with Unilever to develop new full-PE recycle-ready and ecommerce ready pouches for their dishwasher tablets - the Sun All-in-1 brand in Belgium, Finland, Netherlands and Portugal, and the Svelto brand in Italy. Then, with the ecommerce journey in mind, the new pouches' specially engineered structure was put through Amcor's Ecommerce Laboratory to assure they'll arrive at their destinations in optimal condition.

In the pharmaceutical space, Amcor launched AmSky™, the world's first recycle-ready Polyethylene-based thermoform blister packaging for pharmaceuticals. This innovation enables healthcare customers to improve the recyclability of their packaging, benefiting from up to 70% reduction in its carbon footprint when compared to standard alternatives on the market today.

Also for the healthcare market, Amcor announced the ongoing development and trials of recycle-ready high barrier sachets and stickpacks for pharmaceuticals.

INNOVATION CENTERS 2022 AND BEYOND

In 2021, Amcor announced it would expand its global network of innovation centers, to two new sites in Asia and Europe. The expansion of our site in Ghent, Belgium will offer customers a unique space to test new ideas and technologies, and improve the sustainability of their products, as well as the overall consumer experience.

3) HEAR FROM THE EXPERTS IN THE BIG IDEAS WEBINAR SERIES

Our Big Ideas webinar series was even bigger and better this year! Dozens of new webinars and Q&As feature Amcor's packaging experts and guest speakers from Mintel, The Carbon Trust, Boston Consulting Group and more. Our speakers cover overall sustainabilty in packaging plus deep dives on specific markets (i.e. pet food, snacks, baby nutrition, pharmaceutical).

Here are our top five sustainability webinar recommendations, and there are plenty more sessions to explore. See all the webinars here.

1. Helping brands navigating Europe's current and coming packaging sustainability regulations
2. The journey to medical packaging sustainability and recyclability in collaboration with HPRC
3. Reducing your pack's carbon footprint, with the Carbon Trust
4. The future of plastics recycling with Infinity Recycling
5. The road to more sustainable pharmaceutical packaging

We also help you navigate the European sustainability landscape with region-specific sessions. Check out the local-language webinars for FRANCE, SPAIN and GERMANY which review sustainability trends, targets, and solutions for those regions.

4) NEW CONSUMER RESEARCH

The latest consumer research shows that many shoppers will pay more for more sustainable products and packaging. Shoppers are actively seeking information about sustainability. How can brands make the most of these trends?

Download our latest research reports to find out more:

AND COMING SOON IN 2022:

Emerging soon is Amcor LifeSpan® Performance Paper, a natural evolution in paper packaging - launching first in European markets and coming soon globally.