Abstract

In the European Union, around 88 million tonnes of food waste are generated annually with associated costs of 143 billion euros, according to the most recent estimate (1).

To avoid this squander EUROPEN – a Brussels based association composed of 65 corporate members spanning the whole packaging supply chain as well as of 12 national packaging associations - is at the heart of defending the role of packaging in our modern society. Well-designed packaging should be fit for the product it is protecting, optimise the climate and environmental footprint of the packaging and packaged product and use only as much of the right kind of material as necessary to perform this task. EUROPEN’s vision is based on the commitment to climate neutrality by 2050, the protection of natural resources, the acceleration of circularity and the strengthening of EU competitiveness.

EUROPEN members are leading the transformation of the packaging value chain to deliver sustainable packaging solutions. Through continuous innovation, they are striving towards reducing the carbon footprint of packaging and packaged products. They are developing optimal packaging solutions preventing resource depletion, food and product waste and packaging entering the environment. They are driving the uptake of innovative packaging design for increased reuse and recycling and contributing to the development of new sorting, collection and recycling technologies.