The Packaging Regulation between environmental, economic and social sustainability
Much discussed in recent months, both in the packaging environment and among end-users and along the entire supply chain, the packaging regulation is at the centre of a heated debate that highlights on the one hand the need for an even more stringent commitment to sustainability, and on the other hand the indispensable role that packaging plays in consumer safety, which is also guaranteed by the correct storage of the product.
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022PC0677)
Whether we are talking about the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics markets, or the home & personal care universe, a multi-faceted sustainability linked to waste reduction, consumer health safety, and the protection of workers employed in the sector takes centre stage. This is what is stated in a joint press release by SLC-CGIL, Assocarta, FISTel-CISL, Assografici, and UILCOM-UIL in which companies and trade unions join forces to demand the immediate amendment of the regulation that would significantly affect the employment level of a sector where employees perform qualified functions on average and with prospects for professional and employment growth over time.
(https://italiaimballaggio.it/mercato/normativa-europea-imballaggi-proposta-una-revisione).
Preoccupazioni emergono tra i produttori di materiali riciclati, che vedono comunque un’opportunità nelle elevate percentuali di riciclo richiesto per il packaging immesso sul mercato; nell’industria del packaging che è impegnata da anni in un processo di innovazione costante sul fronte della sostenibilità muovendosi tra riflessioni etiche e R&D; tra gli utilizzatori finali come il lattiero caseario, l’ortofrutta, il farmaceutico, che pongono l’accento sulla gestione della catena logistica, lo spreco alimentare e la sicurezza del consumatore intravvedendo una sostanziale inapplicabilità dei dettami della Commissione Europea. La riflessione comune: servono un insieme di indicatori e una griglia di valutazione che sposti il concetto di sostenibilità nella direzione di un autentico sistema di misurazione condiviso tra tutti i paesi europei.
Se ne è parlato diffusamente in un convegno promosso da UCIMA con stakeholder provenienti dal mondo produttivo e politico istituzionale. (https://italiaimballaggio.it/opinioni/il-nuovo-regolamento-imballaggi)
Concerns emerge among producers of recycled materials, who nevertheless see an opportunity in the high recycling percentages required for packaging placed on the market; among the packaging industry, which for years has been engaged in a process of constant innovation on the sustainability front, moving between ethical considerations and R&D; among end users such as the dairy, fruit and vegetable and pharmaceutical industries, which place the accent on logistics chain management, food waste and consumer safety, glimpsing a substantial inapplicability of the European Commission's dictates. The common reflection: we need a set of indicators and an evaluation grid to move the concept of sustainability in the direction of an authentic measurement system shared by all European countries.
This was discussed at length at a conference promoted by UCIMA with stakeholders from the world of production and institutional politics. (https://italiaimballaggio.it/opinioni/il-nuovo-regolamento-imballaggi)