On 25th October, the 4evergreen alliance held the European Parliament Workshop “Unboxing the Challenge of Fibre-Based Packaging Circularity.” Co-Hosted by the Cabinet of Nils Torvalds, Member of the European Parliament and Vice-President of Renew Europe, the event was a great opportunity to discuss with policymakers how our members are collaborating to meet the EU Green Deal targets.

“Our members at 4evergreen are clearly showcasing how the whole fibre-based packaging value chain is taking action to meet the ambitious target set by the EU Green Deal. Together, they are developing a set of guidelines and recommendations that will help us reach our goal, a 90% recycling rate of fibre-based packaging in Europe by 2030,” explained Sarah Price, Sustainability Director at Sappi, while presenting the goals and activities of the alliance.

 

Speakers at the Parliament during the 4evergreen workshop
Speakers during the panel discussion at the 4evegreen workshop in the European Parliament

 

Indeed, increasing societal expectations regarding the sustainable transition of the packaging value chain, together with new policy initiatives such as increased legislation on Circular Economy, including the revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation are pushing the industry to clearly demonstrate its relevance and added value to ensure that best practices are leading the way forward.

The purpose of the event was to provide attendees -both industry representatives and EU policymakers- with an overview of the work, achievements and future objectives of the 4evergreen alliance.

As explained by Delia Harabula, the Sustainability Advocacy Lead EMEA at Amcor, the 4evergreen’s  ‘Guidance on the Improved Collection and Sorting of Fibre-based Packaging for Recycling’ and the ‘Circularity by Design Guideline for Fibre-Based Packaging’ are crucial tools that will help drive the sector towards its ambition of perfecting the circularity of fibre-based packaging. The event followed with a panel discussion moderated by Senior Public Policy Advisor Vlad Olteanu, During the discussion, MEP Nils Torvalds, Director of Circular Economy at the Commissions’ Directorate General on Environment Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea and Industry Consultant Berry Wiersum, participated in a constructive debate on how the fibre-based industry can contribute to the ambitious targets of the EU Green Deal and meet the challenges in the current packaging landscape and under the upcoming legislation.

“In a world of increasingly scarce resources to stand a chance of reaching our climate targets, we need to look at how we use products as an engine of innovation and growth,” commented Torvalds, who welcomed the participants. “Dialogue and collaboration between industry and policymakers are crucial to tackling these global challenges.”

The 4evergreen alliance combines the expertise of more than 130 industry experts to spur innovation throughout the entire value chain. This occasion was hopefully only the first of many other opportunities to interact directly with policymakers and work together towards a more circular society.