BPF’s Philip Law invites the plastics industry to GRIPS 2024, a major industry conference to commemorate the legacy of former BPF president David Williams and explore innovations in sustainability.
Get to GRIPS on the 19th of September! This unique event on Global Innovation on Sustainable Plastics is to be held at The University of Sheffield and should be a priority date for all those who are serious about the sustainability of plastics. It is co-hosted by the British Plastics Federation (BPF) and the government's Innovate UK. The BPF is proud to play a part in staging this event. It will cover innovation in plastic materials, products, processes, logistics and infrastructure. It will also feature many thought leaders on plastics and sustainability. The event has been made possible by a financial award from The Worshipful Company of Horners, originating in the generosity of Jane Williams who made a bequest to the Horners in memory of her late husband, David Williams, a former very distinguished president of the BPF and a past Master of the Horners’ Company.
As someone who knew David well, I can't think of a finer way of perpetuating his memory. He had a particular interest in those sustainability innovations which brought social benefits. He also loved attending industry events where he could maintain his immensely wide range of contacts. We do hope that you will attend and participate in the conference sessions and panel debates, visit exhibition stands and widen your networks. It will be a unique occasion both on account of its immensely broad coverage, through the involvement of universities and industry together, and of course, for many, the memories it will evoke of working with David Williams.
The legislative programme announced during the recent King’s speech, foreseeing the preparation of some 40 Parliamentary Bills, was hugely ambitious. As a manager keen to keep staff focused on priorities, I can see the dangers of a scatter-gun approach. I hope that the government has the resources - both in civil service expertise and financially - to be able to pull this off. We will be following progress closely but, at the end of the day, what will count is how the sum of all new government actions will affect the competitiveness of UK plastics.
BPF has been exhorting its members to make contact with new MPs and facilitated this by drafting a template letter for companies to send. We also provided a post-election manifesto to remind MPs of our top priorities. These included; accepting UK plastics as a 'foundation industry' and seeing improvements in the waste management of plastics, in particular, acceptance of mass balance measurement techniques for chemical recycling. We also want our competitiveness sharpened up by a major national skills upgrade. Like many other sectors, we have been calling for a review of the apprenticeship levy. We have also asked for a review of support for exports through trade fairs and also an alignment of legislation with EU laws where it makes sense, so we do not end up duplicating compliance costs.
BPF has already coordinated the preparation of a submission to the newly appointed exchequer secretary, James Murray MP, pressing for a response to last July's consultation on the role of mass balance in chemical recycling. Governments are not allowed honeymoons!
In the meantime, I do hope to see as many of you as possible at GRIPS on September 19th, a date I hope is burnt into your hearts.