The Sustainable Packaging Summit in 2023, that is being held from the 14th-15th November will once again bring together leaders and thinkers from within and outside industry to focus on navigating the roadblocks on the ‘shared pathway to sustainability.’ It will consist of a series of high-level panels, keynotes and workshops and pitches carefully curated to address the dilemmas and and to identify the opportunities to align business, regulation and society around circular, net zero packaging models. Speakers include P&G’s Chief Sustainability Officer Virginie Helias, Jodie Roussell (Nestlé), Kim Houchens (Amazon), Tom Szaky (TerraCycle), circular economy specialists from Europe, USA, China and Africa, and key NGOs such as WWF and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Widening the agenda and impact
Alongside its traditional strategic focus, this year’s expanded Summit, hosted in the Beurs van Berlage in central Amsterdam, will incorporate additional streams spotlighting the technological dimension of packaging sustainability. The Innovation Horizon section of the program spotlights leaders of R&D, start-ups and venture capitalists.
In addition, the Summit will incorporate a networking dinner featuring the announcement of the winners of the Sustainability Awards (the “Nobel prize” for sustainable packaging innovation).
It will also grant attendees full access to the co-located AIPIA Active and Intelligent Packaging World Congress, showcasing the smart technologies that aims to drive circularity, transparency and waste reduction throughout the supply chain.
Meanwhile, the ‘groundbreaking’ HolyGrail2.0 platform, which is aiming to pioneer the application of digital watermarking technology to disrupt the recycling space, will be convening its member meeting in the same venue.
These complementary programs and events combine to make up a platform for leaders in FMCG, packaging and sustainability.
Mission
“We believe that a net zero, circular packaging ecosystem requires system-level change and new mindsets,” commented Packaging Europe’s brand director Tim Sykes. “Addressing this need, we have an ambition to become a kind of mini ‘Davos forum’ specifically for packaging sustainability. The founding purpose of the Sustainable Packaging Summit is to mobilize a community of thought leaders and decision makers to define shared goals, reveal roadblocks, identify technological opportunities, and drive strategic alignment in the cause of accelerating sustainable transformation. It’s a platform for constructively engaging with the things we still need to optimize or fix, for focusing on our next steps, not congratulating ourselves on what we have already achieved. It’s a summit, not a conference.”
Planned in consultation with its Advisory Board and harnessing Packaging Europe’s year-round engagement with the FMCG packaging value chain, the event focuses on carefully defined challenges and objectives.
At last year’s Sustainable Packaging Summit Graham Houlder, managing director of CEFLEX, commented: ‘’Finally, an event with ample time to discuss the key issues being faced by packaging in Europe and globally... and to hear from those in the industry ‘doing the work’. A refreshing approach.”
For more information about the Sustainable Packaging Summit, AIPIA World Congress and Sustainability Awards, and to register to attend, visit packagingsummit.earth/amsterdam2023/.