This year’s Sustainable Packaging Summit takes place in Utrecht on the 10th-12th November and is packed full of panels, round tables and breakout sessions tackling everything from the roadmap to 2045, global packaging sustainability legislation, EPR and infinite materials to scaling up reuse systems.
In this article, we outline the upcoming highlights of this year’s event. Read on to discover more about the discussions, innovations and opportunities awaiting attendees in just a few months’ time!
Day 1
Futurism
The Sustainable Packaging Summit commences Monday afternoon thinking BIG. So many companies today are preoccupied with meeting short-term goals in the form of 2030 pledges and binding targets - but 2030 is just a stepping stone. In the opening panel, we take a step back to consider the end point of our sustainability journey and the roadmap to 2045, featuring Reloop’s Clarissa Morawski.
Uncertainty for circularity
How do we iron out the wrinkles in the circular economy? In Europe we’re not collecting enough waste to recycle, and meanwhile recyclers are experiencing a recession. In successive panels we explore the regulatory and EPR levers that could accelerate increased recycling, the opportunities and tensions in global trade in PCR – and the keys to ensuring that it drives genuine circularity rather than stifling regional recycling industries.
Reuse: from success stories to scale
Despite many impressive projects, much of today’s new projects in reuse are confined to pilots and niche applications. Dagny Tucker and Tom Domen explore the commonalities and contrasts between their experiences scaling up implementation of reuse systems. Stimulating ideas to discuss at the ensuing international block party!
Day 2
Strategic outlook: leaders of business and regulation
These are particularly volatile times: geopolitically, macroeconomically and in trade. Decades of globalization have stalled and perhaps reversed. Cooperation and harmonization encounter new forces of fragmentation and isolationism. Meanwhile, as much of the world looks to Europe for leadership in transformation of manufacturing, the Draghi report outlined a stark warning of deindustrialization.
Is business and political leadership as committed to sustainable development as it appeared two or three years ago? In what ways does protectionism impact the green revolution? How does industrial policy fit into this picture? Senior FMCG business leaders and Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for the Environment, explore the strategic landscape that contains and constrains our packaging sustainability community.
Paper bottles round table
Few packaging innovations have generated greater interest in the last decade than paper bottles - but in reality, the launch of these formats was the beginning of an innovation journey. We catch up with the innovators (including Jamie Stone of PA Consulting and Alvin Lim from NBCo) to assess how far they have come in terms of balancing functional and environmental performance, and whether we’ll eventually see paper bottles outside of niche applications.
Global regulatory briefing and Q&A
What does the global regulatory landscape look like? In this session, we assemble experts from around the world to brief the audience on the packaging sustainability legislation, regulation, EPR and industry pacts in the pipeline in their regions - and to map out what is getting banned, where and when!
Sustainability Awards 2025
The “Nobel Prize” for packaging sustainability isn’t just about revealing winners of the prestigious trophy but taking a snapshot of the state of global innovation. During this awards evening and networking party, we’ll get acquainted with all 51 finalists selected by the global jury. There will also be food, drink and (according to rumours) dancing.
Day 3
Rethinking paper
Paperization is undoubtedly the big international trend in packaging sustainability. In two panels on Wednesday morning we explore the implications. How much further can innovation push the functional boundaries of fibre-based packaging while delivering net gains for sustainability? Meanwhile, as volumes of paper and board in packaging grow thanks to market enthusiasm, what’s the impact on forestry, should we be diversifying feedstocks for fibres, and what are the opportunities we can grasp?
Reporting round table
As businesses make adaptations to meet their regulatory demands, the elephant in the room is the complexity of the associated requirement to transparently report on compliance. For many businesses, this involves developing entirely new competencies and strategies – and many lag behind the curve. In this session we bring together enterprises to share their practical experience of emerging best practice and the pitfalls they have encountered along the way.
What’s on the Innovation Horizon?
Hear from R&D leaders, VCs and incubators about the state and trajectory of sustainable packaging innovation today – and meet their curated selection of what they consider to be the most exciting start-ups around the world that are poised to become a feature of our packaging landscape.
Conference theme: Innovation, R&D & Emerging Technologies
The Sustainable Packaging Summit is the essential place for glimpsing what’s on the innovation horizon. Within the main program, we’ll be exploring the strategic environmental challenges for packaging, and how these are driving innovation – from extending the properties of paper and utilizing novel fibre feedstocks to the innovations enabling increased use of recycled content.
We’ll be hearing from the biggest names in packaging and packaged goods, and from start-ups that are ready to scale. The Summit also hosts the global Sustainability Awards, the “Nobel Prize” for packaging sustainability, giving attendees a snapshot of the most significant recent innovations and the opportunity to network with dozens of finalists. Away from the main Summit agenda, we also present an exhibition space packed with innovation, featuring a presentation stage, international exhibits, a start-up zone, and academic research projects.
Sessions:
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Sustainability Awards 2025
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What’s on the Innovation Horizon?
Speakers:
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Tim Sykes
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Hery Henry
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Fredric Petit
Breakout sessions, stage themes + speakers
Breakout sessions at the Sustainable Packaging Summit provide an opportunity for attendees to zoom in on more focused topics and challenges – and engage with peers across the value chain with shared interests. We’ll be curating a series of round tables, workshops, briefing sessions and presentations to pool knowledge and bring together contrasting perspectives on shared problems or collective opportunities.
Breakouts will take place across three stages:
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The Knowledge Exchange (focusing on information, such as Q&As on European developments, mapping out global regulation and sharing best practice for sustainability reporting).
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The Future Forum (exploring pathways forward for packaging materials and formats, from how to scale collection of flexibles and the agenda for infinite materials to the development of paper bottles and outlook for reuse in fast food).
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The Main Stage, which will host presentations taking a granular view of key sustainable packaging challenges.
Key speakers include:
Nathan Dufour (Zero Waste Europe)
Olga Kachook (SPC Director, GreenBlue)
Rob Buurman (Fair Resource Foundation)
Jordan McKay (Forum for the Future)
Jamie Stone (PA Consulting)
Michelle Carvell (Lorax)
Click here to join the Sustainable Packaging Summit and discover the latest innovation in the industry.
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