Editorial Libby Munford

Coronavirus: the word on everyone’s lips at the moment. The gravity of the issue is becoming clearer day by day, with the World Health Organisation announcing (as of 7th March 2020) that the global number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 100,000 and is rising rapidly. Italy is on lockdown and it’s likely that by the time you read this magazine several other countries follow suit.

As a safety precaution, there have been a number of event postponements affecting the packaging industry, from across the pond in Asia and the US to impending events around Europe. With less physical meetups and ‘shaking of hands’, will the lack of this small gesture have an impact on progress in the industry this year on a wider scale?

At the Packaging Europe headquarters, we are currently talking to industry leaders to gather their insights about how the industry is taking steps to meet these challenging times. We predict likely issues for production and supply chains due to quarantine, self-isolation and sickness and ponder how this pandemic could impact collaboration across our global industry.

Trends associated with the sustainability debate have been plunged into question over health implications. For example, Starbucks has announced it is banning reusable cups in response to the virus. Amidst the rising panic amongst consumers, a trip to my local butchers highlighted the issues presented by this global phenomenon in a microcosm. The rise of packaging-free aisles and ‘less packaging’ has been driven forward by sustainability goals, but do hygiene and aseptic conditions trump this trend in challenging times of serious illness outbreaks? Usually a popular butcher shop, the counter remained full towards the end of the day, perhaps due to its non-packaged ethos? Meanwhile, as consumers avoid shopping in public places, is this crisis likely to accelerate the transition to e-commerce?

More generally, the value of automation and hermetic packaging is amplified by risks of human contact. By providing a barrier between potential human contact within, for example, the food industry, automation better insulates against staff absence, and maintains aseptic conditions for food more easily.

Let’s also focus on this edition which is packed full of progress. Siemens shares how digitalization can be leveraged to evolve monomaterials, an area of particular focus at the moment due to its recyclable properties. We anticipate interpack with insights from a leading provider of packaging solutions into the main trends they expect to explore at the event, and hear about the latest developments in the food waste debate from leading initiative, Save Food.

Vicky Hattersley discovers dispensing innovation in the pharmaceutical sector, whilst Elisabeth Skoda explores e-commerce challenges, and Fin Slater delves into the rise of canned water and wine. Elvan Onal, the vice president of homecare for P&G Europe talks to us about their sustainability approach in a conventionally less ‘sustainable’ sector, and Joe Franses of Coca-Cola European Partners chats to Tim Sykes about the different approaches the iconic brand is taking to eliminate packaging waste and reduce environmental footprints.

I’d also like to remind our readers that the Sustainability Awards 2020 is still open for entries; don’t forget to submit for free! Winners will be announced in a special awards dinner at the highly anticipated Sustainable Packaging Summit to be held on 15-16 October 2020 in the European Green Capital, Lisbon. Go to: thesustainabilityawards.com n

Libby Munford

Libby Munford lw@packagingeurope.com @PackEuropeLibby