Editorial | Victoria Hattersley

EDITORIAL |

It’s been a strange and difficult few months for us all, and even if we are now returning to some semblance of ‘normality’, nothing will quite be the same again – for our industry and for the world as a whole. Perhaps that’s how it should be.

But we still need to look to the future, and we can’t turn our eyes away from the unfolding catastrophe – let’s not mince words – that is the global climate crisis. With that in mind, this issue we will be focusing on some of the topics we would have addressed in our Sustainable Packaging Summit (which, you may recall, was due to take place in lovely Lisbon in October). Since we have taken the sad but necessary step of cancelling this we will instead be going ‘virtual’ with a series of high-level panels, presentations and networking sessions across October and November – including the eagerly-awaited announcement of our Sustainability Awards 2020 winner! In the meantime, Tim Sykes takes a look at the 30 shortlisted submissions across our seven categories. The cross-section of this year’s finalists provides a snapshot of the trends and challenges that the value chain is responding to and the increased diversity of circular economy strategies – such as design for recycling, reuse systems and bringing increased functionality to paper. 2020 is also the first year we will have LCA tools as finalists, reflecting the increasingly holistic sense of sustainability.

Also in this issue, I talk to Adeline Farrelly from FEVE about the Close the Glass Loop initiative and its ambitions to dramatically increase bottle-to-bottle recycling throughout Europe. And following his overview of the machinery sector in our last edition, Fin Slater explores software solutions for a range of different packaging applications – from labelling to improving efficiency. Meanwhile, Libby Munford talks with Brent Lindberg, founder of Fuseneo, to catch his curiosity on innovative packaging design for leading brands (including Amazon) in the e-commerce market. Finally, on the subject of ‘Enhancing Material Properties’ we ask the question: How far can paper replace plastics?

All that remains is for me to say a huge thank you to the 275 entrants to our Sustainability Awards – the highest number so far, from across every continent – and we hope to connect with as many of you as possible during our virtual events. Sign up to our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to ensure you don’t miss the details of the programme. n Victoria Hattersley

Victoria Hattersley

vh@packagingeurope.com | @PackEuropeVicky