The European packaging industry has been warned that it is failing to communicate the crucial role packaging plays in modern society by senior LINPAC executives.
Director of Innovation Alan Davey, speaking at the European Plastics and Composites Innovation Days, organised by the European Plastic Converters Association, told delegates: “We have a very good case to make for plastics and plastics packaging but as an industry we are punching below our weight and need to work harder to show retailers and consumers the benefits of packaging for preserving and storing food at a time when food waste is one of the biggest environmental issues facing Europe.”
Quoting war-time British Prime Minster Winston Churchill, Mr Davey said: “‘A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty’ with this in mind we need to address the challenges facing the industry including the changing needs of the market; the effectiveness of packaging; the need to drive down food waste and deliver environmental benefits.”
He also offered an insight into LINPAC Packaging’s Fresh Thinking philosophy and its ongoing programme of innovation. He said: “I think what we all realise today is that the world is changing very fast and that we can’t expect to do the same jobs as we’ve always done in the same way. We need new methods, products, ideas and innovation if we are going to stay ahead of the competition and be in business tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, LINPAC’s Vice President Marketing and Innovation, Joanna Stephenson, also provided a robust defence of packaging when she gave a keynote talk at the thirteenth GE (Greater Europe) PET conference in Strasbourg offering LINPAC Packaging’s views of the key macro trends affecting the design and production of consumer packaging today and emerging factors such as increasing disposable incomes in the Third World, ageing societies in the West and increasing divorce rates.
Ms Stephenson laid out LINPAC’s strategy for sustainability in packaging and how it can impact on every facet of the fish and meat packaging cycle. She said: “LINPAC Packaging has a role to offer leading edge solutions in the key areas of sustainability. By a mixture of investing in best practice and innovation we can offer effective packaging for meat and fish which is valued by our packer customers.
“We ensure food safety by putting products through the most rigorous cleaning and testing processes available and are at the forefront of our industry in terms of concentrating on weight and carbon reduction and recyclability. At LINPAC Packaging we are constantly challenging the boundaries of sustainability.”
Ms Stephenson said innovation is a key part of the chase for more sustainable packaging solutions and that an over-reliance on just one environmental goal like recycling can stifle it.
LINPAC Packaging
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