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It’s clear that if we want to protect our planet, we have no choice but to continue investing in infrastructure to help us curb packaging pollution.
And that’s exactly the intention behind the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) — it’s a mandate to slow down the steady increase of packaging waste before it’s too late.
However, the regulation also presents dangerous changes with the potential to harm shared environmental goals, such as achieving net-zero carbon emissions, and thwart progress already being made towards long-term, innovative solutions.
It’s clear that if we want to protect our planet, we have no choice but to continue investing in infrastructure to help us curb packaging pollution.
PPWR is the most consequential reform left to settle before this current EU term comes to a close. It stands to impact almost everything around us, from items and products we use every day, like foodstuffs and digital devices, to the clothing we wear, and the convenience that single-use packaging affords our busy lives.
I write this to implore policymakers to consider the tradeoffs this policy yields, and to instead focus on leading the way for long-term innovation and broader collaboration on the problem of packaging.
The regulation also presents dangerous changes with the potential to harm shared environmental goals.
A one size-fits-all approach could lead to practices with unintended consequences on the environment and consumers:
1. The policy puts at odds carbon emissions reduction. By imposing reuse targets on some transport packaging, the proposed legislation suggests a ban on lightweight and recyclable materials such as shrink wrap used for the inter-business transportation of goods, and encourages a transition to cardboard materials. For us at Kraft Heinz, this would result in 47 percent more carbon emissions — a detrimental impact we simply cannot afford to risk.
2. The policy risks impacting the health and safety of diners, while threatening to increase food waste. It suggests a ban on all single-use food packaging used within the hospitality industry — including packaging that can already be recycled, such as single-layer plastic sachets and glass mini jars. While there is certainly a need to curb single-use packaging in this space (specifically items that aren’t yet fit for recycling), it ignores the primary function this packaging affords business owners: ensuring the quality and safety of their foods.
Instead of blanket bans, we should come together to support innovation with the power to transform current systems into a circular economy.
The industry is already doing this — in fact, the sustainable-packaging market is expected to grow to almost $470 billion in 2027 (World Economic Forum). The industry understands the severity of the problem we’re facing and is investing to find the solutions.
For instance, in recent years, Kraft Heinz has been diligently working towards redefining packaging norms by introducing alternative materials with a significantly reduced environmental impact. We’re rethinking most of our packaging to make it more recyclable, reusable and compostable — with the aim of 100 percent of our packaging fitting into this definition by 2025.
Kraft Heinz has been diligently working towards redefining packaging norms by introducing alternative materials with a significantly reduced environmental impact.
Notably, we’ve also worked on new materials that go beyond conventional plastic films for sachets and dip pots. Working with industry partners, we’ve found a way to create packaging from seaweed that is dissolvable after use within home gardens or composts. We’ve also been working to transition from multi-layer sachets to mono-material sachets made with recyclable materials and recycled plastic instead of virgin plastic.
In 2021, we introduced Italy’s first fully recyclable baby food pouch, which is easily supported by local recycling infrastructure. And, after significant hours of testing and research and development, we recently introduced a 100 percent recyclable plastic squeezy bottle for Heinz Tomato Ketchup.
It is imperative this legislation wholeheartedly embraces innovation like I just shared, ensuring a regulatory framework to not only address current challenges, but to also pave the way for dynamic advancements in packaging practices.
The reality is that innovation requires time, investment and an environment that encourages experimentation. Let’s invest in this instead, and in a regulatory environment offering the necessary flexibility and incentives for such innovative thinking.
Let’s pave the way for a future where packaging does what it needs to do — like keep our food fresh or keep us safe and healthy — while actively reducing its environmental impact.
As the PPWR undergoes scrutiny and refinement, let’s remember that true progress is about finding common ground.
The PPWR presents us with an opportunity to shape the trajectory of sustainable packaging. Let’s not let that opportunity go to waste.
