Circular Economy Action Plan

At a glance

By putting the accent on the combined goal of increasing sustainability and economic growth, the new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP 2.0) sets the basis for an innovation-driven policy agenda, which must encourage both ambitious and economically viable solutions to scale up the circularity of the EU economy.

Packaging and the Circular Economy

Packaging is an integral and essential part of product supply chains, from the production to the consumption stage. The packaging supply chain, represented by EUROPEN, plays a central role in contributing to a resource efficient and circular economy by protecting products all along the value chains to avoid resource and product waste.

Our members are continuously innovating to deliver on their sustainability commitments, while preserving the integrity and safety of the products for citizens and businesses.

They are developing optimal packaging solutions preventing resource depletion, product and food waste and packaging entering the environment. They are also driving the uptake of innovative packaging design for increased reuse and recycling and contributing to the development of new sorting, collection and recycling technologies.

 

 

 

Our position

To enable the packaging supply-chain making bigger leaps towards a more circular economy, any new packaging-related policies and regulations must be guided by the following general principles:

 

  • Preserve the integrity of the Single Market for the harmonised implementation and strengthened enforcement of packaging legislation across the EU.
  • Protect the functionality of packaging ensuring its intended use is fulfilled, thus preserving product integrity and safety, and reduce product waste.
  • Embrace a life-cycle approach to circularity, where climate and environmental performance is assessed throughout the entire life cycle of packaging and product.
  • Enable investment in innovation through a future-proof regulatory framework, supporting the development and scaling-up of technologies and infrastructure for the circular economy.