Seven companies from the entire packaging value chain in Austria today announced the launch of the joint „Platform Packaging with a Future“.
The companies - Greiner, ALPLA Group, Nestlé Austria, Coca-Cola Austria, Interseroh Austria, ENGEL Austria and EREMA Group - want to contribute to a more objective debate on packaging and encourage dialogue.
„We were founded at the end of 2019 and are now making a visible start. We are certain that we can achieve more together to bring objectivity to the packaging discussion,“ says Axel Kühner, CEO of Greiner AG, Upper Austrian global player in the plastics and foam industry.
The cornerstones are the promotion of a a functioning circular economy, the creation of greater awareness of the sensible use of packaging or the avoidance of packaging and thus the initiation of a constructive dialogue in the field of tension of the packaging debate with various stakeholders. Each member makes an important contribution to the success of these endeavours.
The crisis shows the important properties of packaging
„The four cornerstones of a functioning circular economy Reduce, Replace, Reuse and Recycle are already being implemented by the members of the platform in many areas. But together we can drive innovation even further. We want to position Austria as a model country in terms of sustainable packaging and be a mouthpiece for it,“ says Günther Lehner, CEO of the Vorarlberg-based ALPLA Group, a global specialist in plastic packaging and recycling.
„During the current crisis, important properties of packaging - the Transport protection, the longer shelf life of food and the hygiene factor - clearly visible. In general, and especially in times like these, plastic packaging has the factual argument on its side - it would be good if it were the same afterwards,“ says Angela Teml, Head of Corporate Communications at Nestlé Austria.
Sustainability remains the focus of all considerations and projects. „For example, the entire building is already Römerquelle PET bottle range made from 100 per cent recycled PET“, says Coca-Cola Austria company spokesperson Philipp Bodzenta one of many examples.
Common principles to „close the circle“
The packaging platform with a future sees itself as a dialogue partner for the further development of the debate packaging - for politics, science, NGOs and consumers.
„We want to take responsibility and seek dialogue with all relevant stakeholders. The goal is a functioning circular economy and the creation of the platform has brought us a significant step closer to this goal,“ summarises Manfred Hackl, Managing Director of the EREMA Group, summarised the objective.
Austria is a pioneer in the circular economy
„It is of central importance that the Companies in the packaging industry networked worldwiden. The circular economy is a supra-regional and interdisciplinary challenge that we can only really pursue with vigour and successfully solve together. As a mechanical engineering company, we make a significant contribution to producing packaging in such a way that it conserves resources and is itself recyclable. The focus is on ‚Design for recycling‘ and new digital technologies. There are a number of companies in Austria whose innovative technologies in this field are in demand worldwide,“ explains Stefan Engleder, CEO of ENGEL Austria.
The members of the „Platform Packaging with a Future“ also have specific concerns that they Discuss with politicians want. „We are thinking of the Introduction of standardised collection systems - especially for the Yellow Bag -, improving the infrastructure in the areas of separation, collection, sorting and recycling, or simply promoting packaging solutions that are 100% reusable, recoverable or recyclable,“ he says. Franz Sauseng, Managing Director of the environmental services provider Interseroh Austria as the first points.
Joint activities
The platform members have planned numerous activities. „We start with a digital panel discussion on the topic of food waste, We will hold talks with political players and seek dialogue with academia and NGOs in regular sparring meetings,“ summarises Günther Lehner summarises the upcoming measures of the platform.
[infotext icon]The Platform for Packaging with a Future is an association of Austrian companies - Greiner, ALPLA, Nestlé Austria, Coca-Cola Austria, Interseroh Austria, ENGEL Austria and EREMA Group - along the packaging value chain. The members of the platform are convinced that it is possible and sensible to utilise packaging in a way that conserves resources. The Packaging with a Future platform aims to work towards optimising recyclability in the packaging industry and constantly improving sustainability in the packaging sector. In doing so, the platform relies on an open dialogue with all relevant players and offers an objective and fact-based discourse.The companies on the Packaging with a Future platform employ more than 40,000 people and generate a turnover of more than nine billion euros[/infotext].
Source: Platform packaging with a future
