For two years, the annual event of the German packaging industry, the Dresden Packaging Conference, only took place virtually. On 1 and 2 December, the industry was finally able to meet in person again against the backdrop of the Dreikönigskirche church. The dvi event focussed on the circular economy of packaging.
„After two years of corona-related exile in virtual space, we were finally able to hold the industry's traditional end-of-year meeting as an in-person event again. This is a real plus, especially for a networking platform like the Dresden Packaging Conference„, reports dvi Managing Director Winfried Batzke, who moderated the conference. „We had one and a half jam-packed days with lots of start-up power, best practice from leading SMEs and valuable insights from the branded goods industry,“ said Batzke.
Specifically, the question was, what challenges brand owners face in packaging development. Here, managers from Alfred Ritter, Develey Senf & Feinkost and the Gropper dairy provided insights into material availability, design for recycling and the influence of EU regulators.
The conference placed a strong focus on the topic of Recycling and circular economy. Representatives of Stora Enso, Linhardt and Sonoco the current practice, possibilities and prospects for recycling fibre composites, aluminium and composite cans. The company presented a zero waste approach with the possibility of combining recycling and composting of crockery and service packaging. Papstar presented. Other presentations were dedicated to new sorting technologies (Polysecure), software for the IT-supported determination of recyclability (CHIRA) and the use of artificial intelligence to optimise the recycling of plastics (Fraunhofer Institute).
In the substitution ideas workshop Papacks and the three start-ups Plant Pack, Superseven and mujō from the assembled industry More openness to technology and materials as well as innovation and presented their own fibre-based material alternatives. „It's impressive to see how much dedication and creativity goes into the work here. The variety of possible sources for renewable raw materials as well as the range of functionalities from printing and machinability to barriers have met with great interest„, reports Winfried Batzke.
The Dresden Packaging Conference also offered start-up power in the area of reusable solutions for large-scale and system catering, where MealGood presented a holistic cradle-to-cradle solution.
About the EU's plans for a revised consumer protection regulation - and its consequences for the on-pack communication of sustainability, among other things - reported the representative of the sustainability label Flustix. Not only the topic of greenwashing was discussed, but also practices of premature cancellation of goods.
The important Role of the packaging industry in climate protection in general and the Sustainability goals of branded companies illuminated in particular B+P Consultants. Among other things, the insightful presentation dealt with the relevance of packaging for the sustainability goals of branded companies, the Activities of regulators and the development of CO2 as a new additional currency for products and their packaging. Afterwards, a sustainability expert from Linhardt, how to plan and implement a sustainability strategy in the company.
The conference concluded with a presentation by Futury, which brings together innovators and successful companies through co-operation initiatives. Futury 2023 will focus on the topics of plastics, packaging and the environment.
Source: dvi
