While compliance can drive investment in packaging sustainability, it’s only part of the equation. Packaging must first fulfil its core functions–protecting products, ensuring safety and enabling distribution–all while managing costs and meeting business goals. Being strategic in sustainability means finding solutions that work within these real-world constraints, not despite them. In this session we’ll discuss:
- How to tailor solutions to context: Why one-size-fits-all sustainability strategies fail, and how product categories, distribution models, shelf-life requirements, and consumption patterns demand different packaging approaches
- Decision-making frameworks that balance trade-offs: What assessment tools and criteria leading companies use to evaluate packaging options—weighing carbon footprint, recyclability, cost, performance, supply chain readiness, and end-of-life infrastructure to find solutions that optimize across multiple functions
- Consumer acceptance: Which solutions really address behavioural friction, for example around returning packaging, sorting materials, accepting appearance changes, or paying premiums
Plenary
What to expect from this type of session...
Main stage sessions, but not as you know them. Because we’re off-the-record, leading experts can speak candidly about their experience with what works, and what doesn’t. At least half the session is dedicated to audience insights and questions to ensure we tackle the big issues head on.
