At Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026, the future of sustainable packaging is shaped not by materials or technology, but by the people, partnerships, and collaboration that turn innovation into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The real barriers to sustainable packaging aren\u2019t scientific or mechanical; they\u2019re human. Even in an era of robotics, AI, and digitised production lines, collaboration and coordination remain the factors that determine whether innovation succeeds or stalls. Collaboration, not chemistry, will define the next phase of progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve reached an extraordinary moment in material science. Every month brings another innovation: fibre-based flexibles that challenge plastic, biopolymers with improved oxygen barrier performance, refill systems that actually work in retail environments. Technically speaking, we\u2019re closer than ever to circularity. And yet, the system still struggles to move as one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Events like Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026 are vital. They bring together brands, converters, material developers, and recyclers under one roof, offering a rare chance to align perspectives, share breakthroughs, and turn isolated innovations into coordinated action. Real-world collaboration starts at moments like these, where dialogue and hands-on experience transform ideas into scalable solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s because materials don\u2019t exist in isolation; people do. Retailers, converters, brand owners, and contract manufacturers often operate in silos, even when they\u2019re all trying to solve the same problem. Each node of the value chain is optimising within its own constraints: procurement teams seek cost stability, converters look for line efficiency, designers chase brand impact, and sustainability leads the push for recyclability. The result? Brilliant intent, fragmented execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
True progress will come from connection and collaboration, not competition. The most transformative projects aren\u2019t defined by a breakthrough substrate; they\u2019re defined by trust. Joe Muscat, Environmental Stewardship and Innovation Senior Director at Haleon, illustrates this vividly: \u201cWe\u2019ve seen enormous progress when you bring together technology, robotics, and packaging expertise. For example, vision-based systems can detect recyclable materials on a line, but it takes collaboration with robotics providers, waste facilities, and other stakeholders to actually make it work at scale.\u201d Technology can exist, but without alignment between people and processes, it cannot scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Muscat expands the point beyond the shop floor: \u201cIn Europe, brands are working together on trialling digital watermarks on packaging. However, by working across the industry, we can run large-scale trials and generate data that benefit everyone, from producers to consumers. Collaboration adds value in unexpected ways.\u201d The lesson is clear: the more a system enables participants to share knowledge, the more everyone benefits. Fragmented effort may create isolated gains, but collaborative ecosystems produce systemic change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike Wilson, Chief Automation Officer at MTC, reinforces the cross-industry perspective: \u201cWe bring together parties from different industries and share learnings so we don\u2019t reinvent the wheel. Collaboration enables knowledge transfer across sectors, making supply chains more effective and resilient. The key is working together to achieve collective success for UK industry.\u201d Wilson\u2019s observation underscores a critical truth: innovation doesn\u2019t exist in a vacuum, and knowledge is a renewable resource. If you multiply it through partnership, the impact compounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emmanuel Ewa of Innovate UK echoes the theme, highlighting the importance of integrating those who will actually use a solution from the start: \u201cWe encourage collaboration between those adopting technologies and those developing them. People who benefit from the solution need to be involved from the start and bringing in academic institutions and cross-sector partners ensures the solution works effectively. Collaboration is essential to make a good solution in the end.\u201d Too often, sustainability initiatives falter not because of bad ideas but because they fail to account for the real-world contexts in which they must operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collaboration isn\u2019t just a conceptual ideal; it\u2019s operationally transformative. Wilson explains: \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid of engaging with the supply chain. There are challenges around labour and efficiency, but collaboration enables you to use your people effectively and apply automation where it adds real value. Working with independent partners like MTC helps you build the business case and specifications so that, when you engage with suppliers and technology providers, you\u2019re making informed, collaborative decisions that reduce risk.\u201d The point is subtle but crucial – alignment reduces friction, limits rework and maximises return on investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shared knowledge, shared progress<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transparency is emerging as one of the most powerful enablers of sustainable packaging development. For all the progress in material innovation and recycling infrastructure, it is the ability to truly understand and share what sits inside the system that unlocks its full potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Arno Melchior, former Global Packaging Director at Reckitt, explains: \u201cIt\u2019s not enough anymore to know a bottle is made of PET or HDPE. We need to know what makes up the HDPE or PET, what\u2019s in the master batch and what substances it contains. Soon, we\u2019ll need a substance breakdown of our packaging, and that\u2019s where suppliers and their suppliers come in. The whole value chain needs to work together, otherwise we don\u2019t get the data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His words underline a growing truth; sustainability no longer resides solely in the physicality of materials, but in the transparency of information. Every stage of the chain, from resin formulation to the filling line, contributes to a data point that determines whether packaging can truly be classed as circular. Without collaboration, those data points remain siloed and progress stalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That spirit of shared responsibility is precisely what William Connolly, Senior Principal Scientist at Diageo, sees as defining the next phase of progress. \u201cWe have the opportunity to lead this change at scale, but it\u2019s not just about being first,\u201d he says. \u201cWe want others to follow quickly. Unlike traditional corporate strategies focused on IP protection, we prioritise industry-wide progress. We share insights with competitors because real change requires collective momentum, not just a competitive edge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a mindset that runs counter to decades of business orthodoxy, one in which proprietary knowledge was guarded rather than shared. Miguel Arevalo, Head of Packaging Sustainability and Innovation at Google, reinforces this approach: \u201cGoogle\u2019s approach to packaging is rooted in partnerships – with suppliers, competitors, and industry leaders – to develop holistic solutions that benefit the environment and society. At Google, we believe innovation in sustainability should be a collaborative effort, not a competitive one. We openly share our learnings and insights, empowering companies to develop solutions. It\u2019s not enough to claim something can be done; we believe in demonstrating how solutions are achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That philosophy of continuous improvement also runs through Greg Bentley\u2019s reflections on craft and culture. \u201cWe have a Japanese word we use [at Suntory] \u2018Monozukuri\u2019, which describes the craft and mindset of manufacturing,\u201d he says. \u201cTo achieve that, you need a passion for it. The theory is important, but you only really internalise it when you get into the nuts and bolts of it and do it yourself. It\u2019s at that point that you can develop new ideas. I keep finding myself saying, \u2018right, that\u2019s it, we can\u2019t go any further with this.\u2019 But I think back to 15 years ago, when I thought we couldn\u2019t go any further with lightweighting packaging, but look where we are now. And yet, every time you think \u2018that\u2019s it, we can\u2019t do anymore,\u2019 someone else will come along and prove you wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bentley\u2019s insight is a fitting close to this thread; progress isn\u2019t a straight line of invention, but an iterative process of learning, sharing, and refining – together. The industry\u2019s next great leaps will come not just from the materials themselves, but from the people who make them possible. Those willing to collaborate across boundaries, share data, align incentives, and view every small gain as part of a collective whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because, in the end, circularity isn\u2019t just a technical system; it\u2019s a human one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How human networks drive packaging innovation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collaboration isn\u2019t just a nice-to-have; it\u2019s the engine of innovation. In industries as complex and fast-moving as packaging, breakthroughs in materials or processes only pay off if teams are structured to act on them. Technical solutions, no matter how sophisticated, falter without alignment, trust, and shared accountability across the chain. Few organisations illustrate this better than Amazon, where building the right teams is considered as important as creating the right products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johan Hannekom, speaking from experience at Amazon, places collaboration at the centre of innovation: \u201cWithin Amazon, the notion is very much that if you have a business opportunity, you should build your dream team to deliver that outcome. These are small, agile teams where each person has autonomy but also takes full ownership of the results. Collaboration isn\u2019t just about working together; it\u2019s about trusting one another to deliver and making sure that everyone\u2019s skills are aligned toward the same goal.\u201d Hannekom\u2019s insight reframes the conversation. Innovation is not a solo endeavour, nor is it merely technical. It\u2019s about creating the conditions for teams to flourish together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He continues, \u201cTrue collaboration means empowering teams with the skills, knowledge, and frameworks they need to succeed. It\u2019s not enough to tell people to innovate; they must have the tools, mentorship, and shared understanding to turn vision into results. That\u2019s where co-creation and effective teamwork really come to life.\u201d Sustainability projects succeed not because of directives or decrees but because people can act with confidence, clarity, and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tanguy Pellen, Managing Partner at Starbek, reinforces this with a cross-industry perspective: \u201cInnovation thrives when we work together, whether it\u2019s through open innovation or partnerships across industries. Many concepts wouldn\u2019t come to life without cross-industry collaboration. Companies like Diageo are working with partners across sectors to tackle the big societal problems, and with that collaboration, scale can be achieved. It\u2019s about learning from the best, partnering with suppliers, academics, and even competitors. It\u2019s a shift from the old \u2018not invented here\u2019 mentality, which is what can stifle innovation and hold companies and even whole sectors back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pellen adds a crucial caveat: innovation without practical end-of-life solutions is hollow. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to claim you\u2019ve found a great solution if it\u2019s not recyclable in practice. Ultimately, we need to have a range of solutions that address both the innovation and the end-of-life stage.\u201d This returns us full circle: human coordination is what turns technical possibility into circular reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next era of sustainable packaging will be defined by connectors, those who can bridge the commercial, creative, and operational worlds, ensuring that everyone along the chain can use, process, and profit from the innovation at hand. The materials are ready, the systems exist, and the technology can support them. What remains is the alignment of incentives, the trust between people, and the courage to collaborate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because in the end, sustainability is a human network. Like any relationship, it grows stronger when we stop working in parallel and start moving forward together. And as these voices across industry consistently remind us, it\u2019s that human connection, more than any chemistry or engineering feat, that will define the next phase of progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initiatives set to be showcased at Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026 demonstrate this principle in action, with the full supply chain represented, from brand owners and designers to converters, co-packers, fulfilment partners, recyclers, and technology providers. Through cross-industry collaboration, live demonstrations, and hands-on workshops, these gatherings foster collective learning. They remind us that circularity is not just a technical aspiration, but a human endeavour, strengthened every time knowledge is shared face-to-face.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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