Packaging Speaks Green: sustainability and manufacturing a key topic at Bologna’s international forum

A date at Eataly World with the best known retailers and brand owners, including Amazon, Alibaba, Coca-Cola, Fater, and Coop, among others, providing a global showcase of best practices. Space will also be dedicated to the WWF international project for the development of sustainable business models, which will be outlined by Tim Letts, WWF’s deputy director for climate and energy.

Brand-new information on trends in purchasing and sustainable consumption will be explored at the forum, based on research conducted by Nomisma, Nielsen, and WPO (World Packaging Organization).

The sustainability of manufacturing, from packaging onwards, will be a much-discussed topic at Bologna’s International Packaging Speaks Green Forum, scheduled for 20 – 21 February (at the FICO Eataly World Congress Hall). Organised by UCIMA and the FICO Foundation, the forum aims to promote meetings and discussion among institutions, industries, and academia on B2B and sustainable development.

A priority now for consumers, businesses, and institutions, given the awareness of the need to reduce the environmental impact of the production chain. Packaging, in particular, has received the lion’s share of this attention, but it cannot be the only problem tackled in order to reduce environmental impact. Which is why the forum will be offering a comprehensive overview of the many aspects of a manufacturing which – it is hoped – is becoming increasingly green, complemented by a showcase of international best practices.

Packaging Speaks Green will be focussing on examples to follow set by leading global companies, such as Coca-Cola, Fater (a joint venture between P&G and P&G, Angelini), Alibaba, Amazon, and Coop, to name but a few, which will be examining the question of sustainable industrial activities to create value and share it with all the stakeholders.

More specifically, speakers will include Clay Dockery (vice president of the corporate brands division at Massimo Zanetti Beverages USA), Roman Manthey (global supply chain engineering & infrastructure director at Coca-Cola Bottling Investment Group), Joseph Rake (senior packaging manager at Amazon), Chiara Faenza (head of sustainability and value innovation at Coop); Wei Ji (director of public affairs at Alibaba) and Enrico Dolce (product development & sales manager at Fater, a joint venture between P&G and Angelini).

WWF’s deputy director for climate and energy Tim Letts, meanwhile, will be presenting the work done by the World Wildlife Fund, alongside businesses, to set and achieve sustainability goals, in particular those linked to the development of low-emission business models that are compatible with brands’ economic growth.

Packaging Speaks Green also aims to focus on the need to implement wide-reaching green solutions, highlighting global consumption trends and the level of standardisation achieved through the work of stakeholders in scientific and institutional fields worldwide.

“Sustainability must be a lifestyle and must be reflected in our everyday actions, as well as in the way we manufacture and consume – explains chair of the FICO Foundation and agro-economist Andrea Segrè – which is why the FICO Foundation is committed, together with UCIMA, to providing a forum that will bring together, in Bologna, a number of the world’s leading brands, whose responsibility it is to contribute to achieving a sustainable, circular society. The choices made by these businesses have a real impact on our future ».

“Italy needs a “Green Industry” plan, along the lines of that devised for the “Industry 4.0″ approach, and with its all-Italian production chain in the packaging industry, Italy ranks as leader and forerunner in the development of sustainable solutions and has got everything it takes to both drive and guide a green revolution in packaging materials and technologies on an international scale” says Enrico Aureli, chair of UCIMA.

The Forum will also offer opportunities for the presentation of extensive unpublished data, with consumer trends to be examined by Silvia Zucconi (market intelligence manager at Nomisma) based on research conducted on sustainability in buying decisions with the company’s research unit which monitors the packaging adopted for fast-moving consumer goods (Osservatorio Packaging del Largo Consumo); also contributing will be Nicola De Carne, client business partner for retailer services at Nielsen, Paolo Spranzi (associate partner at McKinsey) and Johannes Bergmair (secretary general at the WPO , World Packaging Organization).

On the matter of legislation and society, European, Indian, American, and Australian institutional representatives will provide insights into the regulatory and consumption context in their respective locations. Speakers will include Nerida Kelton, executive director at AIP (Australian Institute of Packaging), Sanjay Kr. Chattopadhyay (director at IIP, Indian Institute of Packaging), and Cui Lin, secretary general at CFPMA (China Food and Packaging Machinery Industry Association).

While one of the leading sustainability experts for the Asian area, Sudhir Mishra (founder & managing partner of Trust Legal Advocates & Consultants), will also be enriching the debate.

The future of sustainable packaging starts now and this concept will be laying the foundations for the forum’s last in-depth discussion, on green materials and technologies. Paola Fabbri, associate professor at the University of Bologna’s department of civil, chemical, environmental, and materials engineering, followed by Alessandro Manzardo, co-founder of University of Padua venture SPINLIFE, who will be kicking off by debunking a few common myths. Before handing over to a panel discussion involving Marco Versari, head of institutional relations at Novamont, Carlos Trubacz, strategic marketing manager at Amcor, Håkan Pettersson, business segment director at BillerudKorsnäs, and Mariagiovanna Vetere, global public affairs director at NatureWorks and Braskem Netherlands BV.

End-of-line strategies will be discussed, meanwhile, by Laure Cucuron, general manager of the European office of TerraCycle and representatives of HERA and AliPlast.