CPG majors, MacArthur Foundation form paper packaging dream team
Dubbed the PaperFlex Consortium, its members include CPG heavy-hitters Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever. By joining R&D forces, members aim to bring viable alternatives to flexible plastic packaging to consumers faster.
The consortium will focus on markets where flexible plastic packaging is widely used and a lack of collection and recycling systems increases the likelihood that it will end up in the environment. For those markets, the consortium aims to design alternatives that are recyclable as collection systems improve and biodegradable if they unintentionally end up in the environment.
Over the next few years, the consortium, through its members, intends to shape, fund and conduct collaborative trials covering innovations in areas such as biodegradable coatings and other technologies that deliver product protection, shelf life and consumer usability while improving how paper-based materials perform on manufacturing lines. Joint research and development efforts will help develop and scale promising innovations faster and at a lower cost, getting new options to consumers sooner.
(RE)SET, a sustainability transformation consultancy, will provide the PaperFlex Consortium with strategic guidance, innovation expertise, and coordination of members and partners.
“Responsible paper-based flexible packaging solutions don’t yet exist at the performance, scale and cost required,” Sander Defruyt, Strategy Lead for Plastics at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said in a press statement. “This consortium signals strong demand for them – and real ambition from six consumer goods companies to help scale them.”
Category: Chemicals & Materials
