These three EU policies are shaping the future of the fiber-based materials industry - here’s what you need to know
As the dust settles on the European Commission election vote and we await the posting of the top positions, it’s a good time to reflect on the policy landscape and activities in the area of the green economy.
The past couple of years have seen high activity in the development of new policies relating to how we deliver the EU Green Deal through products like packaging and how we communicate about environmental claims.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is at the trilogue stage, currently undergoing linguistic and legal review, and is estimated to be voted on by the new Commission later this year and adopted following that.
This regulation will ensure that all packaging in EU will be recyclable, as well as harmonising how we assess packaging and modulate the extended producer responsibility fees the same ways in all member states.
Even though this has been the most lobbied legislation in Europe and the proposal development has been intense, the bulk of the work still lies ahead. Many details are still to be determined through delegated acts, including how the recyclability of packaging is assessed and the methodology for verifying recycled content.
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, in turn, has been adopted and will be published in the EU Official Journal on the 18th July. This is a policy framework for setting ecodesign requirements for specific product categories, both end products and intermediate products, to improve their circularity, energy performance, and environmental sustainability.
The development of criteria such as recycled content, resource use efficiency and presence of substances of concern for each product category will be handled through multiannual working plans, that will be regularly updated to implement delegated acts.
All products concerned will also need to have digital product passports, which means more transparency than ever before on product composition and parameters such as repairability and durability.
The final policy development to mention is the Green Claims Directive, which has the ambition to tackle greenwashing, ensure green claims are well substantiated and that consumers can trust the environmental labels on their products and packaging. The Directive’s first reading position proposal was adopted in March, with trilogue negotiations expected to start in Q4 this year.
It proposes that substantiation for environmental claims needs to consider the life cycle of the product when applicable, the impact shouldn’t have trade-offs with other impacts and the assessment must be based on valid scientific method and be verified by a third-party. For more insights on this, check out our Green Claim guidebook.
In summary, the design of packaging and products in Europe will change, as well as how we communicate about them. All of this is rooted in the aim to create a more sustainable future with less waste and use of resources.
It is more important than ever for the fiber-based materials industry to come together in solution-oriented associations to make its voice heard. The Commission wants to collaborate with associations representing the industry rather than individual companies.
Looking ahead, we can expect activity to pick up once the new Commission is in place. Our industry will need to monitor any potential changes in its priorities, as there is likely to be more focus on a competitive Green Deal. Companies need to prepare as we will see traditional public affairs continue while a new way of working with delegated acts and standardization is implemented.
This is a blog post from Natasha Chorlton, Manager, Circular Economy and Recyclability at Ahlstrom.
If you want to discuss in more detail how the policies impact our industry or, more specifically, Ahlstrom’s solutions, please reach out: natasha.chorlton@ahlstrom.com,
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chorltonnatasha/