News - Foxwood: Logistics Consultancy, Asset Tracking, Reusable Packaging and Interm Support

EUROPEN, the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment, is dedicated to striking the appropriate balance between packaging’s role in protecting goods and meeting market demands on the one hand, whilst minimising environmental impacts on the other.

EUROPEN believes that packaging can only be assessed in relation to the product it contains and the function it serves. Such an assessment will show that in the context of sustainability, packaging should be considered as part of the solution and not part of the problem.

EUROPEN's corporate members take seriously their sustainability responsibilities and believe that they can learn and benefit from the insights and knowledge of key stakeholders coming from a range of different fields. Therefore, EUROPEN invited representatives from the European Commission, Environmental Organisations, Trade and Consumer Associations, Academics, and Retailers to discuss the packaging value chain’s contribution to sustainable consumption and production.  The development of this Green Paper was based on an open dialogue about packaging’s role in society and the goals the packaging value chain should seek to achieve. The intention of this paper is to serve as the starting point for a continuing discussion of this quest. A copy of the green-paper can be downloaded by clicking on this link  GREEN_PAPER.

A key concern expressed in the green-paper by the environmental NGO representative is that:
"the focus on reducing material use for consumer packaging could require greater use of secondary and tertiary packaging, which could off-set any environmental gains made through reductions in consumer packaging. Therefore, the representative believes that packaging should not replace or overcompensate for suboptimal logistics and thus logistics experts should be consulted to strike the right balance. A complete review of the packaging system is needed, to ensure that the best combination of these different types of packaging is used to minimise the environmental impact of the entire supply chain"