In December 2023, PRESERVE, an EU-funded project, kicked off a co-design process to build a Roadmap for sustainable biobased packaging with key stakeholders. The goal: 60% food and drink packaging to be upcycled and made from renewable resources by 2030.
Since 2021, PRESERVE has been working on the development of technologies to upcycle biobased plastics for food and drinks packaging by transforming the new materials into products of better quality or for better environmental value. The project has a clear goal: substituting 60 % of food and drink packaging with PRESERVE´s upcycled solutions made from renewable resources by 2030.
To kick off the design of the 2030 roadmap, PRESERVE organised an event on 11 December 2023 in Berlin, as a side event to the European Bioplastics Conference, The future of biobased packaging. Co-designing a Roadmap to 2030. The aim of the event was twofold: on one hand, to disseminate the latest results of the PRESERVE project to its stakeholders; and on the other hand, to launch a co-design process for the Roadmap 2030 with key stakeholders around the table, aiming at gathering their input.
The event was very interactive, counting 40 attendees, comprising a presentation from Silvia Maltagliati, Policy Officer at the European Commission, and a panel discussion moderated by PRESERVE partner Pieter van Gool (Südpack), with the participation of Kees Joziasse (TotalEnergies Corbion), Charles van Reij (Cradle 2 Cradle), Dr. Kristina Eißenberger (PRESERVE Project Scientific and Technical Coordinator, ASU) and Silvia Maltagliati (European Commission).
The event ended with a mini-workshop with breakout groups moderated by Estela López-Hermoso (EUBP) around the following questions:
Where should research focus on? Design and recyclability at scale, from the design of the product to the recycling providing material back into the value chain, was a key area needing more focus in the future. The need for more collaborative efforts between research and industry to develop added value products ranked also high.
Which products and technologies is the market missing and needing? 4 main areas missing from an industry and consumer point of view were identified: 1. Better separation and recycling techniques; 2. Investment in raw materials; 3. Incentives for bioproducts instead of fossils and; 4. Sustainable concept that consumers understand, and more transparency.
PRESERVE and EUBP are now working on the development of the 2030 Roadmap that will be ready and public at the end of the life of the PRESERVE Project.
More information about the project can be found here
www.european-bioplastics.org/research-projects/
EUBP is the PRESERVE project partner in charge of Policy and Standardisation, Dissemination, Training and the 2030 Roadmap, and supports Communication activities.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 952983.