Albéa Group: EU’s due diligence directive prompts packaging industry overhaul

19 Apr 2024 --- With the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) on the horizon, the packaging industry faces a shift toward greater transparency. Gilles Swyngedauw, the vice president for corporate social responsibility and product sustainability for Cosmetics & Fragrance Packaging at Albéa Group, underscores the impact of this regulatory overhaul on the sector in an exclusive interview with Packaging Insights.

The directive mandates a comprehensive understanding of material traceability, driving companies to trace their materials back to their sources meticulously. 

Swyngedauw stresses the critical need to discern the origins of bio-based products and differentiate between recycled materials sourced from post-consumer or pre-consumer channels. Moreover, ensuring responsible collection practices with regard to social aspects emerges as a key concern.

“This is what we call transparency or traceability,” he elucidates, “something that will be added to everything we are doing today.”

The impending regulation necessitates a paradigm shift in material selection, favoring recyclable options and fostering the development of reusable packaging solutions. With the directive looming, the packaging industry must navigate a landscape where not all plastics are deemed recyclable, compelling stakeholders to be discerning in their material choices.

“We will probably have much less material to select at the end of the day than what we have today,” Swyngedauw asserts, highlighting the critical importance of material selection and packaging design to ensure recyclability and compliance with evolving regulations.

Traceable sources
The CSDDD, which aims to enhance the protection of the environment and human rights in the EU and globally, was agreed upon by the Council and European Parliament in December 2023 and endorsed in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) in March this year. 

The CSDDD was endorsed by Coreper in March this year.“When due diligence regulation becomes mandatory in Europe, we will have to work on understanding the full traceability of our material to go back to the source of those materials. When you speak about bio-based products, it will be critical to understand what the real source of these bio-based products are,” says Swyngedauw.

“For example, if you speak about recycled material, we need to know if it comes from post-consumer or pre-consumer sources. Things like where it is collected and if the collection is properly done in terms of social aspects will have to be taken into consideration.”

“The selection of material will be absolutely critical. How we design the packaging will also be critical to be sure that, on one side, we are recyclable and that we will remain recyclable in the packaging streams that exist today. On the other side, we can also develop reusable packaging because this will also be a big trend requested and by the regulation that we will have to face in the next five to ten years,” he shares.

The new requirements apply not only to the direct actions of the company but also to its subsidiaries and supply chain. EU-based as well as non-EU companies that conduct a set level of business in the EU could become liable for the actions of their suppliers. 

The Albéa VP details that due diligence is one of the biggest trends the packaging industry will have to manage. “We have to be sure that we can trace everything we buy and use backward. We have to be sure that there is no ESG risk beyond those.”

Material selection
Beyond regulatory compliance, the challenge lies in maintaining packaging’s allure to consumers. Swyngedauw stresses the importance of marrying sustainability with consumer appeal, stressing the need for packaging to remain both desirable and eco-friendly.Swyngedauw says the industry is in infacy of bio-based products.

“For beauty packaging, the key motto is to still have desirable packaging,” Swyngedauw affirms, emphasizing the industry’s commitment to meeting consumer expectations while advancing sustainability goals.

As the CSDDD looms large on the horizon, the packaging industry finds itself at a pivotal juncture, compelled to embrace transparency, sustainability and innovation to thrive in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.

“We are still in the infancy of new bio-based products that will come on the market. But today, using crops to make plastics — does it really make sense for the globe, people, and the environment? I am not sure this is a good solution.” 

“It’s imperative to understand that and to make decisions based on scientific facts.”

“In packaging, we have very specific recycling streams to cope with. And this is why not every [material] is okay to use. We are still hearing many bad ideas that look good at first sight, but that are not necessarily the best solution at the end of the day.”

By Radhika Sikaria