INC-5: International pharma industry calls for a balanced UN approach to plastic packaging
The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), based in Switzerland, stresses the necessity of a balanced approach to further UN Global Plastic Treaty negotiations to safeguard human health and the environment.
“The pharmaceutical industry supports global efforts to agree on a UN instrument to end plastics pollution. We believe that it is possible to achieve a treaty that protects both the environment and human health,” Melchior Kuo, manager of Innovation and Vaccine Policy at IFPMA, tells Packaging Insights.
IFPMA’s 2024 position paper on the INC-5 also emphasizes this point while expressing its members’ commitment to drive innovation to reduce reliance on plastic while acknowledging that plastic is at present indispensable.
“Ensuring an appropriate balance between both objectives will require the inclusion of harmonized, targeted extended compliance periods, which will enable the sector to transition where possible while satisfying regulatory timelines,” says Kuo.
“In the limited situations where no feasible and safe alternatives exist at sufficient quality and scale, exemptions will be required.”
Melchior Kuo, manager of Innovation and Vaccine Policy at IFPMA (Image credit: IFPMA).“Plastics play an essential part in public health by enabling the availability of safe, effective and quality-assured medicines for patients around the world. Plastics are used in medicinal and medical products primary packaging and throughout the manufacturing process.”
Pharma stakeholders
IFPMA highlights the need for a UN instrument on plastic to recognize the need for targeted extended compliance periods or exceptions (when no safe or technically feasible alternative is available). The association asserts that this is key to avoiding supply chain disruptions.
The position paper further outlines that the industry “strongly” supports the transition to a sustainable economy while being limited by technology and market development.
“[Pharma] companies are engaged in initiatives to show their commitment to address plastics pollution, including through integrating bio-based packaging materials, sustainable packaging and blister pack materials,” says Kuo.
“Addressing plastics pollution within the pharmaceutical sector and the health sector at large will require a collaborative approach to identify solutions that are tailored to the diversity of roles, responsibilities and regulatory standards across the sector.”
“We can make significant strides to reduce plastics pollution while also prioritizing patient safety and safeguarding access to medicinal and medical products.”
Campaigners have been critical of the recently concluded INC-5, arguing it does not go far enough in tackling the core causes of plastic pollution globally.
