Industrial and environmental transition
How to adapt packaging to new environmental requirements (3R/ PPWR Decree)?
05
June

Published on: 05/06/2024
French and European regulations are moving towards a circular economy, encouraging sustainability and waste reduction, prompting companies to rethink their packaging in favor of recycling and reuse. What are the solutions for adapting packaging to the new environmental requirements?
The regulatory context: the AGEC Act and the PPWR regulation
Nationwide: AGEC law and 3R decree objectives
The AGEC Law (Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy), enacted in 2020, aims to transform our production and consumption model from a linear economy to a circular economy. This law focuses on five areas: move away from disposable plastic; improve consumer information; combat waste and promote solidarity-based re-use; act against programmed obsolescence; and encourage more responsible production.. With regard to packaging, precise targets are set for each period by implementing decrees. The 3R decree, covering the period 2020-2025, is the 1er decree implementing the AGEC law on packaging, the ultimate aim of which is to put an end to the marketing of single-use plastic packaging (whether recyclable or not) by 2040. For the period 2020-2025, the decree sets the following intermediate targets:
- Aim for 100% recycling of single-use plastic packaging
- Reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging by 20%, at least half of which through reuse.
- Move towards eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic packaging.
At European level: PPWR regulation
The European PPWR (Proposal Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) is designed to harmonize packaging management across Europe and improve the treatment of packaging waste in all member states. This text is currently being consulted by the European Commission, and should be adopted during 2024. It represents a key element of the EU's Green Pact, aimed at transforming European economies to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The eco-design approach applied to packaging
Eco-design and life-cycle thinking
Eco-design integrates environmental aspects right from the design phase of a product, with the aim of reducing its impact. Lifecycle" thinking is essential to this approach. It involves taking into account all the impacts of the product/packaging pairing throughout the product's life cycle. An eco-designed packaging therefore has less environmental impact than a packaging of similar use, while preserving or even improving its functional, technical and economic qualities.
How to implement an eco-design approach?
There are six stages in the eco-design of a product:
- Framing the approach: defining the company's objectives and challenges, choosing the system to be studied, defining the scope: product, packaging, product/packaging pairing, setting up the project team.
- Environmental assessment of the reference situation: identification of the main contributors and improvement levers relevant to the system studied. Possible use of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method.
- Finding eco-design avenues: Identify solutions to reduce these impacts, by optimizing design, materials and processes.
- Decision support: take into account the costs and expectations of stakeholders to choose the best eco-designed options.
- Comparative environmental assessment : study of the environmental benefits of implementing the proposed and selected actions. Possible use of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method
- Communication : Inform customers, suppliers and internal staff of the benefits of the eco-designed system.
The Life Cycle Assessment method for an eco-design approach
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the reference method for the quantitative environmental evaluation of products (goods or services), in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. LCA is an essential tool for eco-design: it takes into account all stages of a product's life cycle, from design to disposal of a system (product, packaging, product/packaging combination). This makes it possible to identify points of environmental impact and find solutions to reduce them. What's more, this method studies several indicators across all environmental compartments: water, air and soil, to avoid pollution transfers. LCA thus serves as a decision-making aid to guide companies in their actions to reduce the ecological footprint of products while maintaining their functionality.
CTCPA can help you adapt your packaging to new environmental requirements
Consulting services: BPI eco-design diagnostic, packaging LCA, 3R roadmap, packaging SWOT analysis to comply with 3R decree
We offer companies support in their eco-design approach. Under the coordination of Actia, the CTCPA is accredited by BPI France as an expert in the following fields Eco-design diagnostic.
The CTCPA also offers a individual coaching on the 3Rs decree. For example, for a product/packaging pairing: identification of existing packaging alternatives on the market that are compatible with the product's technical requirements, then analysis of these alternatives with regard to the 3R decree, and finally decision support: packaging laboratory test and/or environmental assessment of alternatives using the LCA method.
Training
The CTCPA's Sustainable Development and Packaging teams combine their expertise to offer you a one-day distance learning e-learning course (alternating time in virtual classes with a CTCPA expert and time on your own on the DOKEOS platform) on the following topics reducing the environmental impact of packaging comprising the following modules: regulatory issues (3R decree, PPWR) and key definitions, implementation of the 3R decree, and eco-design of packaging.
The CTCPA also offers a one-day training course oneco-designto help companies raise their teams' awareness of the challenges of eco-design for food products and packaging.
Group projects
The CTCPA contributes to the consolidation of methodologies and data for the environmental assessment of packaging using the LCA method. In particular, the CTCPA coordinated the PACK-AGB project (September 2022 - June 2024), which led to the revision of the methodological framework for the inclusion of packaging in the public database. AGRIBALYSE and establish 385 packaging life cycle inventories. The PACK-AGB project was carried out within the framework of GIS REVALIM, co-financed by ADEME, and brought together all the downstream technical institutes (ITERG, IFIP, IFV, ACTALIA), as well as IPC for its expertise on plastic materials and the Bleu Safran design office.
Contributions from the PACK AGB project will feed into the Agribalyse 3.2 update scheduled for summer 2024.
Contact Environment and Packaging Department - contact@ctcpa.org
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Article written by Pauline AUDOYE - Environment and CSR Project Manager
Related article: Controlling permeability and defects in packaging (ctcpa.org)