Six major consumer goods companies have formed a global R&D consortium to accelerate paper-based alternatives to flexible plastic packaging, with an initial focus on markets where collection and recycling systems remain limited.
Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Unilever are the founding members of the PaperFlex Consortium, convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and powered by environmental transformation consultancy (RE)SET.
The consortium will combine research and development capabilities to advance paper-based flexible packaging that can provide the product protection, shelf life, consumer usability and manufacturing performance required for commercial adoption.
Its work will focus particularly on markets where flexible plastics are widely used but collection and recycling infrastructure is limited, increasing the risk that small-format items such as sachets, wrappers and pouches will enter the environment.
The stated ambition is to develop packaging that is recyclable as collection systems improve, while also being biodegradable if it unintentionally escapes into the environment.
Over the next several years, participating companies intend to shape, fund and conduct collaborative trials covering biodegradable coatings, other barrier technologies and improvements to the performance of paper-based materials on packaging lines.
The consortium says pooling R&D resources could allow promising technologies to be developed and scaled more quickly and at lower cost. Each member will, however, continue to determine its own packaging strategy and investment decisions independently.
Sander Defruyt, strategy lead for plastics at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said paper-based flexible packaging solutions did not yet offer the performance, scale and cost required by the market.
“This consortium signals strong demand for them – and real ambition from six consumer goods companies to help scale them,” Defruyt said.
The initiative follows the Foundation’s report, Paper-Based Flexible Packaging – The role it could play in tackling small-format flexible plastic pollution in markets with high leakage rates, published earlier this year and endorsed by 48 businesses, NGOs, investors and academics.
The report identified responsibly designed paper-based alternatives as one component of a broader response to small-format flexible plastic waste. It also established six design criteria intended to prevent new environmental impacts, including recyclability, biodegradability, responsible sourcing and responsible production.
Gilles Demaurex, head of global packaging development at Nestlé, said paper-based flexible packaging could support virgin plastic reduction and help address flexible packaging waste and pollution.
Mars global VP of Healthy Planet and chief circularity officer Allison Lin said the consortium represented a shift away from companies developing packaging solutions independently.
“The consortium challenges the traditional mindset of innovating on our own,” Lin said, adding that structured collaboration could accelerate packaging development beyond what one company could achieve independently.
Unilever head of packaging, digital and transformation R&D Pablo Costa said the company had already made significant investments in next-generation paper-based packaging.
“Through the consortium, we are helping bring together the expertise, investment and shared learning needed to accelerate innovation and support a responsible transition at scale,” Costa said.
The Foundation cautioned that material substitution alone would not resolve flexible packaging waste. It said sustainably sourced fibre, packaging reduction and stronger collection and recycling systems would also be required to deliver the intended environmental benefits.
The consortium is inviting other FMCG companies, innovators, suppliers and investors to participate.
