Regulation, economic pressure and the challenge of moving innovation to commercial scale are among the forces reshaping packaging sustainability, according to Packaging Europe brand director Tim Sykes, interviewed for PKN Industry Update.
Speaking to PKN managing editor Lindy Hughson ahead of the Sustainable Packaging Summit, Sykes said circularity was shifting from a voluntary ambition to a prerequisite for the packaging industry.
In Europe, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is driving that transition, but its implementation has also exposed uncertainty around definitions, requirements and how particular provisions apply across different packaging formats and market sectors.
“There are some fundamental disconnects,” Sykes said. “The circular economy is being legislated into existence, but it still needs to function as a viable economy.”
The experience offers lessons for Australia as it considers regulatory reform, including extended producer responsibility. Sykes said Australia could build on Europe’s work while seeking to avoid some of the difficulties emerging through implementation.
At the same time, the business case for sustainability is facing greater scrutiny. Chief financial officers, shareholders and investors are asking harder questions about the cost of new materials, systems and infrastructure.
“Some of the low-hanging fruit has been picked, and there is now much more rigorous attention on the business case for action,” Sykes said.
He believes EPR and eco-modulation will be important in directing funding through the circular economy and making sustainable packaging changes commercially viable.
Reuse faces the same economic test. While numerous pilots and start-ups have demonstrated reusable packaging models, relatively few have progressed to widespread adoption.
Sykes pointed to city-wide programs involving groups of brands and retailers as one possible route to scale. Partnerships between packaging suppliers, consumer goods companies and retailers could also help establish common formats and infrastructure.
“The key is moving reuse from an unusual option to the way consumers usually buy and consume a product,” he said.
That transition will depend on more than packaging design and logistics. Consumer behaviour – particularly the preference for convenience – remains a significant barrier.
For plastics, Sykes described circularity as an obligation rather than an opportunity. Plastics remain important in applications where alternative materials could increase resource use or carbon emissions, but collection, sorting and recycling systems must prevent the material from becoming waste.
Developments such as AI-enabled sorting, digital watermarks and improved waste-composition analysis could increase the value of post-consumer resin and give brands better information about design for recyclability. Chemical and dissolution recycling may also contribute, although their technical and economic roles are still being assessed.
Fibre-based packaging is generating some of the strongest innovation activity, particularly technologies that extend paper’s barrier and functional performance. Bio-based coatings derived from seaweed, agricultural by-products and other sources featured prominently among this year’s Sustainability Awards finalists.
Sykes cautioned, however, that replacing plastic with fibre was not automatically the best environmental choice.
“We need to ask when paperisation makes sense and when it may simply be following the trend,” he said.
Key considerations include the effect of coatings on recyclability, the energy requirements of paper production, pressure on global forests and the potential role of alternative fibre feedstocks.
One Australian innovation that caught Sykes’ attention was Heliograf and Vert Design’s Holy Carp home-compostable soy sauce fish, a finalist in the 2026 Sustainability Awards. He said the concept combined a practical response to plastic waste with an engaging consumer experience.
Despite continued creativity, Sykes believes the gap between invention and commercial adoption may be widening as investors and brand owners become more cautious. Collaboration across the value chain will be essential, along with technologies that can reduce development costs and timelines.
AI could play a growing role by accelerating material development, packaging specification and the analysis of data from retailers and supply chains.
The Sustainable Packaging Summit will take place in Utrecht from 10–12 November, with PKN participating as a media partner and reporting from the event. The Sustainability Awards winners will be announced on 11 November.
