News

Jenny Walther-Thoß
15. December 2025

News from Brussels, Strasbourg, and Berlin

What a year, what a rollercoaster ride! In the latest 2025 newsletter, we recap the developments of the past three months for you. There’s a lot going on – from PPWR, CSRD, and EFRS standards, EUDR, CBAM, green claims, EmpCo, and the UWG amendment to the German Packaging Act. We also recommend the four most […]

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Louisa Kröning

New developments and opportunities at EcoVadis

Sustainability remains a key growth area and a decisive competitive factor for companies in our industry. With a sustainability rating from EcoVadis, companies can communicate their environmental, social, and ethical performance effectively and transparently to the outside world. 2025/26 brings new requirements and opportunities, which we present to you in a compact form in the […]

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Jenny Walther-Thoß

Hard currency: The carbon footprint – and how you can easily calculate it

On the one hand, Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) and Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) are not regulatory requirements within the PPWR. On the other hand, without a certified carbon footprint, you can no longer make a compliant, comparative environmental statement. And there are other reasons for calculating it. We show you two reliable ways – and […]

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Jenny Walther-Thoß

Europe Check: Where and when is the use of recycled materials financially worthwhile?

The use of plastic in packaging is associated with costs throughout Europe that do not apply to other packaging materials. From plastic taxes to EPR and license fees, special levies are incurred, but these vary from country to country and are also subject to different conditions. We take a look at the EU plus the […]

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Matthias Giebel

PCR shortage and PPWR: status and strategies

BP Consultants has prepared a comprehensive status report on behalf of Interzero on the increasing PCR shortage under the requirements of the PPWR. We present the key findings in this article. We highlight the central role of PCR (post-consumer recyclates) in the EU agenda, provide a status update on the current use of recyclates, examine […]

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Matthias Giebel

EPR systems in Europe: monopoly or competition?

Looking at Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems in Europe, one finds a colourful mix of different approaches – from monopoly through quasi-monopoly to competitive models. This raises the question: which approach works best? A recent study examines precisely this question. We have analysed the study and present the most important findings in a compact form. […]

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Oliver Smith

The top 10 applications in the European beverage market

The European beverage market reached a total volume of around 323 billion units in 2024. The ten largest categories cover around 91 percent of the market. Despite clear leading markets such as Germany, the UK, and Russia, many categories have their own regional focuses. There are also significant differences in packaging systems. We present the […]

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Oliver Smith

Review and outlook: The packaging industry in 2025/2026

What we already observed at the end of 2024 remains true: uncertainty, limited growth momentum, and structural shifts are shaping the European packaging industry. But even if the overall picture remains challenging, there are segments that are sending out slightly positive signals. In our review and outlook, we look not only at the uncertainties, but […]

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Jenny Walther-Thoß
18. September 2025

News from Brussels, Strasbourg, and Berlin

In our overview of the latest developments from national and European regulators, we provide information on the opportunities, background, and public consultation of the Circular Economy Act, give an overview of the status of EPR systems in Europe and the revision of the EU Waste Framework Directive, inform you about the publication of the 2025 […]

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Jenny Walther-Thoß

Who is who? The distribution of roles in the PPWR

The new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) tightens extended producer responsibility while clearly defining the roles of market players. The key question is: Who is considered a supplier, producer, manufacturer, and distributor, and what obligations do these roles entail? The challenge is that many companies operate in multiple roles simultaneously, and each of these […]

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