France and the UK in particular have quite different answers to the questions raised by sustainability. France, with its Grenelle laws, has opted for the legislative route while the UK has adopted a voluntary approach with the Courtauld Commitment.
Julian Carroll, managing director of the European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment (Europen), said the biggest concern for its members is that conflicting approaches could restrict the sale of global products. This would not be in the interests of industry or the environment.
Talking to this publication, Carroll also discussed the pitfalls of using the term “sustainable packaging” and discussed what regulation there is at an EU level on sustainability that impinges on packaging.