Trade and Sustainability: Preparing for New Packaging and Packaging Waste Requirements Around the World

ICYMI:  More than 45 export markets require or are considering requirements related to packaging and packaging waste.  U.S. exporters of food and beverages need to be aware of what’s coming down the pike and prepare to comply with new and often differing packaging and packaging waste requirements.

Packaging plays a critical role in the food industry and food manufacturers rely on packaging to protect products during the shipping process and keep food safe for consumption. Sustainable packaging is becoming increasingly important to stakeholders around the world. Consumers and governments are concerned about the impact packaging has on the environment and expect manufacturers to embrace sustainable practices in product packaging, including for food products. Given increased attention on sustainability, policy makers are moving quickly to implement regulatory requirements related to packaging standards and packaging waste. U.S. food producers need to ensure they have full visibility into regulations being implemented around the world to ensure compliance and maintain safety and integrity of their products.

A recent study by TradeMoves of U.S. food and beverage exporters’ awareness and readiness for new packaging regulations found:

• There is a significant gap in U.S. exporters awareness of sustainable packaging requirements in export markets, and most are not ready to meet new requirements. Key markets including the EU, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Brazil, India, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom are pursuing bans on single use plastics, minimum recycled content requirements, restrictions on materials, taxes and fees to facility recycling infrastructure and more. Most U.S. exporters require more insight and intelligence on the new requirements as well as more resources to monitor and implement changes to comply.
• U.S. exporters are working to find the right balance for packaging that ensures food safety and adequate shelf life; can be recycled, reused, or composted; and is cost effective. In their efforts to transition toward more sustainable practices, U.S. exporters face myriad of sustainable packaging regulations with difficult compliance timelines, few sustainable packaging alternatives which meet food safety and quality standards, and an inadequate recycling infrastructure to support demand for the adoption of sustainable packaging.
• While challenges are numerous, U.S. exporters are looking for opportunities in this evolving regulatory environment. U.S. exporters are increasing their efforts to adopt more sustainable practices and products, understanding that welcoming these new sustainability requirements allows them to highlight their sustainability commitments to consumers, grow their competitive advantage where possible, and collaborate with other companies to create new technologies that reduce waste.

 
Looking ahead, recommendations from the food industry to USDA include the following:

• Continue and expand engagement with foreign government stakeholders to reinforce that food safety is of paramount importance and that sustainable packaging requirements must include realistic compliance timelines which reflect current recycling infrastructure and packaging alternatives. Additionally, engagement should promote forums where exporters can provide input, expertise and best practices in packaging sustainability to policy makers and other key stakeholders.
• Increase tools and resources available to U.S. exporters, including enhanced monitoring and communication to increase transparency into foreign regulatory requirements and level up regulatory awareness for food companies of all sizes.
• Further activate public-private partnerships devoted to packaging and sustainability and allocate new and additional funding to research and development for sustainable packaging alternatives. Such initiatives should incorporate packaging companies as part of the solution and consider the approaches taken by other countries to support their companies and exports with respect to sustainable packaging.

 
Recognizing that solutions to reduce waste and innovate involve other government agencies and local municipalities, recommendations to policy makers and legislators at federal and state level include:

• Invest and expand recycling infrastructure in the United States to help exporters comply with foreign minimum recycled content requirements.

• Limit regulatory divergence in the United States to allow exporters to focus efforts on complying with complicated foreign requirements.
• Increase consumer education that promotes their participation in recycling to build up feed stock for recycled plastics.
• Encourage broader use of technology in packaging to include more information via the label to educate consumers on recycling best practices.

 
Packaging is pivotal to the safe delivery of foods and beverages to consumers worldwide. Pursuit of sustainable packaging measures in a multitude of foreign markets is creating a complex environment for exporters to navigate due to the lack of harmonization and differing priorities. To better prepare U.S. exporters to comply with these new requirements, greater collaboration among stakeholders must take place with the goal of promoting regulatory awareness, best practices, and packaging innovation. 

Leonardo Boccalon
[email protected]​