A busy start to 2023 for packaging
Jude Allan MIMMM, Chair of the IOM3 Packaging Group, looks back at the Group’s activities so far in 2023 and what's expected over the coming months.
As we head into March and towards spring I want to capture what’s been happening and some plans for the year ahead.
Already this year we’ve started to tackle some of the big topics in the packaging world, including packaging data, designing for packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR) and looking to celebrate the future trailblazers who are going to be making a difference in the years to come.
We started with a webinar on packaging data and some of the basic questions that everyone needs to understand.
Packaging data. Who, what, when, where?
Legislation is requiring more and better data than the packaging sector has ever had to supply. In 2022, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) introduced the Plastic Packaging Tax, and this year the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is bringing in new data reporting requirements as part of pEPR. These are different schemes requiring different datasets for different purposes.
In this webinar we hosted data experts from HMRC and Defra to help members, their businesses, and the wider packaging community to understand the differences and get to grips with what’s required. The independence of IOM3 provides us a great platform to share the information for both schemes and to make it as accessible as possible, which is an essential part of our role.
If you were able to join us for the webinar, I hope you found it interesting and helpful. If you were not able to watch it live it is available to watch on demand.
- Free
Packaging Data - who, what, when, where?
Join IOM3, HMRC and Defra to understand what you need to know about the data reporting requirements for Extended Producer Responsibility and the Plastic Packaging Tax.
Packaging Innovation and Future Trailblazers
IOM3 attended the Packaging Innovation Show at the NEC and it was great to meet some of you, thank you to everyone who came along to the stand to talk to us.
One of the things that I had the pleasure of doing was launching the Future Trailblazer Awards, these are awards for talented individuals who are relatively new to the sector but who are already showing their potential to blaze a trail. Packaging professionals who are going above and beyond to shape the future of packaging.
There are five categories for the awards which are based around specific areas of activity and the relevant job functions, the descriptions below include a guide to the job functions. This list is not a definitive because we know that job titles vary and we want to be as inclusive as possible.
- Designing for the Future - packaging technologists and designers/print technologists
- Production Delivery - production operative and engineers/shift leaders
- Sustainable Thinking – anyone with a sustainability focus
- Delivery Management - project managers/artwork coordinators/quality assurance
- Making it happen – marketing/procurement/supply chain and logistics/quality assurance
There will be more activity to follow around the awards but the key thing is that they are not just about the person who has already done an something amazing, it is for the person who is doing their thing in an amazing way.
So please do look out for the person or people within your organisation who are starting to show their trailblazer potential and think about nominating them for an award.
Materials World
I wrote a piece for the February issue of Materials World about designing for pEPR
The next article is a great piece about the Open 3P data standard project. This is such a brilliant project; as we know reliable packaging data has never been so important. This second phase is extending the project beyond plastic packaging to all materials across all packaging sectors will make a real difference to the understanding of the whole packaging value chain.
I’d encourage you to look into the project and think about contributing as they are really keen to get the broadest perspective of packaging sectors and packaging materials.
Packaging networking lunch
For an in person networking opportunity I’d like to share an open invitation to a packaging networking lunch at the RAF Club, London, on 23 May.
The event will be co-hosted by the Midlands Packaging Society (MPkgS) and the London & South of England Packaging Society (LSEPkgS) and is open to anyone who has an interest in packaging, along with guests who might not currently be members. The cost of the lunch is £72.50 per person.
For more information about each society or questions about the event, please contact Keith Barnes of MPkgS at [email protected], 07775 696078 or Gary Freeman of LSEPkgS at [email protected], 07710 244081.
It has been a busy start to the year and we have some great plans for other activities through the rest of the year so please do look out for news of upcoming events and get involved.
All the best
Jude Allan MIMMM
Chair, IOM3 Packaging Group