Agenda
At the Sustainability & Impact Summit 2026, the focus is on what sustainable packaging actually looks like in practice. The agenda brings together regulation, design, materials, recycling infrastructure and carbon, with honest discussion on costs, trade-offs and delivery at scale. Through panels and lightning talks, industry leaders unpack the decisions that will define packaging strategy through to 2030. Discover the sessions driving the next phase of packaging sustainability below.
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
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Registration, Coffee & Networking
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PN Welcome
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Opening Address: State of the Industry
- The sustainability reset: Where UK packaging stands today
- Regulation, costs, and the new commercial reality
- What success looks like in 2025–2030
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Panel: EPR, DRS & Simpler Recycling – Navigating the New Regulatory Landscape
Extended Producer Responsibility & Regulatory Reform
- Real-world EPR cost exposure for brands and converters
- Data accuracy, audits, and reporting readiness
- Contract renegotiation across the supply chain
- How DRS and Simpler Recycling will reshape packaging choices
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Lightning Talks + Q&A: Regulation in Practice
Talk 1: EPR preparedness: lessons from year one
Talk 2: Beyond the Pack: Designing Sustainable Packaging Systems for Planet-Scale Impact New England Seafood
- From materials to systems thinking
- Redefining waste as a resource
- Designing for human behaviour
- The role of ethical data & transparency
- Balancing commercial reality with planet timescales
Talk 3: Topic TBC ABP UK
Speakers
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Networking & Coffee Break
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Lightning Talks + Q&A: Inside the Waste System
Talk 1: Circularity Pays Ocado + Polytag
- Consumer engagement for Reuse
- Rewards for Recycling
- Interactive QR codes to build brand equity around sustainability messaging
- Barcode-level proof of recycling rates through the Ecotrace Programme
- Sorting flexible plastic at scale
Talk 2: Flexibles: the next recycling frontier? Reserved for Zeiss
Talk 3: MRF technology and AI sorting
Speakers
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Panel: Recycling Infrastructure, Waste Systems & Local Authority Alignment
Recycling Infrastructure & Waste Systems
- UK capacity gaps and investment priorities
- Consistent collections and public behaviour change
- Tackling contamination and difficult formats
- Aligning brand ambition with council realities
Speaker
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Panel: Net-Zero Packaging & the Commercial Reality
Carbon, LCA & Commercial Impact
- Measuring carbon consistently across the supply chain
- Scope 3 emissions and supplier engagement
- The “green premium” – who really pays?
- Where investment is flowing and why
- What sustainable packaging will realistically look like in 2030
Speakers
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Lunch & Innovation Showcase
Start-up and supplier innovation demos
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Panel: Designing for a Truly Circular Economy
Circular Economy & Design for Recyclability
- Designing for actual UK recycling infrastructure
- Mono-materials vs barrier performance
- The cost and carbon implications of redesign
Moderator: Zeiss
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Panel: Less Waste, More Value: Unlocking Reuse in a Changing Packaging Landscape
- Packaging & resources in a volatile global marketplace - refocusing on the waste hierarchy
- The commercial opportunities of reuse for the whole supply chain
- Alignment with the EU and priorities for UK businesses
Moderator: Catherine Conway, Director & Policy Lead, GoUnpackaged
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Networking & Coffee Break
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Lightning Talks + Q&A: Innovation Reality Check
Talk 1: Topic TBC Smurfit Westrock
Talk 2: From Source to Shelf: Tackling Forest Risk in Packaging Supply Chains Canopy Pack4Good
- How brands can map packaging supply chains to identify links to high-risk forest sources
- What responsible sourcing looks like in practice across global markets
- How upstream decisions connect to downstream outcomes, including recyclability and circularity
Talk 3: High-barrier fibre packaging breakthroughs
Speakers
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Panel: The Search for Better Alternatives
Alternatives & Material Innovation
- The unintended consequences of substitution
- Compostables and bio-materials: opportunity vs infrastructure
- Food safety, shelf life, and barrier innovation
- How brands balance PR pressure with technical reality
Moderator: RECOUP
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Chair’s Closing Remarks
- Key takeaways
- Industry priorities for the next 12–24 months
- Call to action for collaboration across the value chain
The summit concludes at 17:30. The awards ceremony, gala dinner and evening entertainment follow. Book a combined ticket or awards table on the booking page.
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Drinks Reception & Networking