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.

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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

Senior Representative, Valpak

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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

Jayne Cunningham, Group Packaging Technical Manager, New England Seafood
Janet Harney, Packaging Compliance Manager, ABP UK

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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? Zeiss

Talk 3: MRF technology and AI sorting

Laura Fernandez, Senior Sustainability Manager, Ocado Retail Ltd
Alice Rackley, CEO, Polytag
Senior Representative, Zeiss

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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

Dr Adam Read, Chief Sustainability & External Affairs Officer, Suez UK

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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

Tim Barbary, Company Director, Benchmark Consulting Global Ltd.
Jason Galley, Chief Executive, Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association


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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
Matt Crocker, Founder, Re:Water

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Networking & Coffee Break
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Lightning Talks + Q&A: Innovation Reality Check


Talk 1: What happens to compostables in UK waste streams

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

Cait Green, Brand Engagement Manager, Canopy Pack4Good
Julie Elder, Sustainability Programme Manager EMEA, Smurfit Westrock


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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