For product and brand managers responsible for food and beverage packaging, 2018 marked an increased focus on reducing single-use plastics. In the past year, more than 250 companies signed the MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to reduce or eliminate single-use plastics.

Avery Dennison has some ambitious sustainability goals it wants to hit by 2025. It wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent year-over-year, go up to 95 percent landfill-free, eliminate 70 percent of matrix and liner, and source film and chemicals more responsibly, among others.

Building on its theme covering the evolution of pouches, the 2019 Global Pouch Forum announces an agenda featuring presentations focused on innovation, sustainability and developing markets, such as the burgeoning cannabis industry. 

Mondi and Werner & Mertz are introducing a new, patented innovation in 2019: A 100 percent recyclable pouch with detachable decorative panels. The pouch replaces conventional flexible packaging for Frosch products and features a pioneering design that overcomes many shortcomings of the recycling process.

The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) recently published a new fact sheet that summarizes the key findings of its recent sustainability report, “A Holistic View of the Role of Flexible Packaging in a Sustainable World.

Sonoco has announced the expansion of its environmental and social stewardship initiatives to include commitments to achieve greater packaging sustainability and recycling in support of the food industry’s efforts to reduce global food waste.