On July 21, at the ECR (EfficientConsumerResponse) platform, representatives of the largest retailers and manufacturers of consumer goods in Russia, together with representatives of the waste recycling industry and the environmental community, agreed to jointly develop uniform recommendations for sustainable packaging for manufacturers and retailers. Deputy Director for Regulatory Affairs Olga Nikishkina and R&D Director Ravil Fehretdinov took part in the development as invited experts.
The experts noted the critical importance of joint efforts in the field of increasing the sustainability of packaging, both for ensuring sustainable business development and for fulfilling government priorities and initiatives in this area. According to the participants of the meeting, consumers are also showing no less attention to packaging solutions.
The mission of the recommendations being developed: “to ensure the fastest and widest possible transition to the most sustainable solutions in the field of packaging without compromising on product safety”, - was supported by the majority of the meeting participants.
The experts identified the main tasks in the development of recommendations:
1. Reducing the variety of packaging solutions towards sortable, recyclable;
2. Transition from individual strategies to uniform recommendations for packaging solutions;
3. Continuous and open dialogue around the development of packaging solutions and the infrastructure of the cyclical economy in the field of packaging;
In developing the document, experts will use the most advanced local and international experience, including similar recommendations from ConsumerGoodsForum and ECR Austria, as well as the X5 Group's recommendations on sustainable packaging, presented in 2021. The requirements of Russian legislation and the requirements of the EAEU, the level of development of the local infrastructure for waste management, as well as the experience and knowledge of experts in this area will be taken into account.
ECR (Efficient Consumer Response) is a platform for collaboration and exchange of experience between manufacturers and retailers who join forces to offer consumers the best quality of goods and services, jointly generating demand, reducing costs throughout the supply chain, and developing common technical support standards. ECR brings together over 80 suppliers and retailers from 20 European countries.