We are proud to have partnered with the UK-based campaign group City to Sea, in partnership with Ecosurety, supporting them to host the Global Reuse Summit in Bristol this March. The conference brought together leading voices from business, policy, and the third sector to explore how we can take reusable packaging to the mainstream.
Our experts Ayesha Bapasola and Daniel Stunell worked with City to Sea to create a positioning paper called ‘Global insights on packaging reuse for the UK’ that was shared with attendees to support discussions on the day. The positioning paper offers an overview of global policy lessons for reuse systems including case studies on how a deposit return scheme works alongside a reusable system in Germany, and the influence of reuse policy drivers in France.
Ayesha commented: “The energy at the Global Reuse Summit was electric. There were some really powerful and forward-thinking conversations around the need to move beyond refill/return pilots and put all that evidence and learning to good use to enable market incumbents and disruptors to come together for a reuse transition at scale. This shift will also make it cheaper, easier, and more convenient for consumers to make the right choices, while supporting the design of effective policy and financial incentives.
“I was especially pleased to see reuse initiatives in Indonesia, Singapore, and Colombia represented alongside UK and EU examples. It was a pleasure also to attend an event where more than three quarters of speakers and exhibitors were female, where there wasn’t one disposable cup, fork, or plate to be seen, where the lanyards were returnable, and the banners on stage were made of cardboard.”
Our Head of Environmental Policy & Economics, Chris Sherrington, also led a panel discussion with Natalie Bennett, Green Party member of the House of Lords, and Dr. Debbie Fletcher, Director of Climate at public sector delivery specialists Local Partnerships, to examine the role of policy in shaping the reuse economy.
Ayesha and Chris were joined by Daniel, Simon Hann, Anna Collingridge, and Stephanie Loo.
Creating a reusable system at speed and scale will require collective action from policymakers, businesses, campaigners, and citizens. Technology will also play a critical role in unlocking reuse at scale. It’s through tools like Eunomia’s ReSim, an all-in-one sustainable packaging system simulator, that we’re providing data-driven insights that help businesses and policy makers make informed, sustainable choices. The all-in-one tool evaluates the environmental, financial, and social impacts of single use and reusable packaging across whole businesses and industries.
Europeans generate nearly 190kg of packaging waste per person each year, and in the UK, the current system still favours single-use packaging due to economies of scale in investment, policy, and entrenched consumer behaviours.
Sustainability is becoming a legislative imperative and, for many, a consumer expectation. With long-awaited policies from the EU Green Deal, including Extended Producer Responsibility and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, now coming into focus, reuse presents a key opportunity for investment, innovation and the future of sustainable packaging.
Find out about our Fit for the Future webinar series and other events we’re playing a major role in at our events page.
