Industry leaders at the Odette 2025 conference shared practical strategies, collaborative projects and innovative technologies aimed at meeting the new requirements while unlocking operational and environmental benefits.
Understanding the EU’s new packaging regulations, and why
action is needed now
The EU’s
Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) aims to improve
sustainability by setting the minimum recycled content targets for packaging at
30% by 2030 and 65% by 2040.
Dr Sarah Faltaous, industrial solution consultant at MHP, an
IT consulting subsidiary of Porsche, outlined what the automotive industry
needs to do now to prepare for the regulation’s sweeping scope. She said that the
PPWR, which replaces the older directive with a binding regulation, introduces
mandatory recyclability grades, digital tracking and product passports,
extended producer responsibility and penalties for non-compliance. It applies
to any material used to “contain, handle, protect and deliver products,”
whether business-to-business or business-to-consumer.
The digital product passport will be a key part of this for
companies in automotive logistics. “The idea is to have a centralised database
that has all the data behind the product, and part of that is the packaging
material,” she said.
By 2030, packaging without at least a performance grade of C
will be banned from the EU market, with interim targets for labelling,
weight/volume minimisation and reuse phased in between 2026 and 2028.
Faltaous urged the automotive sector to take immediate
steps. “This should not be taken lightly or in the sense of ‘let’s wait and see’,”
she said. “Do anything but wait. Start at any point you want, but there is no time
to wait, especially in the automotive industry. We know that it takes a lot of
time to ideate about the system, implement it and then convince people and get
it to be working. My approach that I would recommend is to start with the first
step of assessing what you need to change.”
She said OEMs and logistics firms should start with a comprehensive
packaging assessment, looking at who is responsible for what under regulations,
and whether any steps have already been taken to develop packaging processes in
line with the new regulations. From there, map responsibilities across the
supply chain while monitoring evolving guidance from the European Commission,
and identify efficiency gains that go beyond compliance.
“Having done that, I would move to the second step, and try
to define a compliance framework and a map of what needs to change and when. We
need to have a clear timeline,” she said. “Some packaging has been in the
industry for eight, nine, 10 years, maybe even 20. Who was responsible for all
the documentation?”
Following that, board buy in is the next step, she said. “Management
needs to understand the need for change,” said Faltaous, adding that investment
might be needed in rectifying or improving packaging solutions.
Then, communicate with the wider global supply chain on rules
and regulations being enforced, to ensure the most efficiency and
standardisation as possible. “There are some rules and regulations on the national
level. France has its own, and Germany, Spain and Italy have their own. How do
they contradict or come together with the PPWR? That’s still a very open
question,” she said.
Investment costs versus savings and logistics optimisation
The EU estimated that the new regulations would cost around €9.4bn
in a briefing published in 2022, but estimated that the benefit would be worth €50bn
in the long-term. While this is a big upfront cost for OEMs, suppliers and
logistics firms, Faltaous said that the investment can be used to help optimise
logistics, too.
“Couldn’t we just use this packaging minimisation to also
optimise transportation processes? That would save costs, and this is the time
to do that,” she said. “Do not wait until the regulation is there and then you’re
either fined or banning products.”
This is something that several
OEMs have been implementing, including BMW, which improved
efficiency at BMW Dingolfing with AI-powered packaging and container management.
Stellantis: Turning circular economy principles into packaging
practice
For Marco Cioffi, supply chain global packaging at Stellantis,
the need to act is urgent. “What we will measure in 2030 is something we are
going to design tomorrow,” he said. “We have to be prepared.”
Stellantis has already been implementing its packaging
strategy, and as a result, the OEM has seen a 2-3% overall optimisation on
transport globally, according to Cioffi.
Stellantis’ short-term strategy focuses on avoiding waste
before it happens through reduction and reuse. Reduction measures include
removing unnecessary protective layers after quality reviews, increasing
packaging density through part reorientation and design adjustments, and using
foldable or nestable packaging to cut the volume of empty returns.
The company’s innovation projects demonstrate how circular
economy thinking is being applied to real-world challenges. Examples include
plastic containers with 60% recycled content, fully recycled cardboard
interlayers with improved cushioning, and nestable trays designed for battery
modules, a fast-growing category in the EV era.
Reuse extends beyond closed loops between suppliers and
plants. Overseas pallets, for example, are repurposed for different commodities
before final disposal, and maintenance and repair extend the life of returnable
assets.
But he added that long-term thinking is needed, too,
which means investing in new tools. “We are working internally to develop new
tools to improve the level of analysis about our packaging,” he said. “We need
to know all the details about packaging, about quantity, weight and material
type, and this information today is not always available. We do not always
manage these materials, but we still need to have these details.”
As a result, he stressed the need for data integration. “We
need data interconnection,” he said. “Even if you have the best packaging
system, it’s not enough. You need to understand the packaging system within the
supply chain system.”
Collaborative standards: The Bosch–Audi industry packaging
guideline
Katalin Elizondo-Ujlaky, corporate supply chain management
logistics at Bosch, and leader of the VDA Packaging Standardisation Working
Group, stressed the scale of the task. With each vehicle containing
15,000–30,000 parts, more than 1.6 trillion automotive components are shipped
globally every year, each requiring packaging.
Complicating matters are geopolitical disruptions affecting
raw material supply, including a shift in plastic production from China and the
US to Vietnam, and a web of regulations. The PPWR is only one of around 10
major EU packaging laws, each layered with additional national rules.
But Elizondo-Ujlaky is optimistic about the regulation
changes. “Like everything in life, you can see it as a threat or you can see it
as a shift,” she says. “These regulations are forcing us to standardise and be
more sustainable.”
To cut through the complexity, Elizondo-Ujlaky’s team worked
with 48 companies, including closely with Audi, in 25 workshops to develop a
cross-industry packaging guideline. The document, aligned with input from
suppliers, customers, recyclers and packaging producers, sets out recommended
and non-recommended materials for recyclability, optimisation tips for load
efficiency and transport utilisation, standardisation measures for trays,
pallets and strapping bands, and strategies to increase packaging density and
reuse.
The aim is to harmonise approaches across the automotive
supply chain, including aligning with packaging producers, the suppliers, the
customers, and the recyclers.
She said that Bosch has been taking a similar approach to
Porsche’s MHP, first evaluating its packaging, then defining and driving
standardisation, and integrating software and data as a tool to help. She said
that Bosche is working on a packaging data exchange platform, where data can be
exchanged with suppliers and integrated into the supply chain to reduce time
and effort and improve tracking and documentation.
“Take the legal requirements and optimise your packaging design
and your processes, digitalise, standardise and cooperate,” she said. “Then,
you will be compliant, you will be cost efficient, and you will be sustainable.”
Returnables as a primary lever for waste reduction
Robin Newing, returnable packaging operations leader for
EMEA at digital solutions provider Cummins, said that packaging accounts for
33% of the company’s total waste footprint. He said that Cummins’ strategy is
built around making returnable packaging a primary lever for waste reduction.
The approach rests on four pillars; track and trace, which
involves implementing RFID-tagged, modular, adjustable packaging to manage
pooling networks across multiple sites, intercompany optimisation and converting
flows between company facilities to returnables before tackling external
suppliers, supply base targeting focusing on high-cost freight lanes and
geographical clusters to enable efficient return flows, and data-driven design,
using freight cost and volume data to identify waste hotspots and guide
conversion priorities.
“Most of the time when you hear about packaging is when it’s
a problem. When it’s a problem, it’s too late, you’re already incurring damage,”
he said.
Circular economy principles, industry-wide collaboration,
and adoption of advanced tracking and data systems can deliver measurable
savings.
To realise these benefits, automotive logistics must act now.
That means designing for 2030 today, integrating packaging into broader supply
chain strategies, and treating it not as an afterthought but as a driver of
cost savings, emissions reduction and resilience.
Innovations and regulations in packaging will feature
heavily at our upcoming Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain Global event in
Plymouth, Michigan. We will host a special
packaging focus, including strategies shared by directors of GM, Nissan and
Magna International. Register
now to secure your place!
