Packaging Innovations and Empack 2022 will introduce two brand-new interactive features, The Big Debate and the Sustainability Tail, when it returns to Birmingham’s NEC on 25 and 26 May. The features are designed to address the challenges being faced by industry professionals at every point of the packaging journey, from conception to consumer.
The Big Debate, the event’s headline feature, will take place across both days where it will seek to voice new perspectives on the Government’s latest packaging regulations affecting suppliers, manufacturers, and consumers. The expert panel will be made up of industry-leading names, including OPRL’s Executive Chair and Director, Jane Bevis; the UKRI’s Challenge Director of Smart Sustainable Plastics Packaging, Paul Davidson; and Head of Compliance at Clarity Environmental, Martin Trigg-Knight.
Key challenges around reducing the industry’s carbon footprint will be addressed by the event’s brand-new Sustainability Trail. The guide will provide visitors with an ‘eco-roadmap’ of the most innovative ‘green’ products from the show floor. Only qualifying exhibitors that have been vetted by judges and fulfil a host of sustainable criteria will feature.
Alongside the two brand-new features for 2022, the event will host an array of other exciting elements, taking visitor involvement and interaction to new levels, including The Innovation Showcase. Here, 12 new concepts will compete against each other to win the coveted prize of ‘Most Innovative Pack’, with the winner crowned via a public vote. The interactive element of the competition will be sure to excite the event’s thousands of visitors, as they will be able to get up close to some of the most cutting-edge solutions on the market.
Alongside these interactive features, the event will host a new and improved seminar programme set across three stages, featuring a raft of the industry’s biggest and most inspiring experts, including speakers from Ocado, Nestlé, and HP.
Sustainability will be the central focus of the Ecopack Stage where experts will explore ‘the win-win of sustainably designed packaging’ and Extended Producer Responsibility. In addition, the Ecopack Challenge will provide a stern test for innovators, as participants seek to create a novel and sustainable packaging solution. Meanwhile, the Innovation and Design Stage will discuss how to turn bespoke packaging into R&D Tax Credits, and welcome The Refills Forum, focusing on the key factors in delivering refillable and reusable packaging. Finally, the Empack Technology Stage will cover a range of forward-thinking topics, from packaging for e-fulfilment, and how to embrace digital technology changes within a business, through to using technology to maximise sustainability in a growing packaging market.
Renan Joel, Easyfairs’ Divisional Director, comments: “The interactive show features at Packaging Innovations and Empack are something our visitors look forward to year-on-year and are a key part of what sets us apart from other industry events. Our new features, the Sustainability Trail and The Big Debate, showcase our industry’s central pledge to reduce its environmental impact and how we can achieve this. Meanwhile, our seminar programme contains a glittering array of industry names, poised to share their wisdom and know-how to our visitors across three stages. Every session will aim to educate and inspire our guests, as our panels and speakers tackle the challenges and developments affecting our industry right now. The packaging landscape is changing so quickly, and we are delighted to have such a broad range of sessions suited to every possible packaging need, from the design stage through to the shelf. We cannot wait to open the doors in May!”
