EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 26 No. 01+02/25 www.petpla.net 16 Key topics: Material savings, energy effi ciency, closing the loop & new EU legislation Editour, with a difference: Circular Economy Tour 2025 A new year means a new Editour for the PETplanet Insider team. However, this year is a little different: yes, there will be market analyses, we will visit companies and report on technical innovations. But this time our Editour has a specific theme: the Circular Economy. As this topic is particularly relevant for countries connected to the European Union, these will be our Editour’s 2025 focus. The circular economy is a broad term that is easy to define at first glance, but is very multifaceted in its implementation. The PETplanet Insider team has therefore selected three parameters to serve as the cornerstones of our analyses during our on-site visits. According to our research, ‘material savings’, ‘energy efficiency’ and ‘closing the loop’ are the most important, tangible parameters that are named when it comes to the sustainable production and development of a product or to processes within a company. With our Editour 2025, we want to show how productive, creative and innovative our industry is. Beyond highlighting the economic opportunities within the circular economy, we also want to emphasise the ecological successes that can be achieved sustainably. We will be talking to our interview partners - on site at their premises - about the challenges they face, the techniques they use and their real benefits. The Editour’s focus includes: Material: Lightweighting bottles, closures, labels, and secondary packaging; exploring alternative materials; minimising production waste; and optimising supply chains. Energy: Enhancing the efficiency of compressors and heating systems, reducing CO2 footprints, and exploring renewable energy sources. Closing the Loop: Promoting B2B recycling, design for recycling, and fostering circular economy models and partnerships to increase the availability of high-quality rPET. Some courageous people are leading the way and we believe that this courage must be rewarded, especially in these times: we would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, who have been with us for many years and who continue to demonstrate their innovative strength through new developments. New EU regulations In line with our Editour, 2025 will bring a number of changes for the packaging industry. Here is a small selection: In 2025, the implementation of the Single-Use Plastics Directive, which stipulates a 25% recycled content in PET beverage bottles, will accelerate the transition to a circular economy and bring about fundamental changes in the market for both new and recycled PET. The European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is expected to come into force in mid-2026 after being formally adopted by the EU Council in December 2024. The regulation sets out new requirements for the design of packaging and the use of materials. The PPWR regulations include reducing the weight and volume of packaging, minimising hazardous substances in packaging materials and promoting the circular economy through organic recycling. But let’s take a look outside the box - there’s a lot more to come. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive for example. It is one of the most important sustainability regulations in the EU. The directive, which is the successor to and extension of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), has applied to public interest entities since 2024. It should actually apply to all other large companies under accounting law from 2025; these are obliged to report on the 2025 financial year in 2026. Under accounting law, large companies are defined as companies that either have a turnover of more than EUR 50 million, a balance sheet total of more than EUR 25 million or employ more than 250 people (two of three criteria must be met). CBAM 2025: EU measurement method becomes mandatory and register is live The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is an EU measure that has been in force since October 1, 2023. The aim is to minimise the risk of greenhouse gas emissions being shifted to third countries (carbon leakage). With the CBAM, the EU wants to ensure that the same CO2 price is paid for the greenhouse gas emissions of certain imported goods as in the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The CBAM applies to direct production-related (grey) emissions from certain imported goods such as cement, electricity, fertilisers, hydrogen, iron and steel and aluminium, as well as other upstream and downstream products. Companies have had to submit a CBAM report to the EU every quarter since 2024. Since August 2024, the use of default values for calculating emissions is no longer permitted; since then, companies have had to collect and use primary data from the supply chain. What is new from 2025 is that the EU method for calculating emissions will be mandatory. Hitherto, companies have been allowed to determine emissions values in different ways. For example, companies were previously permitted to determine their EDITOUR Sponsors to date:
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