Edible containers, biodegradable containers made with mango or intelligent packaging that warn of the expiration of a product changing color, are some of the novelties of a sector that is undergoing a huge transformation and is increasingly committed to the care of the environment.

This is indicated by Raquel Carboneras, director of Empack, Label & Print, Packaging Innovations and Logistics & Distribution, the reference fairs in southern Europe for everything related to packaging and logistics, which in 2018 brought together more than 400 companies and more than 10,200 visitors.

“Sustainability is not a passing fad but something that is here to stay. Consumers are increasingly aware as European and national regulations impose an increasingly stringent regulation and many major brands such as Danone, Nestlé or Kellogg’s have set out to have a completely different packaging catalog in 2025 to that which they have now. Our fairs are going to open a window to the future of a sector that is undergoing a vertiginous transformation”.

Therefore, in the next edition of these fairs, which will be held jointly in Madrid on November 13 and 14, environmental care will be very present. The incorporation of containers with recycled components, vegetable or compostable origin, the manufacture of degradable packaging, the alternatives to single-use containers, the use of laser labels - which are printed directly on the skin of the fresh products- or the progressive withdrawal of the hi-cones (the washers that join the beverage cans and that pose a danger to the marine fauna) will be some of the issues that will be addressed.

Sustainable packaging has a prize

Another initiative of the event to raise awareness about the environment is to reward outstanding packaging for its sustainability. The annual Inspirational Packaging Awards, organized by Packaging Innovations, awards the IPA Award for Sustainability among its categories. In the previous edition, this award went to a 100% biodegradable and compostable packaging presented by the FLOPP organic detergent brand.

Carbon footprint and Smart badges

In line with the idea that these types of events are increasingly sustainable, Empack, Label & Print, Packaging Innovations and Logistics & Distribution were last year the first fairs to measure their carbon footprint in order to recognize their environmental impact and therefore work to reduce it.

The study, commissioned by EULEN, included both the facilities where fairs, IFEMA pavilions, and the carbon footprint of congressmen, assistants and organizational staff (taking into account accommodation, transportation, etc.) were developed.

Raquel Carboneras adds: “Our fairs are committed to innovation and we try to improve in each edition. Therefore, we grow year on year. Another of our achievements has been the application of Smart Badge technology, an intelligent accreditation that visitors pass through the reader of the exhibitors that interest them and allows them to receive all the information, digitized in an e-mail. So the people who come to see us do not have to load catalogs and brochures and our exhibitors do not have to print them, consequently saving a lot of paper”.