Imagining the Packaging of the Future: Sustainable Solutions Unwrapped 1.0

The Valley’s State of Play events bring together the Swiss food innovation ecosystem to explore the opportunities related to key Impact Platform topics. This time, together with Valley partners Nestlé and Tetra Pak, we’ll be taking a deep dive into the world of sustainable materials for packaging.

The issue

Since 2015, the global population has increased by 10%, while the global economy has consumed 70% more materials than what the planet can replenish. As little as 8.6% of materials abstracted are currently repurposed. A shift from the current model – “take-make-waste” – to a circular economy is needed to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, waste and pollution.

The opportunity

Sustainable packaging is a multifaceted opportunity for a more sustainable food system with various environmental, social, and economic dimensions. It involves knowledge sharing and collaboration among different stakeholders, including manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and policymakers, to work towards reducing the overall environmental impact of packaging materials and processes.

Why you should join us

This event will take a deep dive into the world of sustainable materials for packaging, exploring current innovations in alternatives to wood fibres for paper substrates and high-performing bio-based polymers, enabling knowledge sharing and networking, and identifying the most promising business opportunities and areas for collaboration between ecosystem actors. It will also bring together leading Swiss and EU experts and Swiss and international startups who will pitch during the event.

The Agenda

09:30  Coffee & Networking

10:00   Welcome & Desired Outcomes
Food packaging, planetary boundaries and Switzerland’s role
Christina Senn-Jakobsen, CEO – Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley

10:10  State of Play of Sustainable Packaging Trends & Challenges, Q&A
Felix Grünewald, Partner, McKinsey

10:50 Overview of Research & Innovation in Packaging & Sustainable Materials; Q&A

Alternative Fibres

Nanocellulose from residual biomass for food packaging application
Dr. Gilberto Siqueira, Research Scientist, Empa

Alternative high-performing bio-based polymers

Side streams of agri-food Industry as an alternative packaging material
Prof. Dr. Selçuk Yildirim, ZHAW School of Life Sciences and Facility Management, Centre for Food Production and Packaging

11:20 Break: Coffee to go

11:30 The EU Policy & Regulatory Context: the “Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation” : what implications?; Q&A
Hazel O’Keeffe, Partner, Keller and Heckman LLP

12:10 Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley Partners: “Sustainable Packaging: the way ahead”
Ingemar Jacobsson, Director Material Solutions, Development & Technology, Tetra Pak
Rob Hoitink, R&D Packaging Lead, Nestlé 

12:30 Lunch & poster session for startups & academic innovation

13:30 Focus on solutions – Introduction

Christina Senn-Jakobsen, CEO, Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley

13:35  “Modification of Polymers for High Performance Sustainable Plastics Solutions”  (10’)

Prof. Holger Frauenrath, Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Materials (LMOM), Institute of Materials (IMX) at EPFL

13:45  “Recent advances in R&D&I to further drive the implementations toward a bioeconomy”

Prof. Tomas Anderson, Head of Key Accounts, RISE

13:55  Q&A

14:05  Pitches from start-ups

14:40  Interactive session

15:00  Open mic discussion from all groups

15:15  Final remarks, lessons learnt & next steps

Ingemar Jacobsson, Director Material Solutions, Development & Technology, Tetra Pak 

Rob Hoitink, R&D Packaging Lead, Nestlé 

Christina Senn-Jakobsen, CEO – Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley

15:30  End

With support from : Bern Economic Development Agency

GETTING THERE:

BERNEXPO, Entrance A

See general  map of the venue and more specific details to access Entrance A and Parking

For those arriving by car : parking rates are: first hour CHF 4.00, CHF 2.00 per additional 30 minutes. daily maximum for 24 hours CHF 38.00

For those arriving by train/tramt the nearest station is Wankdorf Center (3 min walk)