1-  Could you tell us a little about your position and ELIPSO’s activities?

 ELIPSO is the trade organization representing plastic packaging manufacturers and converters. With recognized sector expertise, ELIPSO’s teams accompany and support our manufacturers in the context of the ecological transition and the need to establish a circular economy (reduce, reuse, recycle).

As Managing Director, I have chosen a multi-disciplinary team that addresses the technical issues of the circular economy, as well as legal (regulatory frameworks and litigation), economic (price regulation, modeling) and financial (subsidies, investments and costs) issues, political (public affairs) and those linked to competitiveness and employment within our industry.

Within ELIPSO, you’ll find 5 areas of expertise: “Circular Economy” (3Rs, EPR); “Public Affairs” (legislative and regulatory issues); “Communication”; “Regulatory Affairs and Safety” (food contact and cosmetics compliance, critical substances, etc.); “Member Relations” (trades); and soon, an “Economic Affairs” area.

2-  You have been ELIPSO’s General Delegate since November 2022. What is your roadmap for your association?

I presented my roadmap from the end of 2022 to the ELIPSO Board of Directors, which validated it: it consists in putting our organization back at the center of the environmental debates concerning our sector, around the 5 major issues of the coming years and in the context of the European Regulation under discussion (PPWR): the recyclability of plastic packaging; obligations to incorporate recycled materials into packaging (with the issues of material availability and decoupling the price of virgin and recycled); re-use obligations (with the need to contextualize targets in this area); marketing bans with the issue of single-use packaging and, finally, safety issues (return to food packaging, critical substances…).

3-  ELIPSO has been a member of the 3rd college of the CNE (Packaging Manufacturers) since its creation 26 years ago: could you explain why ELIPSO supports the CNE and its actions in favor of Right Packaging?

The CNE’s mission is perfectly in tune with ELIPSO’s aim to be part of the ecological transition by improving packaging design and circularity. The right packaging is the right packaging, both ecologically and economically.

The CNE’s positions are credible and recognized because they are elaborated within an “independent” ecosystem, bringing together the industry’s stakeholders. It is important for ELIPSO to be part of this ecosystem and to contribute to the robustness of the CNE’s positions, which are an important support in the development of future regulations. 

4-  The CNE listens to its members. What topics should the CNE document in future working groups, CNE PACK FOCUS mornings, etc.?

It seems to me that the CNE, by virtue of its cross-disciplinary (multi-material) nature, could establish common positions on comparative life-cycle analyses (LCA) between materials, with a proposal to develop a common methodology. The problem with comparing packaging made from different materials is that such comparisons need to be based on a solid foundation of common criteria. The CNE can contribute to this.

In this respect, a closer association with technical centers (e.g. IPC), eco-organizations and public authorities could make sense.

The CNE could also provide a multi-sector regulatory overview of packaging, to give its members greater visibility.

Other categories of members could be integrated into the CNE, such as the “Réseau VRAC”, so as to ensure that, without opposing models, compromise solutions are found and exchanges never break down.