UK Packaging Pact names Industry Expert Group Chairs

The UK Packaging Pact, a ten-year programme launched in April to transform the UK’s packaging system to help businesses overcome complex packaging challenges, reduce costs, shape and implement policy, and accelerate circular packaging at scale across multiple sectors today named the industry figures who will Chair its five core Industry Expert Groups (IEG) to help deliver the Pact’s ambitious goals.

The new Chairs are

Jamie Riley, Head of Sustainability at Robinson Packaging who chairs the Optimising Packaging Industry Expert Group,
James Bull, Head of Packaging and Food Waste Strategies at Tesco who chairs the Scale Reuse and Refill Industry Expert Group,
Stuart Hayward-Higham, Chief Technical Development & Innovation Officer at SUEZ Recycling & Recovery UK, who oversees the Industry Expert Group in support of Circular Infrastructure Investment,
Clare Edgar, Head of Packaging at M&S, who chairs the Harmonising Data IEG, and
Brian Lodge, Director of Packaging at the British Plastics Federation, chair of the Films and Flexibles Industry Expert Group.
Helen Bird, Head of Packaging at WRAP said, “I am delighted to welcome our Chairs who will provide essential steer on priority workstreams across the Packaging Pact’s Industry Expert Groups. Theirs will be a key role in keeping the Packaging Pact moving forward at pace, and ensuring that action plans and work programmes compliment external initiatives, and meet the needs of industry. I can think of few people better placed than Jamie, James, Stuart, Clare and Brian to fill these crucial roles and look forward to working with them all.”

The Industry Expert Groups will hold meetings in the coming months to agree workplans and initiate relevant task and finish groups​, ​and to set out high-level roadmaps for each Goal. The IEG Chairs will each take a seat on the UK Packaging Pact Advisory Board to provide governance for the Pact, with the Secretariat delivered by WRAP.

Jamie Riley, Head of Sustainability, Robinson PLC “Effective packaging optimisation is about more than simply using less material; it is about ensuring packaging delivers the performance consumers need while minimising environmental impact. As Chair of the Packaging Optimisation Industry Expert Group, I am delighted to work with experts from across the value chain to identify priority actions and support the delivery of practical solutions in areas including unnecessary packaging reduction, design for recycling, recycled content inclusion, removal of problematic materials, bio-based material solutions and emerging recycling technologies. By bringing together expertise from across all packaging materials and formats, we can help accelerate the transition towards a more circular and resource-efficient packaging system.”

James Bull, Head of Packaging and Food Waste Strategies at Tesco, “Reuse is a key element in delivering a shift to a more circular economy but we know that achieving meaningful progress can only be realised through industry collaboration. That’s why the UK Packaging Pact Reuse Industry Expert Group is an important next step, bringing together the best in the industry to focus on delivering scalable reuse solutions that work for businesses and consumers alike. I am delighted to be chairing this expert group as we start to lay the foundations for implementing a reusable packaging model and begin the transition to circularity.”

Clare Edgar Head of Packaging at M&S, “Harmonising data is critical to unlocking meaningful change across the packaging value chain. I look forward to working with industry partners to simplify reporting, improve transparency and support more sustainable packaging decisions.”

Membership of the Industry Expert Groups includes representatives from the following UK Packaging Pact members:

Arla Foods UK, ASDA, Avery Berkel, BBIA, Beyondly, Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate, Biffa Waste Management Services, British Glass, British Plastics Federation, Charpak Ltd, Confederation of Paper Industries, CTPA, Danone, Ecosurety, Ecoveritas Ltd, Faerch UK Ltd, Food & Drink Federation, Glass Technology Services Ltd, GoUnpackaged, GS1 UK, Hilton Foods, Kerry Group, Lidl, L’Oreal UK and Ireland, KM Packaging Services Ltd, Marks & Spenser, Muller, Ocado Retail, Open Data Manchester CIC, OPRL, PackUK, Polytag, PZ Cussons, RECOUP, Robinson Packaging, Scottish Whisky Association, Specright, SUEZ recycling and recovery UK limited, Tata Consumer Products, Taylors of Harrogate, Terracycle, Tesco, Valpak, Veolia, Waitrose, The Wastepack Group, Woodly and Yeo Valley.
WRAP, the global environmental action NGO which created the UK Packaging Pact, developed the cross-sector agreement to continue and widen the scope of its predecessor the UK Plastics Pact, and expand the focus to every packaging material placed on the market from glass, paper, card, metal, as well as plastics and biobased materials. Like its predecessor, the UK Packaging Pact will transform how we design, use, reuse and recover more packaging types to cut waste and emissions, protect nature, and put citizens’ needs at the heart of packaging decisions.

Helen Bird, “The Packaging Pact is now in its third month, and activities are moving at pace across priorities areas in collaboration with partners. Aside from setting up the critical Expert Groups and Advisory Board, we’re well into the development of an updated strategy for films and flexibles and design guidance continuing engagement with HMRC on the plastics tax, and preparing for the launch of a plastics infrastructure report later this year.”

The UK Packaging Pact is the only forum addressing the entire system from root to branch and uniting key actors – supported by WRAP’s independent evidence base and technical expertise, through a shared vision and coordinated action across the value chain. Through pre-competitive collaboration and with the support of the Industry Expert Groups, the UK Packaging Pact will seek to:

Optimise Packaging – reduce single-use packaging, remove problematic packaging and promote more recyclable packaging. Encourage right-weighting, reduce virgin fossil-fuel derived materials and increase recycled content.
Scaling Reuse and Refill – drive interoperable systems to increase the proportion of packaging that is reusable compared to single-use.
Support infrastructure investment – build reliable evidence base with which to accelerate and unlock new investment for key materials. To identify system bottlenecks and support initiatives to address these; across policy reforms, citizen engagement, innovation, collections and processing.
Harmonise data – simplify data reporting requirements through standardisation and alignment, improving traceability and enabling data-led design and sourcing decisions.
Film and Flexibles – building on the legacy of the UK Plastics Pact roadmap, this dedicated IEG is driving solutions for hard-to-recycle multi-material films and packaging.