Fully committed to the ecological transition, France intends to play a leading role in the fight against climate change. As a result, various ministries are now positioning the ecological transition at the heart of their challenges. It is against this backdrop that Roland Lescure, France’s Minister Delegate for Industry, sent a message to companies in the packaging sector.

In his introduction, the Minister Delegate reviewed France’s commitment to ecological transition. “The French approach to ecology will not be one of constraint or “business as usual”. Between degrowth and a lack of ambition, the government is pursuing a balanced and ambitious third path: that of the contract”, he explains. This commitment has led the government to introduce ecological planning at every level and within every ministry. In terms of industry, and more specifically the packaging sector, this translates into :

• Circularity, which calls for greater efficiency. “At a time when abundance is at an end, we can no longer afford to ignore used materials, which are precious resources”, says Roland Lescure. To this end, the government is proposing a reciprocal commitment: it undertakes to improve the collection, sorting and recovery of waste in order to achieve an optimum recycling rate. For their part, companies in the packaging sector must undertake to pay renewed attention to the recyclability and re-use of packaging, and to the incorporation of recycled materials into their manufacturing processes.

• Decarbonisation, which is above all a requirement for transformation. “Our aim is to be one of the first industrial nations to move away from fossil fuels”, says the Minister. The challenge here is twofold, and involves transforming both processes (e.g. changing heat sources to make fossil fuels unnecessary by 2040) and the materials used (e.g. limiting the use of petrochemical-based plastics and resins).

On a similar subject: Philippe Bolo: “France must be an ambassador for packaging rationalisation”.

The Minister went on to point out that the State is committed to these issues in a number of ways: a premium for the incorporation of recycled materials as part of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), support for increasing recycling capacity via the Eastman, Carbios and Loop projects, aid of up to €1 billion in 2023 (rising to €1.5 billion in 2024) conditional on an effective reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, etc. “We need to chart a collective course for the packaging industry so that it becomes part of a circular world that is more sober and less fossil-intensive by 2050”, Roland explained. We need to chart a collective course for the packaging industry so that it becomes part of a circular world that is more sober and less fossil-intensive by 2050″, says Roland Lescure.

I am sure that the discussions you will have at ALL4PACK EMBALLAGE PARIS will enable us to mobilise more quickly to accelerate the change in our production and consumption model, with the aim of achieving a 0-waste objective“.

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