Circular Economy
Sustainable Packaging
Definition
Sustainable packaging is packaging designed and managed to minimise environmental impact across its life cycle: reduced to the minimum necessary, reusable where systems exist, made from recycled and responsibly sourced materials, and recyclable or compostable in practice — meaning collection and reprocessing infrastructure actually exists for it. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (2025) makes recyclability at scale, recycled content and minimisation legally binding, with extended producer responsibility financing the system.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Sustainable Packaging” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures packaging R&D, EPR compliance and eco-modulated fees, retailer packaging commitments, and the global plastics treaty negotiations.
Why it matters
Packaging is where circular economy promises meet the bin; it is the most audited claim in consumer sustainability.