9 october 2013, brussels in his opening video message at the europen 20th anniversary event, eu commissioner for the environment janez potonik underlined &ldquoit is clear that packaging can have a direct positive effect on resource efficiency, by for instance packaging&rsquos role in the prevention of food losses on the way to the shops, on the shelves and in our kitchens.&rdquo this point was also taken up during the panel discussion, including europen members sharing their experience in implementing the requirements of eu waste legislation and providing an opportunity to discuss priorities for the upcoming review of the packaging and packaging waste directive ppwd. &ldquoover the past 10 years we have seen a further decoupling of packaging waste and economic growth as also acknowledged by commissioner potonik&rdquo, said martin reynolds, europen chairman in his address at the anniversary event. he added &ldquowe are encouraged that the packaging supply chain&rsquos efforts are recognised and hope that a revised ppwd will continue to support an effective internal market and enhance the endoflife management of packaging waste in line with the commission&rsquos roadmap for a resource efficient europe&rdquo. increasing collection for recycling or recovery of postconsumer packaging will be an important step towards accelerating europe&rsquos transition to a circular economy. during the panel discussion, louis lindenberg, global packaging sustainability director, unilever commented that &ldquoeuropen members welcome efforts to tackle postconsumer packaging. we believe that feasible and realistic recycling and recovery targets should be combined with a requirement to collect separately postconsumer packaging in the ppwd.&rdquo extended producer responsibility epr, a key policy tool for implementing requirements of the ppwd and meeting packaging waste recycling and recovery targets, was also a focus of discussions. &ldquoeuropen members believe it will be critical to introduce minimum requirements for all epr schemes to ensure a levelplaying field across the eu and discourage free riding. a clearer definition of roles and responsibilities is also needed for epr schemes to continue delivering on recovery and recycling targets set by legislation&rdquo, said sabine strnad, director resource recovery, cocacola hellenic. virginia janssens, europen managing director, closed the event noting the importance of building on the packaging supply chain&rsquos achievements but at the same time highlighting that &ldquonew challenges related to the environmental objective of the ppwd require the directive to be updated so that it can continue to be relevant and effective, if our industry is to continue on its path towards a resource efficient economy. this directive has proven to be a successful and appropriate tool for driving the recovery and recycling of all packaging waste as it is tailored to the unique properties of packaging and packaging waste.&rdquo  1  primary and secondary packaging generated by households, awayfromhome and at closed surroundings e.g. small businesses, bars, restaurants, public events, schools insofar as the type of packagingvolumes consumed are similar to households. on 9 october, europen &ndash the european organization for packaging and the environment &ndash celebrated its 20th anniversary by organising a debate on the packaging supply chain&rsquos contribution towards a resource efficient europe. the event brought together over 150 representatives from eu institutions, the packaging supply chain, the waste management sector, ngos, media and other actors with a stake in packaging and sustainability. the speeches of europen chairman, martin reynolds, and managing director, virginia janssens, and commissioner potonik&rsquos video message can be found on the europen website.
