Wedoany.com Report on Mar 16th, Recently, the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) hosted the 6th International Packaging Industry Summit in India, themed "Packaging 5S–AI". Industry leaders, technical experts, policymakers, and sustainability advocates gathered to explore the future development direction of the packaging industry, with a focus on innovation, sustainability, and the critical role of emerging technologies in shaping the next generation of packaging solutions.
In a keynote address at the summit, Jeevaraj Pillai, Whole-time Director, President of Flexible Packaging & New Product Development, and Head of Sustainability at UFlex, elaborated on the evolving role of packaging in driving sustainability and supporting the circular economy. He emphasized that packaging innovation must combine responsibility with technological advancement, and the future should focus on designing materials and solutions that support circularity while ensuring they meet basic functional requirements such as product protection, safety, and shelf life.
Pillai pointed out that the packaging industry needs to move beyond incremental improvements and commit to developing structures compatible with existing recycling systems. Sharing industry progress, he stated, "Anything that is extrudable is recyclable," explaining that this principle is crucial for advancing true circularity in flexible packaging, meaning materials should be designed not only for performance but also for recyclability. Through reprocessing via extrusion, these materials can be recycled into products like films, promoting efficient resource utilization.
Furthermore, Pillai called for enhanced collaboration within the packaging ecosystem, including material producers, converters, brand owners, and policymakers, to accelerate the transition to sustainable packaging solutions and reduce waste. Themed "Packaging 5S–AI", the summit aimed to advance safe, secure, standardized, smart, and sustainable packaging, while exploring the role of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence in addressing changing sustainability and regulatory expectations, providing new ideas for the industry's future development.
