UK Packaging Pact officially launches
We're a founding signatory of the UK Packaging Pact, which was launched on 22 April 2026, as a step towards transforming the UK’s packaging system.
The ten‑year UK Packaging Pact builds on the success of the UK Plastics Pact and expands its ambition to cover all packaging materials, including plastics, paper, card, glass, metals and biobased materials. The Pact is led by global environmental action NGO WRAP, supported by PackUK and the UK Government, and brings together businesses, industry bodies and experts from across the packaging value chain.
Nearly 100 organisations have committed to the Pact, and we're proud to be one of the founding signatories.
The Pact provides a coordinated, pre‑competitive framework to help organisations:
- Reduce packaging waste and greenhouse gas emissions
- Improve recyclability, reuse and material efficiency
- Prepare for major regulatory reforms, including Extended Producer Responsibility, Simpler Recycling and the Deposit Return Scheme
- Support investment in reuse and recycling infrastructure
- Improve data harmonisation and reporting consistency
The UK Packaging Pact launches at a time of growing global pressure on resources. Recent warnings from the World Bank highlight that global waste generation is outpacing population growth, with waste expected to reach 3.86 billion tonnes per year by 2050 under a business‑as‑usual approach. Volatility in energy and oil markets is also increasing costs and risks for packaging systems reliant on virgin fossil‑based materials.
Catherine David, CEO of WRAP, said, ‘The UK Packaging Pact is a unique, complete system approach to unlocking packaging transitions across the value chain. No other programme brings together the key players needed to deliver the enormous changes we must make. Policies are essential, but they alone cannot deliver, and the Packaging Pact will deliver the practical change necessary through a flexible framework, allowing signatories to focus on the actions most important to them.
‘Today, we begin to unlock progress – to reduce businesses' costs - to mitigate against risks – and to prepare for the future. In the UK Packaging Pact, we offer an exclusive mechanism to create workable policies to deliver the circularity outcomes needed by businesses and government – and crucially, the planet.'
Dr Colin Church CEnv FIMMM, CEO of IOM3, said, ‘IOM3 is proud to be a founding signatory of the UK Packaging Pact. It is great to see focus shifting beyond plastics and food and drink packaging to encompass all materials. This joined-up approach is essential to ensure materials are used in the right way, valued properly and kept in the economy for as long as possible.’
As the professional body representing the full materials cycle, IOM3 brings independent technical expertise and a cross‑sector perspective to the UK Packaging Pact, supporting its ambition to move the UK towards a truly circular packaging system.
Read more about the UK Packaging Pact
Professionals with an interest in packaging are also encouraged to join the IOM3 Packaging Group, which provides access to specialist knowledge, events and resources on materials, sustainability and circularity.
