With the recent appointment of Frédérique Ries MEP as rapporteur for the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation revision, ACE sets clear industry asks for their sustainable packaging

The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment, ACE, welcomes the appointment of Frédérique Ries MEP (Renew Europe, Belgium) as rapporteur for the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). While the beverage carton industry supports the European Commission’s vision that by 2030 all packaging should be recyclable and/or reusable – as demonstrated by the sector’s Roadmap to 2030 and Beyond – we consider the following additions to the draft legislation as essential to meet the goals of an ambitious PPWR revision and look forward to an open dialogue with our stakeholders in the EU institutions:

1. The need for a 90 % mandatory collection target
The first step to recycling is collection. The industry needs enabling conditions to ensure beverage cartons are recycled at scale by 2035. A mandatory collection target for packaging formats would provide predictable packaging waste flows that would incentivise investments in recycling infrastructure and technologies.

2. Exemption from reuse targets for microbiological sensitive products
Microbiological sensitive products that cannot maintain their qualities through the addition of preservatives (i.e. 2011 juice directive) need to be packed in aseptic packaging to maintain the hygiene and nutritional value of the product. This is especially important for products with a long shelf life. ACE believes mandatory reuse targets should exempt sensitive beverages with these specific needs.

3. Feasibility assessment of the recycled content targets for contact sensitive packaging The European Commission’s proposal defines recycled content targets for contact sensitive packaging of respectively 10 % and 50 % by 2030 and 2040. ACE members are keen to include recycled plastic in their cartons provided it is available on the market at an economically viable price and authorised for use in food contact applications. These two conditions are currently not met at scale. ACE expects that ambitious recycled content targets included in the PPWR will make market availability even more challenging, therefore, we encourage the European Commission to re-assess the availability of such recycled content prior to the enforcement of these targets.

To help mitigate the challenge of the availability of recycled content on the market, an equivalent should be established between biobased/renewable plastic content and recycled plastic content as sustainably sourced renewable materials are a low-carbon, circular and food safe solution.

4. Design for Recycling (DfR) Guidelines – need for sound, technical input by industry
DfR Guidelines are technical documents that need to be evidence-based, robust and take account of industry innovation. The beverage carton industry’s latest DfR Guidelines1 provide expert recommendations to optimise their recyclability. To ensure DfR Guidelines duly reflect in-depth technical knowledge and latest innovation, it is important to include experts from the industry and technical institutes in the development of the DfR Guidelines.

We call for The European Commission to mandate CEN (The European Committee for Standardisation) to develop the DfR Guidelines. As an alternative, the creation of a stakeholder/industry advisory body to help with the development of the delegated acts would be necessary.

Beverage cartons are a sustainable and essential packaging solution allowing the safe transport, storage and use of sensitive products such as milk, plant-based products and juice (beverage cartons pack ca. 75% of milk and 59% of juice in the EU2). Their composition and lightness allow easy transport and long shelf life. Beverage cartons have the lowest carbon footprint in their category of milk and juice as demonstrated by several LCA studies, including by NGOs.3

1 Beverage carton industry guidelines, 2022
2 Roland Berger: Impact assessment study of an EU-wide collection for recycling target of beverage cartons (2022); 2018 Liquid Fruit Market Report
3 Supporting evidence – Environmental performance of beverage cartons, Circular Analytics, https://www.beveragecarton.eu/news-and-resource-centre/publications/); ZeroWaste Europe https://zerowasteeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/zwe_reloop_report_reusable-vs-single-use-packaging-a- review-of-environmental-impact_en.pdf.pdf_v2.pdf?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=edf8c1d17b- EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_10_24_02_44&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-edf8c1d17b-190996081

You can learn more about the benefits of beverage cartons on ACE’s website.

Group EBIT target for full year unchanged

At € 31.2 million (Q3 2020|21: € 28.5 million), the consolidated EBIT of AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG in the third quarter of 2021/22 (1 September to 30 November 2021) was higher than expected. The key driver was considerably higher revenues in the Starch segment due to an all-time high of ethanol prices.

As a result, in the first three quarters of 2021/22 (1 March to 30 November 2021), AGRANA generated earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of € 76.0 million (Q1-3 2020|21: € 84.3 million). Group revenue amounted to € 2,169.6 million (Q1-3 2020|21: € 1,965.3 million).

The guidance for the full financial year 2021/22, according to which Group EBIT will increase significantly, remains unchanged; the forecast is for earnings before interest and tax to rise by at least 10 %.

Due to the extreme volatility in terms of commodity and energy prices as well as the COVID-19 situation again intensifying – the fourth wave in combination with the appearance of the Omikron variant – the forecast for the full year is characterised by a very high degree of uncertainty.

Further details relating to the development of business in the first three quarters of 2021/22 and more information about the various segments will be published by the Group as scheduled on 13 January 2022.

SIG has set a bold new climate target that is one of the first in its industry to be approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) as being in line with the latest climate science to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels to prevent the worst effects of climate change. SIG is committed to cutting its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 60 % by 2030 (from the 2016 baseline).

The ambitious new target places SIG among an elite group of companies leading efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the global Paris Agreement to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.

Around 300 companies have targets approved by the SBTi. Fewer than 100 are currently approved as being in line with the 1.5°C goal. SIG is one of the first in its industry to have a 1.5°C target approved by the SBTi.

SIG’s new target compresses the timeline to achieve a 60 % absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by a full 10 years compared with its previous target, which was already approved by the SBTi as in line with keeping global warming well below 2°C.

A strong focus on renewable energy underpins the company’s efforts to achieve this target. SIG has already switched to 100 % renewable electricity for global production and is exploring opportunities to expand on-site renewables, such as its award-winning rooftop solar array in Thailand.

SIG is not only committed to cutting emissions from its own operations. The company also commits to reduce value chain greenhouse gas emissions by 25 % per litre packed by 2030 (from the 2016 baseline). This target includes scope 1, scope 2 & scope 3 emissions from Purchased Goods and Services, Use of Sold Products, and End of Life Treatment.

Krones, the world’s leading manufacturer of filling and packaging technology, continued its stable growth in the first half of 2017. Overall, revenue improved 13.8 % year-on-year to €1,775.2 million. Adjusted for acquisitions, revenue was up 10.2 %. The increase was partly due to a relatively low baseline of sales in the first half of 2016. The strongest revenue growth came in the North and Central America, Asia-Pacific, and South America/Mexico regions in the period from January to June 2017.

Order intake at Krones increased 11.0 % in the first half of 2017 to €1,779.3 million. Adjusted for acquisitions, order intake was up 4.7 % year-on-year. Orders growth in Western Europe and Latin America was higher than overall orders growth. Order intake in China was lower. In the Asia-Pacific, North America, and Middle East/Africa sales regions, order intake was stable. At €1,148.8 million, orders on hand at Krones at the end of June 2017 were up 1.1 % over the year-earlier period.

EBT margin is 6.8 % after six months
Krones improved earnings before taxes (EBT) by 12.8 % to €121.0 million in the period from January to June 2017 despite a highly competitive market situation. As expected, market prices provided no support. By contrast, the Value strategy programme, with which Krones is increasing efficiency throughout the company, had a positive impact. At 6.8 %, the EBT margin for the first six months of 2017 was nearly unchanged year-on-year (previous year: 6.9 %). After taxes, net income was up 10.8 % to €82.4 million. Earnings per share increased from €2.37 in the previous year to €2.64.

The ratio of average working capital for the past four quarters to revenue came to 26.3 %, after 25.5 % in the year-earlier period. However, the ratio is an improvement over the first quarter of 2017 (26.8 %).

The return on capital employed (ROCE) increased to 16.3 % (previous year: 15.6 %). In the period from January to June 2017, the company generated operating free cash flow of -€126.7 million (previous year: -€155.5 million), which is an improvement of around €30 million.

Krones forecast for 2017 is unchanged
The company’s revenue growth target (excluding acquisitions) for the year 2017 as a whole remains 4 %. Profitability should be stable this year. Krones expects the EBT margin to be around 7.0 % for the year 2017. For its third financial performance target, working capital to revenue, the company is forecasting 27 % for the current financial year.

Krones has published the complete half-yearly report online at https://www.krones.com/en/company/investor-relations/reports.php.