Where we stand in the paper transition – and how co-creation can help

In this edition of our ‘In Conversation With…’ series, UPM Specialty Materials’ director of Products and Technology, Janne Varvemaa, shares his advice on switching to paper packaging – and explains how co-creation can help businesses balance end-of-life, performance and efficiency.

How do you think the packaging industry as a whole is handling the paper transition so far, especially now that the PPWR has entered into force?

While the PPWR has been published and is in force, there are many details that will be specified in the secondary legislation. These are critical next steps, as the secondary legislation will actually define the design for recycling guidelines, including design parameters and calculation rules.

The current understanding of the timeline is that these will come into force already in 2030. This leaves quite a short time for brand owners, packaging designers, converters and rest of the value chain to adapt to the changes.

We find that this ambiguity has been challenging the paper paper-based packaging industry. I hope we can we can solve these issues as quickly as possible to help the entire industry to move ahead.

Are there any key challenges in the transition – and from your experience, how would you advise a business to overcome them?

As I already mentioned, the current ambiguity can be challenging. However, I would encourage businesses to focus on solutions that are already strongly aligned with the direction of packaging regulation and current recyclability frameworks. For example, we already know that PFAS chemicals cannot be used, and that paper-based packaging structures with high paper content, low coating amounts and strong recyclability performance are well positioned for the future. The design and qualifications take time, so why stop now? In most cases, it is difficult to find off-the-shelf solutions.

At UPM Specialty Materials, our approach is very much focused on providing these type of “future-proof” solutions, by creating base papers and barrier based papers that have the best possibility to pass the future regulation as possible. For example, our lab tests show that our base paper UPM Solide^TM Lucent can help converters reduce coatings by 50% compared to an MF kraft paper, while delivering the same barrier performance. Thick layers can often interfere with the recycling process.

Tell us more about co-creation. How does it help, and what can UPM offer?

I don’t think we are in a position that we could go tell anybody that just take our paper and drop it into your packaging solution and it will run everywhere. It’s not as simple as that. Therefore, co-creation with the full value chain is absolutely necessary to efficiently develop new paper-based packaging solutions to the market. Imagine, if we for example, would spend years perfecting a paper, only to find out that it does not perform on the packaging line, meet commercial criteria, or pass recyclability tests once chemistry is applied.

The basic requirement for working co-creation, in my opinion, is enough trust and transparency in the value network to ensure that we are all after the same targets. Open innovation with everybody’s input on the table is also always the one where you get the best results the fastest.

Other members of the value chain bring their necessary and unique expertise, whether it’s chemistry suppliers, machinery suppliers, converters, brand owners, or packaging machinery. Everybody’s contributions are more than needed here, so that things start to move.

In this spirit, our primary focus is in what we do best: to produce stable quality, highly performing, high quality papers that serve as the base for creating recyclable packaging. This is a pre-requisite in packaging, where you need to have minimum variability in the packaging. We also have excellent analytical capabilities that can help solve hiccups – if and when they occur – as well as advanced R&D capabilities that can help verify the performance and recyclability of the structures from the early stages of development.

Can you provide an example of a co-creation project you were involved in, and how the collaboration was beneficial?

One great example of co-creation is the work we have done together with Huhtamaki on the development of their OmniLock™ Ultra Paper, which is a ground-breaking recyclable, high-barrier packaging solution with UPM Specialty Material’s barrier base paper.

The breakthrough innovation behind OmniLock™ Ultra Paper lies in its ability to deliver ultra-high barriers which have only been achievable by non-recyclable, multilayer, aluminum foil/plastic combinations previously. I think that this innovation would not have been possible without Huhtamaki’s trust and transparent collaboration with us, and also other partners in the value network.

Without co-creation it would have been difficult to achieve this combination of performance while still safeguarding recyclability, which has been validated according to e.g. Cepi/4evergreen v3 and WMU SBS-E Recyclability test methods . Huhtamaki’s expertise in packaging design, converting and end-use performance helped define the requirements and bring the solution to reality, while we at UPM Specialty Materials contributed our knowledge of paper processing and recyclability.

In your view, which sectors or packaging formats would benefit the most from a co-creation approach? Why?

When it comes to value chain partners, developing stronger collaboration with packaging machinery suppliers is a very important step going forward. It is imperative that we can be sure that the solutions that are provided also maintain their performance throughout this converting and packaging chain, meaning that we can understand the required modifications and tunings and changes and upgrades to the packaging machinery that enable the use of paper-based materials.

In terms of formats, we have been working mainly with flexible packaging, which is what our paper is originally designed for. However, I think there is still a lot to explore when it comes to rigid packaging or laminate structures. There may be opportunities to replace difficult-to-recycle layers with paper in order to boost the recyclability. This is one of the areas where deeper collaboration might yield even quicker results than what we see today.

What advice would you give to businesses in the early stages of transitioning into paper packaging?

It is important to remember that paper is not plastic. Therefore, you cannot start a project of transitioning to paper by listing the specifications of the current solution. It is not a drop-in solution where you can get exactly the same performance profile that you can achieve with plastics. In many cases, we are used to “over-engineering” packages, so you need to really define what is the true requirement of the product being packaged. In some areas, like bending resistance, the performance will differ from plastic.

But there are other strengths of paper, such as the well-established recycling infrastructure and it is well matched with the direction that current regulation in e.g. EU is moving towards. Other benefits of paper include, for example, that it is made from a renewable resource, it has a natural look-and-feel, and paper packaging is easy for the consumer to open. You can also achieve stunning print results.

Based on our extensive experience with supporting converters and brands moving into paper packaging, we have developed a guide with some helpful tips to get you started on your journey!

Accelarate your innovations through co-creation.