This article first appeared in the February 2025 issue of ProPack.pro, authored by VMA’s Kellie Northwood
2024 saw the industry come together with the formation of the Labels & Packaging Coalition, a start to bringing an industry voice into the important sustainable packaging reforms underway with the government.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) Packaging Guidelines consultation was the first time industry united under the Visual Media Association (VMA) to submit a true industry voice, rather than a technical educational or covenant voice to the table.
As a sovereign manufacturing industry, our voice is critically important to ensuring government reforms are indeed reforms, not additional regulations that impose hidden taxes and reversed tariffs on Australian manufacturing.
The entire labels and packaging sector is one committed to sustainability, innovation and connectivity or customisation.
Research and development across inks, production, recycling, new substrates, removal of single-use plastics, chemicals and more will continue with firm focus on sustainability principles. This will marry sustainability with innovation, maintaining a strong alignment with global trends and practices.
That said, sustainability is more than recyclability and the packaging sector will need to evolve and seek to apply nature positive principles.
Recycled content and sustainably sourced fibre will be critical in this discussion as the role fibre-based will play in the removal of carbon from the environment, a critical opportunity not to be overlooked or under-considered for the sector.
Customisation or personalisation with digital print adaptation will be equally invested in, as we look to graphic packaging sectors offering improved brand experience on the retail shelves and delivery doorsteps.
RFID technologies and barcoding solutions will continue to be developed with traceability from site to site of the packaging lifespan.
Workforce shortages, like most industries, will play a role in manufacturing technologies also with greater emphasis on automation, workflow technologies and more to drive operational efficiencies, improvements and quality of output.
The number one priority for the Labels & Packaging Coalition under the VMA, in 2025, is to bring the industry voice, that is the voice of businesses, to the government when determining decisions made across reform and regulation. We must consider the practical implementation on new regulations and how international markets will be enforced.
As an industry dedicated (with a proven track record) to sustainability we will apply razor-sharp focus ensuring reforms deliver improved sustainable outcomes.
In recent years, we have seen technical and covenant organisations apply a limited industry lens into reforms which has delivered poorer environmental outcomes with significant negative impact on industry.
The Labels & Packaging Coalition under VMA will be testing, investigating, and reporting on all new reforms to ensure it meets international standards and achieves an improved sustainable outcome.
A part of this will be in education as some brands and retailers are seeking more information and it is the industry’s responsibility to share knowledge and expertise for brands to understand how their designs and specifications can best deliver a better outcome for all. The labels and packaging sectors are undergoing incredible evolution across sustainability driving recyclability, biodegradability, non-toxic, compostability, and more, with a true end-to-end community demand from consumers to brands, manufacturers to distributors, packaging design is being revolutionised with great opportunity.
Leaning into international standards and innovations will be critical as overseas markets are further advanced in this space than A/NZ regions, which leaves opportunities for the A/NZ industry sector to continue those innovations and advance them further.
Regulations must be considered carefully, as current drafts and approaches from government are not actually improving sustainable outcomes and impacting businesses, this is the greatest challenge; however one that starts with communicating a true and non-agenda driven industry voice into the appropriate departments.
I encourage all of industry to welcome the opportunities over the challenges. There is so much innovation being brought into Australia and the VMA welcomes it all. Working together with a united voice to deliver true reforms is a key opportunity for industry and indeed, the Labels & Packaging Coalition.
