The proliferation of new recyclable packaging legislation continues to leave many tax functions scratching their heads. And they’d be forgiven for doing so as, on paper, it appears to represent a growing maze of laws. But it needn’t be so complex. And, as the adage goes; with challenges, opportunities also arise.
So, as business owners look to increase their share of recycled content to reduce their production emissions and satisfy new-found consumer demands, they are being presented with a new set of challenges.
Take a best-in-class approach to packaging waste
At Ecoveritas, we understand that sustainable packaging progress demands more than a few simple design changes. Systematic change is needed. So why not be proactive, a forerunner when it comes to the regulatory framework of the day?
Yes, it’s tough. Navigating the different policies and taxes that governments are using to address the production, use and disposal of plastics. But having the right people and technology in place will improve ability and standing, while informing potential for business change off the back of it.
Consider EPR reforms for a moment. More countries than the UK have brought in their own laws, and they are applied by different jurisdictions in a range of ways. We can’t help with its coordination. But we can give businesses the best chance of being successful, particularly when keeping across risk exposure.
Our in-house team of compliance experts can assess your obligations by country and provide an efficient, cost-effective, and outsourced solution to your registration and reporting needs. This is important because each new rule, or piece of legislation, has the capacity to challenge traditional business operations and is contingent on goals set by international communities, national governments, and local jurisdictions. Even the UK government’s Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT), or any policy introduction for that matter, brings rising costs and operational headaches along with it.
Our comprehensive, current, and global EPR matrix will help you quantify the impact on your business, and to embed information in reporting systems and costing models. We’ll help you develop a detailed understanding of the diverse regulatory landscape and give you the tools to inform sound business decisions whilst remaining compliant in over 60 countries.
Beyond the tax liability itself being an additional expense, upgrading and updating a data collection operation can be a costly business. But our data and compliance team can become your data and compliance team. They are experts in understanding the needs and wants of your day-to-day operation, drilling down into any problems you may be facing, and proposing solutions, or corrective courses.
Take an ecoview of your packaging portfolio
ecoview, our comprehensive digital platform, provides users with complete transparency and accessibility to their packaging data, and crucially offers a granular breakdown of the entire packaging supply chain. It will help you practically interpret robust data, enabling you to precisely calculate the financial impact your packaging has on your bottom-line.
The past few years has seen a notable growth and interest in sustainable packaging regulations, with businesses queuing up to revamp their packaging in a bid to reduce waste and increase recyclability. But all of this must now be undertaken against the same backdrop of intensely complex government regulations, penalties, and guidelines.
The majority look to meet the most robust requirements, to avoid having to constantly adapt their products and packaging. This tack will continue to occur, likely more frequently, and is something we have extensive experience in advising on.
From the get-go, it’s important to get a clear understanding of your baselinepackaging waste; knowing the materials used, and if the materials used are sustainably sourced or contain recycled content, how much of the materials are used, and if the packs are recyclable. And those are just the tip of the iceberg.
Our ecoview customers can drill down into everything from packaging by polymer type, volume of recycled content by supplier and recyclability of materials, to packaging tonnage by department and information about OPRL certification. Key, though, is the ability to see projected costs and, at the click of a button, pinpoint where efforts to drive efficiency are best channelled.
We continue to encourage an upstream approach because high-quality recycling begins in the design phase. Waste decisions previously well beyond consumers are shifting back to being demand-led. And customers unequivocally choose sustainable packaging, largely because it determines consumer perception of the entire product offering.
With design and end-of-life management therefore hand in hand, every single touch point in the value chain must play its part. Long before an item lands on the shelf, a whole barrage of packaging decisions are made. Those decisions are now beginning to fall under the microscope. Viewing this process through ecoview and defining future packaging systems will undoubtedly bring about increased value for money.
Plastics and packaging taxes are, by their very nature, designed to drive behavioural change. Whether the accrued funds are to be used in support of infrastructure, effective collection, sorting, and recycling, or to boost government coffers, is a question which will need answering. But as the legislation bites, and a proper framework for prioritising circularity sets in, we recommend speaking with the experts about future-proofing your operations.
To discuss your needs or book an ecoview demonstration, please contact the ecoveritas team on +44 (0)1865 721375 or e-mail info@ecoveritas.com
