Metalmorphosis and beyond
This year’s annual gathering, which is held each June, was the first to take place under Kazashka’s watch. A two-day event, the biggest ever organised by MPE convening 135 participants, and more speakers, panel discussions and interactive sessions than ever before, innumerable cups of coffee and tea – tell only part of the story. When not on the stage, Kazashka is busy in meetings with the MPE’s members, comprising manufacturers and suppliers of aluminium and steel packaging, and other partners from its value chain. The two of us meet at the end of it all. She is quick to explain MPE’s
aspirations behind the conference name “Metalmorphosis & Sustainability” and how it is different from the past. Describing it as one of the priorities for this year and beyond, she says: “Metalmorphosis is a step change in our relationships and contacts internally and externally. Our aim is to work better with our members, listen more and deliver on their priorities and help them move forward, progress, grow and have more success.” Opening the door for more
stakeholder engagement at this annual meeting, which is part of the association’s metalmorphosis, Kazashka says MPE “has to work with all the partners in the value chain, upstream and downstream”. This metalmorphosis will also see MPE stepping up its collaboration with other associations in the European metal packaging industry, with more emphasis placed on these relationships to move the needle forward on sustainability efforts.
MPE’s new strategy revealed
THE ONE WORD ON EVERYONE’S LIPS: sustainability. What does it mean for MPE? A “big topic” in Europe ever since Brussels set the goal to halve carbon emissions by 2030. At the heart of the European Green Deal, its aim is for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Sustainability
includes decarbonisation and climate targets, she says. Kazashka shows me MPE’s new
strategy, which will soon be made public. A three-pronged strategy outlines, for one, its commitment to net zero by mid-century and maximising the circular economy benefits of metal packaging; commitment to social responsibility; and commitment to transparency. Put simply, she explains net zero “doesn’t mean zero emissions as you can’t have production without emissions. For the European Commission (EC), it means finding a balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced from manufacturing and the wider supply chain and the amount
removed from the atmosphere”. The question is how achievable
it is to reach net zero by 2050. She replies: “Whether we’ll hit it, we don’t know. It’s not the first time the EC is setting objectives and ambitions that’re difficult to meet, but any little improvement we do to benefit the planet matters.” But going green comes at a cost. “It comes at a cost for the consumer, for the industry, for all of us, tax players and for everybody in the supply chain. It’s not something that will be easy to achieve, that’s for sure,” she adds. Talking about product
safety, which falls under MPE’s commitment to social responsibility, Kazashka points out that is
work better with our members,
aim is to
listen more and deliver on their
them move forward,
progress, grow and have more success.
22
metalpackager.com
Our
priorities and help
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
