PACKAGING INNOVATION & EMPACK
MASSES FLOCK TO
PACKAGING INNOVATIONS & EMPACK 2026
Birmingham’s NEC opened its doors to the UK’s leading packaging event, with hundreds of exhibitors unveiling cutting-edge solutions while Pack UK revealed over £1bn distributed to support local authority waste management.
T
he packaging industry’s leading figures gathered at Birmingham’s NEC as Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026 opened its doors, promising two days of
innovation, insight, and connection. The event was formally launched with a ribbon-cutting by Josh Brooks, Divisional Director – Packaging Portfolio at Easyfairs, and Councillor Annette Mackenzie, Mayor of Solihull, which opened the industry up to 475 exhibitors who had transformed halls 2, 3, and 3a into a showcase of the full packaging supply chain. From cutting-edge design and materials at Packaging Innovations, to automation, robotics, and AI at Empack, and bespoke solutions at Contract Pack & Fulfilment, every stage of the industry came together to tackle real-world challenges and highlight the future of packaging. Speaking on the first day of the event, Josh
said: “Today promises to be the biggest and the best edition of this show in our 21-year history.” “This event is all about innovation, it’s in the
name, and it’s all about creating the future of packaging, whether we’re thinking about design, whether we’re thinking about materials, whether we’re thinking about processing technologies or outsourcing opportunities. It’s all here and we hope that you will, as visitors to the show, have a fantastic experience of discovery and you will go away with the toolkit to create your next product. It’s also extremely human and I really encourage you all, at an event like this, to not just discover the things, but to discover the people and make those connections, come away with new connections and new future partners for the projects that you work on. That’s the joy and the fun of any work that we do, and certainly for us who have the privilege of putting on events, it’s what we do.” Councillor Mackenzie added: “Packaging plays
a vital role in our economy, enabling food supply, healthcare, e-commerce, and consumer goods,
20 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • FEBRUARY 2026
while supporting jobs, skills, and resilient local supply chains. Our region is proud to be a hub for manufacturing excellence and innovation, and today’s SMEs and local manufacturers are driving progress through new technologies, smarter design, and more sustainable solutions. Innovation and sustainability are clearly at the heart of this event, as the sector works collaboratively to reduce impact, improve efficiency, and create long-term value.” Chief Strategy Officer Esther Carter took
to the stage to reflect on Pack UK’s first year, updating attendees on the progress of its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. Pack UK used last year’s show to officially launch the scheme, marking the transition from decades of policy development into a fully functioning organisation. Twelve months on, Carter highlighted how the scheme has moved from concept to reality, with the first notices of liability issued to producers and over £1 billion already collected and distributed to local authorities to
invest in waste management systems. The total cost of the scheme is £1.4 billion,
representing the provision of an efficient and effective local authority waste disposal service. This is spread across just over 4,000 producers, with 4,299 obligated producers receiving notices of liability for household packaging waste. Across the whole scheme, there are around 7,000 obligated producers, while funding is being distributed to 388 local authorities across the four nations. To manage this, Pack UK’s team of around 60 people has focused on ensuring the right digital systems, risk management, and operational oversight are in place to transact such large-scale payments effectively. “We anticipated there were going to be some
IN TODAY’S MARKET,
COLLABORATION IS KEY TO SUCCESS, AND WITHIN THIS
ROLE, I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE FREEDOM TO EXPLORE SOME FANTASTIC AND POWERFUL OPPORTUNITIES
bumps along the way,” said Carter. “There have been some challenges, and we are working with stakeholders across the value chain to refine our approach, ensuring we adjust policy alongside our policy colleagues while providing as much clear guidance and communication as possible to everyone in this room and beyond. Notably, last year, we not only began collecting payments but also began issuing them to local authorities. We have paid out over a billion pounds to support investment in local waste management systems.” Carter also addressed reports of a shortfall in
money raised for year-end invoices, which may force Pack UK to reissue Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bills to obligated businesses. Speaking on a packed Circular Economy Stage, she said: “What I think perhaps has not always been as clear to people in developing this scheme is that Pack UK is required to balance the books at the end of each year. Pack UK can have no surplus rolling into the next year, nor can it have a gap. If any of those items change, there is a need to think about how we calculate fees in order to account for that. And we are the first to recognise that in
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