The EPR imposes a new framework on professional packaging, but it also pushes companies to rethink their models, innovate in packaging and strengthen their environmental and economic performance.

The rise of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for industrial and commercial packaging presents companies with a structural challenge. According to the Ministry for Ecological Transition, this obligation aims to better prevent waste and accelerate the transition to more circular models. But beyond the legislative constraint, EPR is becoming a driver of transformation: it stimulates eco-design, enhances logistics performance and paves the way for sustainable growth.The gradual implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for industrial and commercial packaging marks a decisive step for businesses. This regulatory change, enshrined in the AGEC Law, requires producers to finance the prevention, collection and recycling of professional packaging. At first glance, EPR appears to be a heavy legislative constraint. But in reality, it is a strategic lever for modernising organisations, improving industrial efficiency and creating sustainable competitive advantages.

This change is part of a broader European dynamic driven by the PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation), which aims to make all packaging recyclable, limit complex materials and accelerate the circularity of industrial packaging. The issue is therefore no longer just regulatory: it is becoming structural, strategic and economic.


EPR: a demanding legislative framework that redefines packaging business models

Until now, professional packaging such as plastic film, pallets, crates, drums, cardboard packaging and technical materials has been managed freely by companies, according to highly diverse internal practices. The ADEME points out that this diversity limited recycling performance and made it difficult to establish a consolidated vision at national level. EPR changes this paradigm: it standardises obligations, clarifies responsibilities and introduces an economic model based on producer contributions. Companies can no longer consider packaging as a simple operational support: they must now integrate it into an overall strategy of impact, costs and performance.

This constraint thus becomes a lever for rethinking the value chain, from packaging design to logistics, including the choice of materials and the optimisation of industrial packaging.

See also: EPR: Industrial and commercial packaging: understanding the new situation in 2026
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Obligations that stimulate eco-design and innovation in the packaging sector

EPR requires companies to accurately report the tonnages placed on the market, identify materials and demonstrate their recyclability. This transparency requirement encourages investment in more economical, modular or recyclable packaging, particularly cardboard packaging, kraft packaging, glass, aluminium packaging and bioplastic packaging.

According to Citeo, eco-design is becoming a major performance driver.

Companies are reducing composites, favouring single-material packaging and developing reusable or inter-company solutions. Automated packaging machine lines are now adapting to lighter, optimised formats that are compatible with recyclability requirements.

This development goes beyond regulatory compliance: it leads to lower logistics costs, reduced transport space, increased loading density and overall improved energy efficiency. In other words, legal constraints are becoming a driver of operational innovation.


EPR & packaging: when traceability becomes a pillar of sustainable growth

The traceability required by EPR paves the way for more precise management of packaging flows. Companies must now have precise knowledge of their materials, volumes and recyclability rates.

For players in food logistics, e-commerce packaging and agri-food packaging, this requirement enables optimisation of stocks, purchases and management costs. This new visibility encourages the emergence of environmental performance indicators that are integrated into the company's strategic decisions. With EPR, packaging becomes a manageable asset that directly influences the profitability, energy consumption and environmental quality of the business.


EPR as a transition accelerator: a lever rather than a constraint

EPR is no longer just a compliance system: it is becoming a structuring framework that enables companies to strengthen their resilience, innovation capacity and attractiveness.

By encouraging waste reduction, the substitution of complex materials, the use of recycled materials and the deployment of reusable packaging, EPR supports the European ambitions of the PPWR and national transition policies.

Companies that anticipate this transformation are seeing immediate benefits:

  • a reduction in waste treatment costs,
  • logistical optimisation through more efficient packaging,
  • improved CSR indicators,
  • and renewed internal innovation momentum.

Regulatory constraints are thus being transformed into a lever for sustainable growth, capable of supporting competitiveness in a changing economic environment.

While waiting to meet packaging experts at the ALLFORPACK EMBALLAGE PARIS trade show from 24 to 26 November 2026 at Paris Nord Villepinte, a webinar on the theme of ‘EPR for professional packaging more than 30 years after that for household packaging’ is planned for next January. More information will be available soon.



Image credit : Russ Murray - Unsplash

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