HERNDON, VA — When Pack Expo International 2024, the leading event for packaging and processing, opens its doors Nov. 3-6 at McCormick Place in Chicago, attendees will notice a spotlight on sustainability.
The event, hosted by PMMI, the association for packaging and processing technologies, will offer new and expanded educational sessions and showcase innovations that can help attendees address circularity and minimize energy consumption, waste and carbon footprint.
“With consumers and regulators paying more attention to sustainability, brand owners must step up their efforts to set and meet goals to increase the sustainability of their operations,” said Laura Thompson, VP of trade shows at PMMI. “Attendees at Pack Expo International will be able to walk away with the information they need to set and achieve sustainability goals.”
The show will debut Sustainability Central in the West Hall (Booth W-21020), an exhibit that explores packaging sustainability and provides insights into actionable, sustainable solutions in manufacturing, materials, recovery, logistics, analytics and design.
The Sustainability Central stage will feature more than 20 educational sessions from experts at major companies such as Amazon, Conagra and Dow, as well as opportunities to learn about the latest planet-friendly innovations, research, and best practices from Virginia Tech, University of Florida, Clemson University and Ameripen.
PMMI experts Jorge Izquierdo, VP of market development, and Rebecca Marquez, director, custom research, will present Navigating Packaging Materials Transitions, an update on PMMI’s 2023 Packaging Compass report and the related Material Transitioning Dashboard, an online tool illustrating materials CPG companies are using, what they are phasing out, and their likely replacements over the next five years.
In addition to the enhanced sustainability programming, PMMI has developed new ways to help the attendees navigate the exhibition space. On-site attendees can follow the Pack Expo green icons to identify sustainable materials, machinery suppliers and educational sessions. Online attendees can use the Sustainability Solutions Finder, a searchable tool that can locate exhibitors with environmentally friendly products and machinery.
Pack Expo International 2024 will also bring back familiar features such as the Reusable Packing Pavilion, where Reusable Packaging Association member companies will demonstrate sustainable packaging solutions and present on topics including technology and materials innovations, the use of recycled content and renewable materials, transformation of waste, circularity, refill/reuse options, sustainable package design, reduction in emissions, extended producer responsibility, and data collection.
The event will also showcase real-world examples of sustainable packaging at The Showcase of Packaging Innovations, located in the Containers and Materials Pavilion in the West Hall (Booth W-21030).
For more information and to register for the show, visit the Pack Expo International website.
