A new club, Ateities Pakuotės (Future Packaging), began operating earlier this year, publicising of members’ ecological initiatives as well as enabling members to share their expertise on more sustainable packaging. The authors of the initiative also plan to periodically organise events that provide an opportunity to learn more about sustainable and recyclable packaging.
“The business of the future is a sustainable, socially and environmentally responsible business,” says Diana Ramanauskaitė, publicity and marketing manager at Gamtos Ateitis. “We notice that more and more importers and manufacturers in the country are following, or planning to follow, a more sustainable path with a smaller environmental footprint. In view of this trend, we decided to create a platform that would help ecological business initiatives to become more visible, as well as encouraging companies to share information about greener packaging.”
Launched in March, Ateities Pakuotės promotes sustainable and responsible business, and has already been joined by businesses including Orkla Food Lietuva, Augma, Mantinga, Volfas Engelman, Saint-Gobain statybos gaminiai. Membership in Ateities Pakuotės is open to Lithuanian companies that already use or plan to adopt recyclable packaging, or are engaged in other ecological initiatives, and whose packaging is organised by the public institution Gamtos Ateitis.
Businesses keen to promote the idea of sustainability can let their consumers know by displaying the club’s logos, designed specifically for this eco-initiative, on their products. One of these provides clear labelling for sustainable and easily recyclable packaging.
“The lack of information about greener packaging and sustainability is not only among businesses,” explains Dalia Gedgaudienė, an environmental expert at Gamtos Ateitis, “There are also currently no clear criteria, even at the legal regulatory level, as to which packaging can be considered environmentally sustainable. Given this lack of information, we are initiating a discussion. We encourage businesses to share their experiences and to look for greener packaging formulas – and thus, at the same time, prepare together for stricter environmental protection requirements.”
According to Dalia Gedgaudienė, new environmental requirements will be applied to Lithuanian businesses this year, leading to higher taxes on packaging. Next year, lower fees are expected to be introduced for reusable or recyclable packaging, with increased tariffs for packaging that ends up in landfills or is incinerated.
“We need to prepare for these changes now,” says Dalia Gedgaudienė. “That is why we have created an initiative that we believe will allow businesses to better navigate the field of eco-friendly packaging and help them to operate more sustainably and responsibly, both in terms of society and the environment.”
Gamtos Ateitis is one of the largest packaging waste management organisations in Lithuania, coordinating the management of packaging waste from goods supplied by producers and importers to the domestic market of the Republic of Lithuania. The goal of the organisation is to develop sustainable and efficient management of packaging waste on behalf of Lithuanian producers and importers, to implement public education measures, and to increase responsibility and awareness among the population, municipalities and businesses about environmental pollution and packaging waste issues.
