Building Exporter Resilience Amid Evolving EU Packaging Regulations

For exporters, the regulatory landscape is evolving rapidly. Increasingly stringent environmental and sustainability requirements are reshaping the conditions for accessing international markets, making it more important than ever for businesses to anticipate regulatory changes, adapt their products and processes, and build resilient and sustainable value chains. One significant development is the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which became applicable across the EU on 12 August 2026. The PPWR establishes a harmonised framework for packaging and packaging waste, with the overarching objective of reducing packaging waste and supporting the EU’s transition towards a circular economy.

Importantly, the PPWR covers packaging across different materials, including plastic, paper and cardboard, glass, metal, wood and composite packaging. Its requirements can affect a broad range of economic operators involved in bringing packaged products to the EU market, including manufacturers, suppliers, importers, distributors and retailers.

The regulation introduces a range of requirements covering recyclability, recycled content, packaging reduction, reuse and refill, restrictions on certain single-use packaging, labelling, substances of concern, and extended producer responsibility. Some requirements will be phased in over time, including important provisions on recyclability and recycled content that apply from 2030.

SIPPO South Africa recently supported a joint training session for its partner BSOs and market actors — delivered in collaboration with an international consultant to broaden their knowledge on the PPWR. The session covered the scope, declaration of conformity, extended producer responsibility, requirements that are already applicable, and requirements that need to be prepared for the future. Furthermore, SIPPO is supporting the BSOs in co-developing a practical Guide on meeting EU sustainability requirements for BSOs and market actors to use when advising and supporting companies. These compliance and certification sessions enable BSOs to understand and prepare their companies for the evolving requirements as part of building export resilience. Companies that proactively assess their packaging, understand applicable EU requirements and engage with relevant partners can be better positioned to adapt to changing market conditions and maintain access to the European market.