Following three busy days in Utrecht, Cullen has wrapped up a successful showcase at the Sustainable Packaging Summit 2025 – an event that brought together global leaders, innovators, and brands committed to accelerating the shift to sustainable materials.
As proud partners of the Summit, our team took to the exhibition floor to highlight the real, scalable solutions already shaping packaging’s next chapter. Across hundreds of conversations, one message came through loud and clear: the question is no longer if businesses will move away from plastics — it’s how quickly they can make that transition.
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR): A Central Focus
A major theme throughout the Summit was the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) — and crucially, what it means for businesses operating across Europe. Speakers noted that the PPWR is now highly unlikely to be revised; the proposed framework will go ahead largely as planned, leaving companies with a clear direction of travel and a narrowing window to act.
Key takeaways from the PPWR discussions included:
- Increased obligations to reduce single-use plastics
- Tighter recyclability criteria and mandatory recyclability performance grades
- Stricter requirements for recycled content
- Greater accountability across the entire packaging lifecycle
- Harmonised rules across EU Member States, creating consistent expectations
However, one of the strongest undercurrents of the event was that recycling infrastructure — especially for plastics — is still far from viable at scale. Even the basic processes of collection, sorting and separation remain inconsistent, fragmented and costly. Many acknowledged that the infrastructure required to meet future plastic recycling targets will take decades to fully realise.
Balancing Sustainability and Competitiveness - Not a Taboo After All
Another theme emerged repeatedly – though often cautiously at first. Many brands openly discussed the pressure to balance sustainability commitments with commercial competitiveness. What was once treated as almost a taboo topic became a realistic and refreshing conversation: it is possible to achieve both.
The tone was clear: businesses cannot wait for plastic recycling systems to catch up, nor can they sacrifice competitiveness in the process. Instead, they need solutions that deliver immediate compliance, real-world feasibility and long-term resilience.
Strong interest in moulded fibre and corrugate - all in one place
This context made Cullen’s offering particularly relevant. Visitors were drawn to Cullen’s unique position as Europe’s only combined manufacturer of moulded fibre and corrugated packaging, giving them access to proven, scalable alternatives already performing in the market.
Brands explored:
- Fully customisable moulded fibre designs
- FSC-certified corrugated transit, shelf-ready and bespoke packaging
- Integrated design-to-manufacture workflows that reduce timelines, complexity and cost
Many were surprised by the sheer scale of what’s possible from a single UK site — especially our ability to turn recycled corrugate into moulded fibre and supply both product lines at commercial volume.
Quick, credible, plastic-free transitions — without long-term infrastructure investment
The conversations at our stand focused on action. Real projects, real data, and real timelines — not theoretical future-state solutions reliant on infrastructure that doesn’t yet exist.
We demonstrated how brands can:
- Replace plastic components with moulded fibre in as little as six weeks
- Reduce breakage and improve product protection through fibre-based packaging
- Cut supply chain risk by sourcing from a stable UK manufacturer with fully in-house control
- Meet PPWR-aligned sustainability requirements today, not in ten years
With cross-sector capability and the ability to design and build our own machines, moulds and tooling, Cullen can help brands achieve compliance quickly and affordably — without the heavy infrastructure costs associated with plastics.
Paper is the answer.
And with our scale, capability and manufacturing capacity, we’re able to support a seamless, reliable plastic-to-paper transition across multiple sectors and geographies.
Delegates were especially interested in switches for produce, drinks, industrial products and e-commerce — areas where Cullen has delivered major transformations in the past two years.
Thank you to everyone who visited our stand
We’d like to extend a huge thank-you to the delegates, organisers and sustainability leaders who took the time to speak with us during the event. Your questions, insights and challenges are exactly what fuel the innovation happening every day at Cullen.
If you didn’t get the chance to meet the team in Utrecht – or would like to continue the conversation – we’d be delighted to help.
Let’s Continue the Conversation
Email: sales@cullen.co.uk
Follow us on LinkedIn for more event highlights, packaging insights, and updates on our latest moulded fibre and corrugated solutions.
Together, we’re accelerating the transition to sustainable, plastic-free packaging – one innovation at a time.
Following three busy days in Utrecht, Cullen has wrapped up a successful showcase at the Sustainable Packaging Summit 2025 – an event that brought together global leaders, innovators, and brands committed to accelerating the shift to sustainable materials.
As proud partners of the Summit, our team took to the exhibition floor to highlight the real, scalable solutions already shaping packaging’s next chapter. Across hundreds of conversations, one message came through loud and clear: the question is no longer if businesses will move away from plastics — it’s how quickly they can make that transition.
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR): A Central Focus
A major theme throughout the Summit was the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) — and crucially, what it means for businesses operating across Europe. Speakers noted that the PPWR is now highly unlikely to be revised; the proposed framework will go ahead largely as planned, leaving companies with a clear direction of travel and a narrowing window to act.
Key takeaways from the PPWR discussions included:
- Increased obligations to reduce single-use plastics
- Tighter recyclability criteria and mandatory recyclability performance grades
- Stricter requirements for recycled content
- Greater accountability across the entire packaging lifecycle
- Harmonised rules across EU Member States, creating consistent expectations
However, one of the strongest undercurrents of the event was that recycling infrastructure — especially for plastics — is still far from viable at scale. Even the basic processes of collection, sorting and separation remain inconsistent, fragmented and costly. Many acknowledged that the infrastructure required to meet future plastic recycling targets will take decades to fully realise.
Balancing Sustainability and Competitiveness - Not a Taboo After All
Another theme emerged repeatedly – though often cautiously at first. Many brands openly discussed the pressure to balance sustainability commitments with commercial competitiveness. What was once treated as almost a taboo topic became a realistic and refreshing conversation: it is possible to achieve both.
The tone was clear: businesses cannot wait for plastic recycling systems to catch up, nor can they sacrifice competitiveness in the process. Instead, they need solutions that deliver immediate compliance, real-world feasibility and long-term resilience.
Strong interest in moulded fibre and corrugate - all in one place
This context made Cullen’s offering particularly relevant. Visitors were drawn to Cullen’s unique position as Europe’s only combined manufacturer of moulded fibre and corrugated packaging, giving them access to proven, scalable alternatives already performing in the market.
Brands explored:
- Fully customisable moulded fibre designs
- FSC-certified corrugated transit, shelf-ready and bespoke packaging
- Integrated design-to-manufacture workflows that reduce timelines, complexity and cost
Many were surprised by the sheer scale of what’s possible from a single UK site — especially our ability to turn recycled corrugate into moulded fibre and supply both product lines at commercial volume.
Quick, credible, plastic-free transitions — without long-term infrastructure investment
The conversations at our stand focused on action. Real projects, real data, and real timelines — not theoretical future-state solutions reliant on infrastructure that doesn’t yet exist.
We demonstrated how brands can:
- Replace plastic components with moulded fibre in as little as six weeks
- Reduce breakage and improve product protection through fibre-based packaging
- Cut supply chain risk by sourcing from a stable UK manufacturer with fully in-house control
- Meet PPWR-aligned sustainability requirements today, not in ten years
With cross-sector capability and the ability to design and build our own machines, moulds and tooling, Cullen can help brands achieve compliance quickly and affordably — without the heavy infrastructure costs associated with plastics.
Paper is the answer.
And with our scale, capability and manufacturing capacity, we’re able to support a seamless, reliable plastic-to-paper transition across multiple sectors and geographies.
Delegates were especially interested in switches for produce, drinks, industrial products and e-commerce — areas where Cullen has delivered major transformations in the past two years.
Thank you to everyone who visited our stand
We’d like to extend a huge thank-you to the delegates, organisers and sustainability leaders who took the time to speak with us during the event. Your questions, insights and challenges are exactly what fuel the innovation happening every day at Cullen.
If you didn’t get the chance to meet the team in Utrecht – or would like to continue the conversation – we’d be delighted to help.
Let’s Continue the Conversation
Email: sales@cullen.co.uk
Follow us on LinkedIn for more event highlights, packaging insights, and updates on our latest moulded fibre and corrugated solutions.
Together, we’re accelerating the transition to sustainable, plastic-free packaging – one innovation at a time.
