Patrick Shewell
Mondelēz International
Director Global Packaging Sustainability
Towards a circular economy for packaging: The opportunities in innovation and market transformation
09:40
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10:25
This session explores how circular economy principles offer a proactive response to economic pressures, including material tariffs, supply chain volatility, and efforts to address packaging waste pollution. As circularity thinking matures, business conversations must evolve from compliance to strategic transformation: What does circularity really mean for the redesign of products, processes, and the broader systems in which we operate? And crucially, what kind of future are we building toward?
Circular packaging systems present not just a way to improve existing models, but a platform to develop entirely new value propositions, markets, and modes of delivering functionality. This session explores packaging circularity as both a response to current pressures and an opportunity to shape what’s next.
The expert panel will guide a forward-looking reflection on:
- Economic and resource case for circularity: How circular models reduce exposure to volatility, drive material efficiency, and support long-term resilience in supply chains and resource access
- Emerging value chains: A look at how reverse logistics, digital traceability, and closed-loop manufacturing are opening up new value chains and business opportunities
- Cross-industry relevance: How to leverage cross-sector insights and shared infrastructure to coordinate local market solutions with global operations and strategies
Vishal Patell
CHEP
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Transformation