Sustainable Packaging Innovation Forum USA

27th - 28th October 2026

Chicago, USA

Agenda

Today, decisions around packaging materials, format, and end-of-life carry financial and regulatory consequences. Organisations are rethinking packaging strategy, connecting it to efficiency in operations and resource use, and innovation in product and customer experience. At the forum, we’ll look at how sustainable packaging can be leveraged to lower costs and open new market opportunities.

Download the agenda

Day 0

Monday 26th October 2026

Time
Session title
Theme
Session type
5:00pm - 6:00pm
Day 1

Tuesday 27th October 2026

Time
Session title
Theme
Session type
8:45am - 8:50am
Welcome words 
Institute of Packaging Professionals
9:10am - 9:50am
EPR compliance infrastructure: What do the rules require and what can the market deliver? 
RecycleMe | The Recycling Partnership | ALDI USA | Unilever
Plenary
9:50am - 10:30am
Plenary
10:30am - 11:00am
11:00am - 11:10am
11:10am - 11:50am
Closing the loop: How to develop viable end markets for secondary materials 
Tetra Pak | Can Manufacturers Institute | Crown Holdings | NAPCOR
Plenary
11:50am - 12:20pm
Plenary
12:20pm - 1:20pm
1:30pm - 2:15pm
Breakout
1:30pm - 2:15pm
EPR compliance: Best practice, trends, and key policy levers  
Ralph Lauren | International Paper | EPR Leadership Forum
Breakout
2:15pm - 3:00pm
R&D priorities: How to innovate under cost and compliance pressures  
Molson Coors Beverage Company | Siegwerk | Dart Container
Breakout
2:15pm - 3:00pm
Future-proofing packaging portfolios: Format changes that work across the value chain  
Tosca | Dow | Floor & Decor | Institute of Packaging Professionals
Breakout
3:00pm - 3:30pm
3:30pm - 4:15pm
3:30pm - 4:15pm
Solutions hub
3:30pm - 4:15pm
Solutions hub
4:15pm - 5:00pm
4:15pm - 5:00pm
‘Design for recycling’: Why we need more dialogue between upstream and downstream  
Kenvue | Sustainable Packaging Podcast with Cory Connors, presented by Atlantic Packaging
Breakout
4:15pm - 5:00pm
Case study
4:15pm - 5:00pm
Hard-to-recycle packaging: Lessons for cross-industry collaboration  
L'Oréal | Ulta Beauty | Pact Collective | Independent
Case study
5:00pm - 6:00pm
Day 2

Wednesday 28th October 2026

Time
Session title
Theme
Session type
8:45am - 8:55am
8:55am - 9:30am
Circular economy as industrial strategy: How to build stronger value chains and local economies 
Delterra | Martin Brower | Washington State Department of Commerce
Plenary
9:50am - 10:00am
10:00am - 10:30am
10:30am - 11:10am
Reuse at scale: What works, what doesn’t, and pathways forward 
Mastercard | Tomra | Sustainable Packaging Coalition
Plenary
11:10am - 11:50am
Case study
11:50am - 12:30pm
Plenary
12:30pm - 1:30pm
1:30pm - 3:00pm
3:00pm - 3:20pm
Plenary