ECMA Business Seminar 2017| To Strengthen The Folding Carton Industry
During this year's Business Seminar ECMA focused on the positioning of the industry and its market share. Is our industry only competing with other packaging materials on price, or are other issues also important? And are consumers really worried about mineral oils and plastics polluting the oceans, and how does this affect the behaviour of our customers? There's a preference for sustainable packaging materials made from renewable resources, but what's the value? How can we turn the tide, regain market share and strengthen the position of our industry?
From Challenge to Opportunity
How can we manage our own food safety challenges and turn them into commercial opportunities? And what can we learn from our main competitors from the plastics industry? 
The aim of the ECMA Business Seminar was to help you to understand the bigger picture and the trends and developments influencing our industry. How we are going to deal with the challenges and issues around food safety, sustainability and influence the consumer attitude towards cartonboard packaging, will be crucial for a healthy future of our industry.
Jennifer Buhaenko from Pro Carton presented the status of plastic recycling in Europe, and the Plastic Industry's strategy as laid down in the EU Roadmap “Strategy on Plastics in a Circular Economy” and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's initiative the "New Plastics Economy” initiative, which launched its latest report in January 2017 at the World Economic Forum in Davos. What can we learn from our competitors, and what are our own strong arguments and advantages over plastics?
Aldin Hilbrands from FSSC 22000 presented his view on how to ensure consumer trust in the safe supply of food and drinks and how to meet market expectations. In his view certification offers packaging suppliers market access. Because company and brand reputation is key to customers, they will not tolerate any risks. The FSSC 22000 Food Safety System Certification provides a framework for effectively managing your organization's food safety responsibilities. FSSC 22000 is fully recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and is based on existing ISO Standards.
The Carton Identity
Organizations around the globe are increasingly focused on identifying their primary stakeholders, what they think, say and do, as well as how best to engage with them. During the ECMA Business Seminar attendees were explained by Frank Peters from Virtus Communications how to understand, build and manage their corporate reputation in a way that it will leverage their strengths, mitigates risk and creates a competitive advantage. Also the role of ECMA as the voice of the industry was discussed and how future industry incidents could be handled.
The three presentations where shared afterwards with the ECMA Business Seminar attendees.