Debbie Waldron-Hoines: Consultant CEO of the Flexographic Industry Association (FIA UK Ltd.)

Main Findings

Debbie's main role in the Collaborative Group was to represent the members of the Flexographic Industry Association (FIA UK), who have flexographic print capabilities for packaging - both flexibles and corrugated and labels. She found participation in the group highly useful, allowing her to gain insights and network with the brands and retailers, influential actors in the industry.

Debbie observed the need for her segment to "look further ahead than what we do currently," identifying the need for a long-term strategic vision that includes entire supply chains, noting that many UK, small and medium companies lean towards short-termism, rather than the ability to plan for 15 years ahead.

FIA UK has recently published their sustainability policy, which documents the carbon neutrality of the association and outlines the practices that are put in place to ensure a sustainable future for the industry. In addition, FIA is working on resources for its members to help them with their sustainability journey.

At the back of the previous Collaborative Group, FIA developed a project around photopolymer plates, which are used in significant amounts in the printing process, yet, due to their complex components, cannot be recycled and end up in landfill or municipal incineration. With the support of FIA UK partners a project has been ongoing since 2020 as to how printing plates can be up-or down-cycled into alternative products.

Challenges within the Flexographic Industry Association

The FIA UK is a trade association representing a diverse range of companies, varying in size. SMEs are often disadvantaged when tackling sustainability challenges due to constrained resources and a lack of expertise, in comparison to large organisations like DS Smith and Smurfit Westrock, global packaging firms, with dedicated staff and departments to ensure environmental compliance and future-aligned strategy. Debbie reflects that the Collaborative Group has empowered FIA UK in how to facilitate the needs across different-sized organisations, ensuring the sector can work well together.

Debbie represents FIA UK at the Packaging Federation, another trade body encompassing all other material or process-focused associations in the UK, and as part of it, she lobbies the government on matters important to the industry, contributing to future legislation anticipating the ways in which it will affect their members. Although the Packaging Federation discusses sectoral challenges, such as plastic pollution versus food security, with MPs and committees, Debbie believes they could be more effective in influencing the regulation to eliminate barriers that the recent regulatory changes brought (Plastic Tax, EPR reform).

One of the biggest challenges Debbie highlights for the businesses she represents is that the printing and packaging industry is not recognised by the government but rather classed as 'manufacturing'. This has implications on how the sector can access support and shape provisions and regulations that are reflective of the needs of the print and packaging segment specifically. It is an issue she is aiming to resolve, making it her long-term objective, with early efforts put into recognition of the sector as an industry by the education application service, UCAS.

Overall, Debbie found the Collaborative Group highly useful as a way of understanding different priorities and frictions along the value chain, and how resolving them can help the industry progress into clearly defined and sustainable future.