Final Report Summary - GREEN PACK (Fully recyclable 100% PET package for food contact with O2 barrier, improved transparency and low CO2 footprint.)
Executive Summary:
The issue addressed by the GREENPACK project concerns the production of prototypes of fully recyclable PET trays for food preservation by using recycled PET (RPET). The project achieved its objectives proving the viability of a complete and sustainable approach for the recycling of plastic packaging. Secondary, the project proved also the viability of a dedicated recycling model, inspired towards the replication and spreading of the recycling model of the 100% PET soft drink bottles, in the post-consumer phase, adapting its characteristics to the specific food package features.
Although PET packaging solutions currently on the market fully satisfy the required performances, with respect to each single application, there is still a lack of these performances to be bridged respect to the basic need of the PET trays recycling. The main drawbacks of the current solutions for the PET trays manufacturing are due essentially to the presence of different plastic materials in the packages. In other terms, they are manufactured by sticking different layers of different plastic materials, PET included.
The multi-material feature poses severe limitations, and sometimes the impossibility, to the effective recycling of manufacturing scraps and of the trays at the end of their life. This is a dramatic reality for the economic and social development of EU because of the involved loss of raw materials, CO2 footprint, and landfill management. From a theoretical point of view, the goal of having a fully recyclable PET container for food packaging is surely feasible.
The project put the focus on the fact that many foods and beverages have a fundamental requirement for shelf stability: the minimization of oxygen exposure and thus minimal reaction with the food. In order to improve the PET container recyclability, the project dealt with the substitution of multilayer passive barriers (EVOH) with monolayer barriers by means of oxygen scavenger polyester-based additive, that is a substance capable of intercepting and scavenging oxygen by undergoing a chemical reaction with it, as the oxygen permeates through the PET packaging walls.
Coordinated by AVEP, the GREENPACK Consortium was made of :
• 3 representative association in the plastic sector from Spain (AVEP, the Association for Valencian companies in the Plastic industry), UK (BPF, the British Plastic Federation) Hungary (HAEE, the Association of Environmental Enterprises),
• 1 specialised company in the field of technological development of PET (POINT PLASTIC from Italy) and 1 private plastic recycler (LCLR from UK)
• 4 RTD performers dealing with the scientific and technical work: the University of Rome - Tor Vergata (IT), LABOR Srl a private contract research organisation (IT), the Technologist institute private RTD organization (NO) and MED Marine private company (IT).
Strongly committed the Consortium was able to ensure the efficiency and quality level of the GREENPACK strategy.
Project Context and Objectives:
One of the basic needs of the Food Retail Market is the availability of packages, composed by a tray and a sealing film on top. In many applications the package should be resistant enough to the oxygen penetration, in order to preserve the food quality over time, until the expiry date; a parameter commonly defined as the “shelf life”. One of the most familiar types of food trays found in all food retails and households all over the world is made from a plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, or PET for short. Introduced to consumers as the plastic soft drink bottles in the 1970s, PET quickly gained acceptance among bottlers and consumers. Because it was lightweight, economical and shatter proof, PET plastic offered unique marketing and lifestyle benefits. PET containers form part of everyone's daily life and are used today as a packaging material for a whole range of consumer products in addition to carbonated beverages. Another striking feature of PET on the environmental and economic side is that it is fully recyclable. Food-contact packaging applications are one of the largest uses of PET plastic resin. The ability to recycle these food-contact packages back into new PET food contact packages will help ensure the long-term viability of PET plastics recycling and the ability to avoid the use of virgin PET in food contact package manufacturing. The main objective of directive 2004/12/EC, amending directive 94/62/EC, of the European Union Legislation on Packaging and Packaging Waste, is to prevent packaging waste by encouraging packaging re-use and recycling while at the same time avoiding distortions in the internal market.
The directive requests that Members States introduce systems for the return and/or collection of used packaging and defines specific targets for packaging waste recovery and recycling. The GREEN PACK project stems from the general needs expressed above and partially but not yet completely satisfied.
Addressed to the PET film producers (large companies buying additives and licenses and produce GPET films in reels) and to retail industry and Food producers (large and small companies buying G-PET films/containers for food packaging), the major outputs and project results which have been exploited can be listed:
• New formulated oxygen barrier additives for food contact
• New fully recyclable G-PET film with oxygen barrier and for food contact
• New fully recyclable G-PET packaging with oxygen barrier and for food contact
The main objective of the GREENPACK project was 1) to produce prototypes of fully recyclable PET trays for food preservation by using recycled PET (RPET), specifically by providing a mono-material tray in virgin PET (for food contact) and RPET for the rest of the tray. The necessary barrier properties have been guaranteed by an active oxygen barrier. 2) to study, designing and dissemination of a dedicated recycling model, inspired to replication and spreading of the recycling model of the 100% PET soft drink bottles, in the post-consumer phase, adapting its characteristics to the specific food package features. The recycling model focused on the management of a "cradle to cradle" loop, from and to the starting manufacturing process, promoting the reduction of manufacturing costs and the carbon foot print of PET packaging for food. Although PET packaging solutions currently on the market fully satisfy the required performances, with respect to each single application, there is still a lack of these performances to be bridged respect to the basic need of the PET trays recycling. The main drawbacks of the current solutions for the PET trays manufacturing are due essentially to the presence of different plastic materials in the packages. In other terms they are manufactured by sticking different layers of different plastic materials, PET included. The multi-material feature poses severe limitations, and sometimes the impossibility, to the effective recycling of manufacturing scraps and of the trays at the end of their life. The major outputs and results of the project have been exploited by the participant SME-AGs on the following markets: 1) PET additives; 2) PET film production; 3) PET packaging production; 4) PET recycling.
Given what above, the main objectives or the project can be summarised:
1. The use of an additive to have oxygen barrier properties of the PET
2. The definition of a multi-layered structure for the packaging sheets, using a single base material (PET, virgin and recycled)
3. The study of the barrier properties of the final RPET sheets
4. The study of the fabrication effect for additivated RPET sheets (mainly on the aesthetics and other functional properties)
5. The study of the processability of the multi-layered mono-material sheets
6. The study of the combination with virgin PET for the film in contact with the food
7. The shelf life assessment of the new PET container
8. The definition of a recycling strategy for the final container
9. The LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)
The structure of the GREENPACK project foresees seven work packages divided among RTD activities (WP1, WP2, WP3, and WP4), Demonstration activities (WP5), Dissemination and Exploitation activities (WP6), and Management activities (WP7).
Project Results:
The main scientific and technological objective of GREENPACK project: to produce prototypes of fully recyclable PET trays for food preservation by using recycled PET (RPET). The proposed idea has been confirmed by providing a mono-material tray in virgin PET (for food contact) and RPET for the rest of the tray. The necessary O2 barrier properties are guaranteed by means of oxygen scavenger additives.
The second objective of this project: the study, designing and dissemination of a dedicated recycling model, inspired to replication and spreading of the recycling model of the 100% PET soft drink bottles, in the post-consumer phase, adapting its characteristics to the specific food package features. The recycling model focused on the management of a “cradle to cradle” loop, from and to the start of the manufacturing process, promoting the reduction of manufacturing costs and the carbon footprint of PET packaging for food.
Research and innovation activity consisted of 3 main implementation phases:
Phase 1 - Definition of requirements and specifications
Phase 2 - Lab research and implementation of the solution (Product Development)
Phase 3 - Industrial validation and uptake of the results
Implementation Phase 1
Requirements and specifications: analysis and identification of user and system requirements have been performed to define the exact specifications of the product and the architecture of the system production prototype. Each partner of the Consortium has been involved to take part in the discussion related to its specific field of activity and the identified stakeholders participated to the Design approach. The system framework has been defined in terms of industrial applications of the developed device, expected performances, and costs.
This phase 1 lead to the Milestone: User Requirements and Technical Specifications, which allowed the starting of the following design and development phase.
Implementation Phase 2
Product conceptual design: a general layout of the production process has been produced, with all the expected items. Main activities of this part of the work consisted in:
- Additives formulation;
- Multi-layer PET structure definition
- RPET oxygen barrier formulation
- Virgin PET and RPET coupling definition
This work lead to the Milestone: Product conceptual design by which the final products has been designed to comply with the specifications.
Prototyping and testing: this task dealt with the production of the first prototype of the new G-PET tray and the evaluation of its features by preliminary alpha tests. It consisted of the following main actions:
- Alpha prototyping of G-PET film-
- Alpha prototyping of empty G-PET tray
- RPET sheets barrier properties assessment
- Fabrication effect assessment
- Processability assessment
This work lead to the achievement of the Milestone: First prototype.
Implementation Phase 3
Results assessment: technical and economical evaluation and comparison of alternatives have been carried out. The results of field tests allowed the final assessment of the product performances and its life cycle.
The two main tasks are:
- Shelf life assessment of the G-PET package, considering different types of food-
- Life Cycle Assessment
This activity lead to the Milestone: Results Assessment that stated the success ratio of the project.
Demonstration: it is the field test campaign. It consisted in the production of the final prototype of the G-PET packaging with a form-fill and seal Machine in order to prove the viability of the researched solution.
This task lead to the achievement of the Milestone: Beta prototype.
Besides the difficulties encountered and the long project duration due to a work-plan revision and to a project suspension, the project successfully implemented the planned activities and achieved its objectives. From the implementation of the scientific and technical work carried out, the AGs and SME involved benefited of 3 main project results:
1) G-PET additives formulation (active barrier)
In the second half of this project the first request was to optimise the formulations produced so far and to prove that this basic material could be consistently reproduced. This was a crucial step as without a positive outcome in this respect the further results would have been somewhat redundant. Not only has D3.1 demonstrated that the formulation can be consistently reproduced it has also evaluated the economic impacts to be positive from both an economic and environmental perspective.
2) G-PET film production process
D3.2 has demonstrated that the base material has shown good processability and produces a film that would be acceptable in the commercial environment in terms of its visual impact (transparency level).
3) G-PET tray production process
The sheets/processed used showed excellent thermoforming capacities and recyclability.
In conclusion, the overall project objective below through the above testing and validations in WP3 and WP4 demonstrate a successful project and product.
Horizontal activities
The Research and innovation work has been supported by two horizontal activities:
- Dissemination and Exploitation phases have been carried out in continuous way during the entire project lifetime. In particular, the Exploitation activities aimed at defining the recycling model to support the exploitation strategy among the SMEs involved, whilst the dissemination activities have been targeted to present the innovative GREEN PACK in events dedicated to PET Packaging and Recycling and to show the packaging production and its recycling. Specific DEMO Sessions aimed to transfer the know-how generated from the RTD Performers to the AGs associated and SME involved.
This set of activities lead to the achievement of the Milestone: Exploitation Agreement defined and agreed among the main beneficiaries of the project.
- Project management phase. The coordination and management activities have been carried out through the entire project duration. The Coordinator of the GREEN PACK project (AVEP) constantly monitored the activities of all partners to endure the achievement of the S&T objectives planned and managed the administrative and financial issues, maintaining the relations with the REA. All partners actively contributed in supporting the Coordinator to fulfil the contractual obligations.
Potential Impact:
4.1.4.1 Route for the exploitation and future commercialization
The consortium pursued an ambitious goal, to push a substitution on food packaging from multilayer films to G-PET films. The attaining of this goal has, consequently, generated business opportunities for all the SME-AGs and SME proposers. The project confirmed the feasibility of a new market segment by introducing a new PET recycling packaging for food contact with enhanced technological features, which can grant a sustainable economic growth in the production and recycling framework.
The tangible outcomes of GREENPACK is:
• G-PET additives formulation
• G-PET film production process
• G-PET tray production process
Accordingly, the GREENPACK market proposition is the production of packaging solutions for PET trays that can fully satisfy the required performances solving the problem of the presence of sticking different layers of different plastic materials, PET included, therefore producing prototypes of fully recyclable 100% PET trays for food preservation also by using recycled PET (RPET).
To this scope, the GREENACK solution is a mono-material fully-transparent tray which could be recycled for producing new trays.
The GREENPACK Business Model
The exploitation of the project results is proposed to be carried out in the following way:
All of the SME-AGs, (AVEP, BPF, HAEE) have members within the packaging and recycling field, following the DEMO sessions held at each organisation the SME-AGs will proactively follow up with interested parties with a target of a minimum of 5 members of each association to achieve commercialisation of the GREENPACK technology.
The GREENPACK project has an opportunity through the SME-AGs to lobby the respective political parties in country to explain what is needed to create an environment that further promotes solutions like GREENPACK to achieve the environmental improvements in our sector.
The one area which we need to do this is in respect of the volume of RPET which is currently produced, which would need to increase significantly to enable mass production/take up of the GREENPACK solution as a PET thermoform contains over 50% of RPET.
As we are aware there is no consistent collection situation of post-consumer PET in the EU, however this is something that not only the industry, but the EU are looking to address. A study carried out by the PRE (Plastics Recyclers Europe) in July 2018 ( https://www.plasticsrecyclers.eu/pet-recycling-industry-installed-capacity-reviewed ), “underline the importance of increased collection and therefore availability of feedstock as a necessary condition to instigate these changes”
It was also recognised that the plastics/recycling industry is already seeing new projects and business developments such as the recycling of PET trays which are driving the need to further change.
The SME-AG’s are in a privileged position with their existing network of political and commercial connections to promote and influence these continued changes of both supplier/commercial and political demand.
This political influence is already having a positive impact on the industry in relation to what the GREENPACK project has achieved. On the 16 January 2018, the European Commission issued a press release entitled: “Plastic Waste: a European strategy to protect the planet, defend our citizens and empower our industries”. This strategy set up the following main objectives:
• Make recyclying profitable for business
• Curb plastic waste
• Stop littering at sea
• Drive investment and innovation
• Spur changes across the world
The press release makes the point that “There is a Strong business case” for transforming the way products are designed, produced, used and recycled in the EU”
These new plans state that all plastic packaging in the EU will be recyclable by 2030, this plan has far reaching implications beyond the EU, manufactures of plastics products all around the world that want there products to be used in Europe will have to adhere to these new rules. This is how the EU intends to “spur changes across the world”, given the size of the EU market and the world wide linked distribution/manufacturing networks to the end user it is easy to see the implications this strategy will have on the worldwide plastics industry.
It is also easy to see the direct correlation of the words used in this press release, the main objectives and how the GREENPACK solution fits into the upcoming changes within the EU.
Further to this strategy press release, we now have the next step in the process being the new rules that have been adopted by the European Parliament in March 2019 in respect of single-use plastics to reduce marine litter. Although the rules are to reduce marine litter, there is no way to segregate food packaging or bottles that get into the see and those that don’t. There for these rules effect the whole of the industry. The key points from the new rules are:
- Ban on selected single-use products made of plastic – this is applicable to food and beverage containers
- Measures to reduce consumption
- Extended Producer Responsibility Schemes
- Collection targets for plastic bottles
This puts the GREENPACK proposition into the forefront of the industry partners effected by these new rules.
In the initial phase of Exploitation/Commercialisation, GREENPACK will look to concentrate its efforts in Europe and specifically in Spain/UK/Italy/Germany/France/Hungary for one of two reasons:
a) through our project partners we already have expertise/connections in country
b) the countries have the highest recycling of PET in Europe.
Not only does starting in Europe make sense from the existing project member’s geography, but also because the Consortium wants to take advantage of the increasing demand and awareness of the benefits of RPET, which exists in the EU. Further geographical areas will be considered in a more advanced phase of commercialisation.
The implementation of the exploitation strategy is presented according to a three-stage adoption process
Step One.
Within six months of the project end enter into consultancy agreements with a minimum of 5 members of each SME-AG’s, this consultancy model will provide a crucial first phase. The reason for a consultancy model to be used in the first instance is because the project is not selling a machine or something that comes ready to use out of a box. The partners will be working alongside association members to develop a system that works in their existing environments, each member is likely to have different demands/needs and therefore the solutions we provide will be tailored to their needs. The basic principles will remain the same, but even the additive formulations may vary slightly and the processes/machines they have will be different to what the partners have used so far in the project.
The GREENPACK consortium has the knowledge to be able to provide these consultancy services and it provides the target audience with the ability to customise our solution to their needs.
It is proposed that all consultancy contracts go through the GREENPACK Exploitation Manager and the commercial terms will be agreed with GREENPACK, from there the members involved will deliver the work and retain 95% of the fees they are due, with 5% remaining within GREENPACK and this money would be spent on further promoting/exploitation.
Step Two.
Within twelve months of the project end enter into licensing agreements for the production of the packaging, for the AG’s members that enter into such an agreement it is proposed that they receive a two year free license, after such time fees will be generated from the licensing agreement. Any parties entering into such agreements which are not AG members will not enjoy this royalty free period. Two years is sufficient time for any party, but especially the partners, to find out if the products are a success which means that they are not having to pay additional fees during this early phase of product uptake.
Again all such agreements will go through the GREENPACK project and will initially be dealt with by the Exploitation Manager. In terms of how to structure such a licensing deal, another advantage of the consultancy model comes into play. During the consultancy phase, the partners will have learnt from the client, the existing cost of production and will know what cost savings can be achieving through the new formulation/processes which will enable them to be able to negotiate from a position of knowledge.
Step Three:
Once the GREENPACK project is generating revenues from the licensing model the partners (the SME-AGs) will look to use these funds with the services of the existing consortium members, to carry out further R&D to produce further innovative solutions using the expertise gained in the project and by the consortium partners. This will create an ongoing facility within GREENPACK to continue the good work/results generated so far and bring further commercial and environmental improvements to the packaging sector.
4.1.4.2 Dissemination and communication strategy
The project dissemination working team was mainly composed by all AGs and SME involved in the project and worked under the supervision of the Expolitaiton Manager (EM). This role was undertaken by Mr. Robert Price, responsible for managing the involvement of the BPF in EU-funded projects. Supported by the Exploitation Board, the EM carried out their activities throughout the whole project duration coordinating the preparation of the first Plan for Using and Disseminating Knowledge - PUDK (D6.2) and, at the end of the project, the Final PUDK (D6.3).
An Exploitation Agreement (D6.4) has been moreover, prepared describing in details the plans for the future exploitation of the results obtained and defining the mechanism for protecting the IP developed by the project.
Generally speaking, the main purpose of dissemination activities was to bring the knowledge of the project and the research to the attention of as many people as possible and to allow and speed up the uptake of the results from the SMEs-AGs and from the market. Regarding the GREENPACK project, the overall aim was to move the European PET packaging sector considerably forward with regards to PET recycling of food contact packaging, environment and safety performance.
The dissemination activities have been mainly carried out by the SME-AGs, who are deeply involved in the plastic packaging and recycling industry; this constitutes one of the most important marketing activities to prepare the ground for the introduction of the GREENPACK system on the market. The objective was to disseminate, at the national and international level, the main results to various parties and target groups, users in particular.
The main strategy adopted for the GREENPACK dissemination activities was based on the following principles:
- Dissemination is meant as a continuative activity throughout the project;
- Dissemination includes close interactions with industrial, research, and standardisation communities;
- Transfer results to the industrial, research, and standardisation communities;
- Publish GREENPACK results in relevant international and local scientific journals;
- The participation to events in the retail industry sector and food producers sectors as well as the diffusion of news and updates on the project via different tools and communication channels are considered as strategic actions to spread the awareness of the project;
- Strategic interface of the project promotion is the website, which contains both a public area to share release, news and public documents to the external audience and a restricted area for use only by the project partners.
Indeed, the main objective of the dissemination in GREENPACK was to make the project as visible as possible, informing and educating the community about the results of the project and its benefits as well as engaging with and getting feedback from the target groups.
In particular, the most important objectives were:
➢
-Raise awareness and Promoting the GREENPACK project, products and services
- Informing and educating the community about the details of the project and its benefits
- Engaging with and getting feedback from the target groups
The first step to spread the knowledge of the GREENPACK project was to define and implement key activities that deliver the right messages to the right audiences using the best methods. By knowing what is useful, interesting or redundant, the project team improved the likelihood of successfully reaching the target audience with the intended messages as well was able to identify the best communication principles and to tailor content and format to best communicate with each stakeholder group.
“The GREENPACK Project aims to produce prototypes of fully recyclable 100% PET package for food preservation also by using recycled PET (RPET) with O2 barrier improved transparency and low CO2 footprint”
Therefore, all the dissemination activities were designed to send a key message to the target audience(s). In determining the key message, its communication medium, and timing, consideration was given to identifying key stakeholder needs, namely who was the “receiving” individual/organization, what they needed to know about the GREENPACK project, and how that information could be communicated clearly and concisely (before the recipient loses interest in the message). The following scheme, based on the communication guideline taken from the EU presentation “Communicating EU Research in FP7: The Formula” was considered (see grap in the file attached):
* To whom: Scientific community - Press, general public
* What: Research results and key events
* Who: The Consortium (SMEs-AGs and RTDs) - Stakeholders groups
* Why: Visibility - Impact - Promoting the project
* Where: Scientific journals and meetings - Workshops, Seminars, Conferences and Fairs - Internet - Press
* How: Website - Materials (brochures, poster) - Press releases - Publishable summaries - Pictures, videos... -
* When: During the whole project
The GREENPACK target groups
Since the beginning, two main types of audience are targeted:
• Primary Audiences: Food Retail industry, Food industry
• Secondary Audiences: PET plastic recyclers, PET film manufacturers, PET packaging manufacturers, Consumers.
In collaboration with the S&T Manager, all the communication materials have been developed focusing on the targeted audiences needs and trying to reflect the diversity of the stakeholder groups and, above all, applying the following communication principles:
- Communicated messages clear, simple and easy to understand.
- Ensuring relevancy and getting the right message to the right audience.
- Communication of consistent messages with the project expectations among the project participants, the steering committee and external stakeholders.
- Repeated exposure to the key messages to improve the general awareness of the project goals.
GREENPACK Dissemination plan
Since the very beginning of the project the Consortium members and in particular the beneficiary SMEs-AGs agreed to outline a dissemination plan indicating the activities that should be carried out for a proper diffusion of the project start and developments. The dissemination plan was designed primarily as a guide and has been updated in light of what works. The main objectives:
• the periodical revision and updating of the GREENPACK logo and website during the whole project by the dissemination leader
• revision and updating of the main dissemination tools such as flyers, posters and roll up according to the specific dissemination request of the partners;
• updating of the press release for the further dissemination of the project;
• implementation of the dissemination plan, created and validated by the Consortium to properly coordinate the communication and promotional activities to be carried out during project;
• participation to strategic events;
• development of the final version of the GREENPACK exploitation plan, characterizing the exploitable results of the project and giving information about IPRs background and foreground as well as the exploitation claims.
• research the different Exploitation Strategies as the results become clear, how we protect them, route to market, what we as the project team want to do in the future with the results.
• find the best way to utilize the expertise in the project which will give the results the best chance of having a positive environmental and economical benefit to the plastics and food industries beyond this phase of the projects life-cycle
The following table (in the file attached) shows the dissemination plan, implemented and validated by all partners under WP6. In addition, the table reports the type of activity agreed, the responsible partner(s) and the timing chosen for communication, with a small description of what the partners mean to deliver by performing that activity.
Communication tools
The dissemination purpose was mainly carried out by using various communication tools and channels. A description of further communication tools is reported in the following section 4.1.5 whilst a detailed list of all the dissemination activities performed during the entire project is reported in the Table A2.
List of Websites:
Project public website and other communication tools
WEB SITE (http://greenpack-project.eu/)
The main purpose of the website was provide several information to the external audience and to give in a very immediate way an overview on the final technical, operational and strategic objectives and on the relevant events in the addressed market. The Consortium’s partners consider the GREENPACK website as the most important assets for the dissemination of the project. At this scope, during its design and test phase one of the goals has been the definition of the “key messages” to be communicated and the “way” to communicate them towards a well target set of external audience.
The ideation and implementation of such an important communication tool was planned for the first period of the project and carried out by HAEE. GREENPACK has a specific domain registered at the following web address: http://greenpack-project.eu/
Several updates have been implemented in the website during the project duration, especially within the private area which represents the intranet of the project in which the repository section has been created for storing, sharing and updating the project deliverables and other internal documents and files. The most relevant updating was the creation of seven databases of core information, which improved the efficiency of dissemination work:
1. Database of events;
2. Database of contacts
3. Database of media channels,
4. Database of contacts of organisations interested in S&T results,
5. Database of S&T media channels,
6. Database of technical events and workshops,
7. Database of similar research projects
The logo
The building of the project’s image started with the design of a distinctive logo which was created with the purpose to reinforce the identification of the key elements, distinctive of the project’s results. This logo has been included in the design and production of the GREENPACK website, leaflet and poster as well as in all the public and private communication material produced by the Consortium.
Flyer, Poster, Roll up and Press Release
Project brochure, poster and roll up describing goals and innovations of the project were designed by HAEE with the support of the whole consortium. Besides the English version, the project brochure has been translated into Hungarian and Spanish and the project poster has been translated into Spanish. The paper based communication tools aimed to create awareness and interest about the solutions proposed by the project partners and were the most effective communication tools for increasing awareness of the stakeholders at exhibitions. In addition, the press release contributed to raise the attention on the project objectives and to report on the experiences.
Events, trade shows, conferences and seminars
In the agreed dissemination strategy, the partners actively participated to several events related to the GREEN PACK thematic areas at national and European level. This helped to carry out an efficient communication action towards both an academic and industrial audience. Moreover, further local workshops have been organized in order to share and discuss research and technical issues related to the GREENPACK application and to validate the innovative technical solution adopted among well targeted groups of experts and users.
DEMO SESSIONS
The organization of Demo Sessions was a core dedicated activity which final expected goal was to increase the dissemination of the project results to the AG’s members. The involved associations promoted the organization of these events with the support of the RTD performers, in particular UNITV.
A specific flyer info has been developed by the RTD performers to promote the dissemination of the sessions and invite companies to attend. The Demo sessions has been the most important activity also in terms of results validation as participants from all PET trays value chain have evaluate the Greenpack project conclusions and the added value in terms of market needs solution.
The dissemination activities were implemented by the entire Consortium, and mainly by the AGs and SMEs, which are deeply involved in the plastic sector and directly engaged in the promotion of the project towards their associated members and networks.
The issue addressed by the GREENPACK project concerns the production of prototypes of fully recyclable PET trays for food preservation by using recycled PET (RPET). The project achieved its objectives proving the viability of a complete and sustainable approach for the recycling of plastic packaging. Secondary, the project proved also the viability of a dedicated recycling model, inspired towards the replication and spreading of the recycling model of the 100% PET soft drink bottles, in the post-consumer phase, adapting its characteristics to the specific food package features.
Although PET packaging solutions currently on the market fully satisfy the required performances, with respect to each single application, there is still a lack of these performances to be bridged respect to the basic need of the PET trays recycling. The main drawbacks of the current solutions for the PET trays manufacturing are due essentially to the presence of different plastic materials in the packages. In other terms, they are manufactured by sticking different layers of different plastic materials, PET included.
The multi-material feature poses severe limitations, and sometimes the impossibility, to the effective recycling of manufacturing scraps and of the trays at the end of their life. This is a dramatic reality for the economic and social development of EU because of the involved loss of raw materials, CO2 footprint, and landfill management. From a theoretical point of view, the goal of having a fully recyclable PET container for food packaging is surely feasible.
The project put the focus on the fact that many foods and beverages have a fundamental requirement for shelf stability: the minimization of oxygen exposure and thus minimal reaction with the food. In order to improve the PET container recyclability, the project dealt with the substitution of multilayer passive barriers (EVOH) with monolayer barriers by means of oxygen scavenger polyester-based additive, that is a substance capable of intercepting and scavenging oxygen by undergoing a chemical reaction with it, as the oxygen permeates through the PET packaging walls.
Coordinated by AVEP, the GREENPACK Consortium was made of :
• 3 representative association in the plastic sector from Spain (AVEP, the Association for Valencian companies in the Plastic industry), UK (BPF, the British Plastic Federation) Hungary (HAEE, the Association of Environmental Enterprises),
• 1 specialised company in the field of technological development of PET (POINT PLASTIC from Italy) and 1 private plastic recycler (LCLR from UK)
• 4 RTD performers dealing with the scientific and technical work: the University of Rome - Tor Vergata (IT), LABOR Srl a private contract research organisation (IT), the Technologist institute private RTD organization (NO) and MED Marine private company (IT).
Strongly committed the Consortium was able to ensure the efficiency and quality level of the GREENPACK strategy.
Project Context and Objectives:
One of the basic needs of the Food Retail Market is the availability of packages, composed by a tray and a sealing film on top. In many applications the package should be resistant enough to the oxygen penetration, in order to preserve the food quality over time, until the expiry date; a parameter commonly defined as the “shelf life”. One of the most familiar types of food trays found in all food retails and households all over the world is made from a plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, or PET for short. Introduced to consumers as the plastic soft drink bottles in the 1970s, PET quickly gained acceptance among bottlers and consumers. Because it was lightweight, economical and shatter proof, PET plastic offered unique marketing and lifestyle benefits. PET containers form part of everyone's daily life and are used today as a packaging material for a whole range of consumer products in addition to carbonated beverages. Another striking feature of PET on the environmental and economic side is that it is fully recyclable. Food-contact packaging applications are one of the largest uses of PET plastic resin. The ability to recycle these food-contact packages back into new PET food contact packages will help ensure the long-term viability of PET plastics recycling and the ability to avoid the use of virgin PET in food contact package manufacturing. The main objective of directive 2004/12/EC, amending directive 94/62/EC, of the European Union Legislation on Packaging and Packaging Waste, is to prevent packaging waste by encouraging packaging re-use and recycling while at the same time avoiding distortions in the internal market.
The directive requests that Members States introduce systems for the return and/or collection of used packaging and defines specific targets for packaging waste recovery and recycling. The GREEN PACK project stems from the general needs expressed above and partially but not yet completely satisfied.
Addressed to the PET film producers (large companies buying additives and licenses and produce GPET films in reels) and to retail industry and Food producers (large and small companies buying G-PET films/containers for food packaging), the major outputs and project results which have been exploited can be listed:
• New formulated oxygen barrier additives for food contact
• New fully recyclable G-PET film with oxygen barrier and for food contact
• New fully recyclable G-PET packaging with oxygen barrier and for food contact
The main objective of the GREENPACK project was 1) to produce prototypes of fully recyclable PET trays for food preservation by using recycled PET (RPET), specifically by providing a mono-material tray in virgin PET (for food contact) and RPET for the rest of the tray. The necessary barrier properties have been guaranteed by an active oxygen barrier. 2) to study, designing and dissemination of a dedicated recycling model, inspired to replication and spreading of the recycling model of the 100% PET soft drink bottles, in the post-consumer phase, adapting its characteristics to the specific food package features. The recycling model focused on the management of a "cradle to cradle" loop, from and to the starting manufacturing process, promoting the reduction of manufacturing costs and the carbon foot print of PET packaging for food. Although PET packaging solutions currently on the market fully satisfy the required performances, with respect to each single application, there is still a lack of these performances to be bridged respect to the basic need of the PET trays recycling. The main drawbacks of the current solutions for the PET trays manufacturing are due essentially to the presence of different plastic materials in the packages. In other terms they are manufactured by sticking different layers of different plastic materials, PET included. The multi-material feature poses severe limitations, and sometimes the impossibility, to the effective recycling of manufacturing scraps and of the trays at the end of their life. The major outputs and results of the project have been exploited by the participant SME-AGs on the following markets: 1) PET additives; 2) PET film production; 3) PET packaging production; 4) PET recycling.
Given what above, the main objectives or the project can be summarised:
1. The use of an additive to have oxygen barrier properties of the PET
2. The definition of a multi-layered structure for the packaging sheets, using a single base material (PET, virgin and recycled)
3. The study of the barrier properties of the final RPET sheets
4. The study of the fabrication effect for additivated RPET sheets (mainly on the aesthetics and other functional properties)
5. The study of the processability of the multi-layered mono-material sheets
6. The study of the combination with virgin PET for the film in contact with the food
7. The shelf life assessment of the new PET container
8. The definition of a recycling strategy for the final container
9. The LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)
The structure of the GREENPACK project foresees seven work packages divided among RTD activities (WP1, WP2, WP3, and WP4), Demonstration activities (WP5), Dissemination and Exploitation activities (WP6), and Management activities (WP7).
Project Results:
The main scientific and technological objective of GREENPACK project: to produce prototypes of fully recyclable PET trays for food preservation by using recycled PET (RPET). The proposed idea has been confirmed by providing a mono-material tray in virgin PET (for food contact) and RPET for the rest of the tray. The necessary O2 barrier properties are guaranteed by means of oxygen scavenger additives.
The second objective of this project: the study, designing and dissemination of a dedicated recycling model, inspired to replication and spreading of the recycling model of the 100% PET soft drink bottles, in the post-consumer phase, adapting its characteristics to the specific food package features. The recycling model focused on the management of a “cradle to cradle” loop, from and to the start of the manufacturing process, promoting the reduction of manufacturing costs and the carbon footprint of PET packaging for food.
Research and innovation activity consisted of 3 main implementation phases:
Phase 1 - Definition of requirements and specifications
Phase 2 - Lab research and implementation of the solution (Product Development)
Phase 3 - Industrial validation and uptake of the results
Implementation Phase 1
Requirements and specifications: analysis and identification of user and system requirements have been performed to define the exact specifications of the product and the architecture of the system production prototype. Each partner of the Consortium has been involved to take part in the discussion related to its specific field of activity and the identified stakeholders participated to the Design approach. The system framework has been defined in terms of industrial applications of the developed device, expected performances, and costs.
This phase 1 lead to the Milestone: User Requirements and Technical Specifications, which allowed the starting of the following design and development phase.
Implementation Phase 2
Product conceptual design: a general layout of the production process has been produced, with all the expected items. Main activities of this part of the work consisted in:
- Additives formulation;
- Multi-layer PET structure definition
- RPET oxygen barrier formulation
- Virgin PET and RPET coupling definition
This work lead to the Milestone: Product conceptual design by which the final products has been designed to comply with the specifications.
Prototyping and testing: this task dealt with the production of the first prototype of the new G-PET tray and the evaluation of its features by preliminary alpha tests. It consisted of the following main actions:
- Alpha prototyping of G-PET film-
- Alpha prototyping of empty G-PET tray
- RPET sheets barrier properties assessment
- Fabrication effect assessment
- Processability assessment
This work lead to the achievement of the Milestone: First prototype.
Implementation Phase 3
Results assessment: technical and economical evaluation and comparison of alternatives have been carried out. The results of field tests allowed the final assessment of the product performances and its life cycle.
The two main tasks are:
- Shelf life assessment of the G-PET package, considering different types of food-
- Life Cycle Assessment
This activity lead to the Milestone: Results Assessment that stated the success ratio of the project.
Demonstration: it is the field test campaign. It consisted in the production of the final prototype of the G-PET packaging with a form-fill and seal Machine in order to prove the viability of the researched solution.
This task lead to the achievement of the Milestone: Beta prototype.
Besides the difficulties encountered and the long project duration due to a work-plan revision and to a project suspension, the project successfully implemented the planned activities and achieved its objectives. From the implementation of the scientific and technical work carried out, the AGs and SME involved benefited of 3 main project results:
1) G-PET additives formulation (active barrier)
In the second half of this project the first request was to optimise the formulations produced so far and to prove that this basic material could be consistently reproduced. This was a crucial step as without a positive outcome in this respect the further results would have been somewhat redundant. Not only has D3.1 demonstrated that the formulation can be consistently reproduced it has also evaluated the economic impacts to be positive from both an economic and environmental perspective.
2) G-PET film production process
D3.2 has demonstrated that the base material has shown good processability and produces a film that would be acceptable in the commercial environment in terms of its visual impact (transparency level).
3) G-PET tray production process
The sheets/processed used showed excellent thermoforming capacities and recyclability.
In conclusion, the overall project objective below through the above testing and validations in WP3 and WP4 demonstrate a successful project and product.
Horizontal activities
The Research and innovation work has been supported by two horizontal activities:
- Dissemination and Exploitation phases have been carried out in continuous way during the entire project lifetime. In particular, the Exploitation activities aimed at defining the recycling model to support the exploitation strategy among the SMEs involved, whilst the dissemination activities have been targeted to present the innovative GREEN PACK in events dedicated to PET Packaging and Recycling and to show the packaging production and its recycling. Specific DEMO Sessions aimed to transfer the know-how generated from the RTD Performers to the AGs associated and SME involved.
This set of activities lead to the achievement of the Milestone: Exploitation Agreement defined and agreed among the main beneficiaries of the project.
- Project management phase. The coordination and management activities have been carried out through the entire project duration. The Coordinator of the GREEN PACK project (AVEP) constantly monitored the activities of all partners to endure the achievement of the S&T objectives planned and managed the administrative and financial issues, maintaining the relations with the REA. All partners actively contributed in supporting the Coordinator to fulfil the contractual obligations.
Potential Impact:
4.1.4.1 Route for the exploitation and future commercialization
The consortium pursued an ambitious goal, to push a substitution on food packaging from multilayer films to G-PET films. The attaining of this goal has, consequently, generated business opportunities for all the SME-AGs and SME proposers. The project confirmed the feasibility of a new market segment by introducing a new PET recycling packaging for food contact with enhanced technological features, which can grant a sustainable economic growth in the production and recycling framework.
The tangible outcomes of GREENPACK is:
• G-PET additives formulation
• G-PET film production process
• G-PET tray production process
Accordingly, the GREENPACK market proposition is the production of packaging solutions for PET trays that can fully satisfy the required performances solving the problem of the presence of sticking different layers of different plastic materials, PET included, therefore producing prototypes of fully recyclable 100% PET trays for food preservation also by using recycled PET (RPET).
To this scope, the GREENACK solution is a mono-material fully-transparent tray which could be recycled for producing new trays.
The GREENPACK Business Model
The exploitation of the project results is proposed to be carried out in the following way:
All of the SME-AGs, (AVEP, BPF, HAEE) have members within the packaging and recycling field, following the DEMO sessions held at each organisation the SME-AGs will proactively follow up with interested parties with a target of a minimum of 5 members of each association to achieve commercialisation of the GREENPACK technology.
The GREENPACK project has an opportunity through the SME-AGs to lobby the respective political parties in country to explain what is needed to create an environment that further promotes solutions like GREENPACK to achieve the environmental improvements in our sector.
The one area which we need to do this is in respect of the volume of RPET which is currently produced, which would need to increase significantly to enable mass production/take up of the GREENPACK solution as a PET thermoform contains over 50% of RPET.
As we are aware there is no consistent collection situation of post-consumer PET in the EU, however this is something that not only the industry, but the EU are looking to address. A study carried out by the PRE (Plastics Recyclers Europe) in July 2018 ( https://www.plasticsrecyclers.eu/pet-recycling-industry-installed-capacity-reviewed ), “underline the importance of increased collection and therefore availability of feedstock as a necessary condition to instigate these changes”
It was also recognised that the plastics/recycling industry is already seeing new projects and business developments such as the recycling of PET trays which are driving the need to further change.
The SME-AG’s are in a privileged position with their existing network of political and commercial connections to promote and influence these continued changes of both supplier/commercial and political demand.
This political influence is already having a positive impact on the industry in relation to what the GREENPACK project has achieved. On the 16 January 2018, the European Commission issued a press release entitled: “Plastic Waste: a European strategy to protect the planet, defend our citizens and empower our industries”. This strategy set up the following main objectives:
• Make recyclying profitable for business
• Curb plastic waste
• Stop littering at sea
• Drive investment and innovation
• Spur changes across the world
The press release makes the point that “There is a Strong business case” for transforming the way products are designed, produced, used and recycled in the EU”
These new plans state that all plastic packaging in the EU will be recyclable by 2030, this plan has far reaching implications beyond the EU, manufactures of plastics products all around the world that want there products to be used in Europe will have to adhere to these new rules. This is how the EU intends to “spur changes across the world”, given the size of the EU market and the world wide linked distribution/manufacturing networks to the end user it is easy to see the implications this strategy will have on the worldwide plastics industry.
It is also easy to see the direct correlation of the words used in this press release, the main objectives and how the GREENPACK solution fits into the upcoming changes within the EU.
Further to this strategy press release, we now have the next step in the process being the new rules that have been adopted by the European Parliament in March 2019 in respect of single-use plastics to reduce marine litter. Although the rules are to reduce marine litter, there is no way to segregate food packaging or bottles that get into the see and those that don’t. There for these rules effect the whole of the industry. The key points from the new rules are:
- Ban on selected single-use products made of plastic – this is applicable to food and beverage containers
- Measures to reduce consumption
- Extended Producer Responsibility Schemes
- Collection targets for plastic bottles
This puts the GREENPACK proposition into the forefront of the industry partners effected by these new rules.
In the initial phase of Exploitation/Commercialisation, GREENPACK will look to concentrate its efforts in Europe and specifically in Spain/UK/Italy/Germany/France/Hungary for one of two reasons:
a) through our project partners we already have expertise/connections in country
b) the countries have the highest recycling of PET in Europe.
Not only does starting in Europe make sense from the existing project member’s geography, but also because the Consortium wants to take advantage of the increasing demand and awareness of the benefits of RPET, which exists in the EU. Further geographical areas will be considered in a more advanced phase of commercialisation.
The implementation of the exploitation strategy is presented according to a three-stage adoption process
Step One.
Within six months of the project end enter into consultancy agreements with a minimum of 5 members of each SME-AG’s, this consultancy model will provide a crucial first phase. The reason for a consultancy model to be used in the first instance is because the project is not selling a machine or something that comes ready to use out of a box. The partners will be working alongside association members to develop a system that works in their existing environments, each member is likely to have different demands/needs and therefore the solutions we provide will be tailored to their needs. The basic principles will remain the same, but even the additive formulations may vary slightly and the processes/machines they have will be different to what the partners have used so far in the project.
The GREENPACK consortium has the knowledge to be able to provide these consultancy services and it provides the target audience with the ability to customise our solution to their needs.
It is proposed that all consultancy contracts go through the GREENPACK Exploitation Manager and the commercial terms will be agreed with GREENPACK, from there the members involved will deliver the work and retain 95% of the fees they are due, with 5% remaining within GREENPACK and this money would be spent on further promoting/exploitation.
Step Two.
Within twelve months of the project end enter into licensing agreements for the production of the packaging, for the AG’s members that enter into such an agreement it is proposed that they receive a two year free license, after such time fees will be generated from the licensing agreement. Any parties entering into such agreements which are not AG members will not enjoy this royalty free period. Two years is sufficient time for any party, but especially the partners, to find out if the products are a success which means that they are not having to pay additional fees during this early phase of product uptake.
Again all such agreements will go through the GREENPACK project and will initially be dealt with by the Exploitation Manager. In terms of how to structure such a licensing deal, another advantage of the consultancy model comes into play. During the consultancy phase, the partners will have learnt from the client, the existing cost of production and will know what cost savings can be achieving through the new formulation/processes which will enable them to be able to negotiate from a position of knowledge.
Step Three:
Once the GREENPACK project is generating revenues from the licensing model the partners (the SME-AGs) will look to use these funds with the services of the existing consortium members, to carry out further R&D to produce further innovative solutions using the expertise gained in the project and by the consortium partners. This will create an ongoing facility within GREENPACK to continue the good work/results generated so far and bring further commercial and environmental improvements to the packaging sector.
4.1.4.2 Dissemination and communication strategy
The project dissemination working team was mainly composed by all AGs and SME involved in the project and worked under the supervision of the Expolitaiton Manager (EM). This role was undertaken by Mr. Robert Price, responsible for managing the involvement of the BPF in EU-funded projects. Supported by the Exploitation Board, the EM carried out their activities throughout the whole project duration coordinating the preparation of the first Plan for Using and Disseminating Knowledge - PUDK (D6.2) and, at the end of the project, the Final PUDK (D6.3).
An Exploitation Agreement (D6.4) has been moreover, prepared describing in details the plans for the future exploitation of the results obtained and defining the mechanism for protecting the IP developed by the project.
Generally speaking, the main purpose of dissemination activities was to bring the knowledge of the project and the research to the attention of as many people as possible and to allow and speed up the uptake of the results from the SMEs-AGs and from the market. Regarding the GREENPACK project, the overall aim was to move the European PET packaging sector considerably forward with regards to PET recycling of food contact packaging, environment and safety performance.
The dissemination activities have been mainly carried out by the SME-AGs, who are deeply involved in the plastic packaging and recycling industry; this constitutes one of the most important marketing activities to prepare the ground for the introduction of the GREENPACK system on the market. The objective was to disseminate, at the national and international level, the main results to various parties and target groups, users in particular.
The main strategy adopted for the GREENPACK dissemination activities was based on the following principles:
- Dissemination is meant as a continuative activity throughout the project;
- Dissemination includes close interactions with industrial, research, and standardisation communities;
- Transfer results to the industrial, research, and standardisation communities;
- Publish GREENPACK results in relevant international and local scientific journals;
- The participation to events in the retail industry sector and food producers sectors as well as the diffusion of news and updates on the project via different tools and communication channels are considered as strategic actions to spread the awareness of the project;
- Strategic interface of the project promotion is the website, which contains both a public area to share release, news and public documents to the external audience and a restricted area for use only by the project partners.
Indeed, the main objective of the dissemination in GREENPACK was to make the project as visible as possible, informing and educating the community about the results of the project and its benefits as well as engaging with and getting feedback from the target groups.
In particular, the most important objectives were:
➢
-Raise awareness and Promoting the GREENPACK project, products and services
- Informing and educating the community about the details of the project and its benefits
- Engaging with and getting feedback from the target groups
The first step to spread the knowledge of the GREENPACK project was to define and implement key activities that deliver the right messages to the right audiences using the best methods. By knowing what is useful, interesting or redundant, the project team improved the likelihood of successfully reaching the target audience with the intended messages as well was able to identify the best communication principles and to tailor content and format to best communicate with each stakeholder group.
“The GREENPACK Project aims to produce prototypes of fully recyclable 100% PET package for food preservation also by using recycled PET (RPET) with O2 barrier improved transparency and low CO2 footprint”
Therefore, all the dissemination activities were designed to send a key message to the target audience(s). In determining the key message, its communication medium, and timing, consideration was given to identifying key stakeholder needs, namely who was the “receiving” individual/organization, what they needed to know about the GREENPACK project, and how that information could be communicated clearly and concisely (before the recipient loses interest in the message). The following scheme, based on the communication guideline taken from the EU presentation “Communicating EU Research in FP7: The Formula” was considered (see grap in the file attached):
* To whom: Scientific community - Press, general public
* What: Research results and key events
* Who: The Consortium (SMEs-AGs and RTDs) - Stakeholders groups
* Why: Visibility - Impact - Promoting the project
* Where: Scientific journals and meetings - Workshops, Seminars, Conferences and Fairs - Internet - Press
* How: Website - Materials (brochures, poster) - Press releases - Publishable summaries - Pictures, videos... -
* When: During the whole project
The GREENPACK target groups
Since the beginning, two main types of audience are targeted:
• Primary Audiences: Food Retail industry, Food industry
• Secondary Audiences: PET plastic recyclers, PET film manufacturers, PET packaging manufacturers, Consumers.
In collaboration with the S&T Manager, all the communication materials have been developed focusing on the targeted audiences needs and trying to reflect the diversity of the stakeholder groups and, above all, applying the following communication principles:
- Communicated messages clear, simple and easy to understand.
- Ensuring relevancy and getting the right message to the right audience.
- Communication of consistent messages with the project expectations among the project participants, the steering committee and external stakeholders.
- Repeated exposure to the key messages to improve the general awareness of the project goals.
GREENPACK Dissemination plan
Since the very beginning of the project the Consortium members and in particular the beneficiary SMEs-AGs agreed to outline a dissemination plan indicating the activities that should be carried out for a proper diffusion of the project start and developments. The dissemination plan was designed primarily as a guide and has been updated in light of what works. The main objectives:
• the periodical revision and updating of the GREENPACK logo and website during the whole project by the dissemination leader
• revision and updating of the main dissemination tools such as flyers, posters and roll up according to the specific dissemination request of the partners;
• updating of the press release for the further dissemination of the project;
• implementation of the dissemination plan, created and validated by the Consortium to properly coordinate the communication and promotional activities to be carried out during project;
• participation to strategic events;
• development of the final version of the GREENPACK exploitation plan, characterizing the exploitable results of the project and giving information about IPRs background and foreground as well as the exploitation claims.
• research the different Exploitation Strategies as the results become clear, how we protect them, route to market, what we as the project team want to do in the future with the results.
• find the best way to utilize the expertise in the project which will give the results the best chance of having a positive environmental and economical benefit to the plastics and food industries beyond this phase of the projects life-cycle
The following table (in the file attached) shows the dissemination plan, implemented and validated by all partners under WP6. In addition, the table reports the type of activity agreed, the responsible partner(s) and the timing chosen for communication, with a small description of what the partners mean to deliver by performing that activity.
Communication tools
The dissemination purpose was mainly carried out by using various communication tools and channels. A description of further communication tools is reported in the following section 4.1.5 whilst a detailed list of all the dissemination activities performed during the entire project is reported in the Table A2.
List of Websites:
Project public website and other communication tools
WEB SITE (http://greenpack-project.eu/)
The main purpose of the website was provide several information to the external audience and to give in a very immediate way an overview on the final technical, operational and strategic objectives and on the relevant events in the addressed market. The Consortium’s partners consider the GREENPACK website as the most important assets for the dissemination of the project. At this scope, during its design and test phase one of the goals has been the definition of the “key messages” to be communicated and the “way” to communicate them towards a well target set of external audience.
The ideation and implementation of such an important communication tool was planned for the first period of the project and carried out by HAEE. GREENPACK has a specific domain registered at the following web address: http://greenpack-project.eu/
Several updates have been implemented in the website during the project duration, especially within the private area which represents the intranet of the project in which the repository section has been created for storing, sharing and updating the project deliverables and other internal documents and files. The most relevant updating was the creation of seven databases of core information, which improved the efficiency of dissemination work:
1. Database of events;
2. Database of contacts
3. Database of media channels,
4. Database of contacts of organisations interested in S&T results,
5. Database of S&T media channels,
6. Database of technical events and workshops,
7. Database of similar research projects
The logo
The building of the project’s image started with the design of a distinctive logo which was created with the purpose to reinforce the identification of the key elements, distinctive of the project’s results. This logo has been included in the design and production of the GREENPACK website, leaflet and poster as well as in all the public and private communication material produced by the Consortium.
Flyer, Poster, Roll up and Press Release
Project brochure, poster and roll up describing goals and innovations of the project were designed by HAEE with the support of the whole consortium. Besides the English version, the project brochure has been translated into Hungarian and Spanish and the project poster has been translated into Spanish. The paper based communication tools aimed to create awareness and interest about the solutions proposed by the project partners and were the most effective communication tools for increasing awareness of the stakeholders at exhibitions. In addition, the press release contributed to raise the attention on the project objectives and to report on the experiences.
Events, trade shows, conferences and seminars
In the agreed dissemination strategy, the partners actively participated to several events related to the GREEN PACK thematic areas at national and European level. This helped to carry out an efficient communication action towards both an academic and industrial audience. Moreover, further local workshops have been organized in order to share and discuss research and technical issues related to the GREENPACK application and to validate the innovative technical solution adopted among well targeted groups of experts and users.
DEMO SESSIONS
The organization of Demo Sessions was a core dedicated activity which final expected goal was to increase the dissemination of the project results to the AG’s members. The involved associations promoted the organization of these events with the support of the RTD performers, in particular UNITV.
A specific flyer info has been developed by the RTD performers to promote the dissemination of the sessions and invite companies to attend. The Demo sessions has been the most important activity also in terms of results validation as participants from all PET trays value chain have evaluate the Greenpack project conclusions and the added value in terms of market needs solution.
The dissemination activities were implemented by the entire Consortium, and mainly by the AGs and SMEs, which are deeply involved in the plastic sector and directly engaged in the promotion of the project towards their associated members and networks.