TURKISH
18/12/25
COP30 gave a clear indication of the need to move from pledges and commitments around climate change to action and implementation.
Over the last three decades, COP gatherings have become landmark events for society’s efforts to combat climate change. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), countries from all over the world come together every year at the Conference of the Parties (COP) to assess progress and agree on collective next steps. These countries negotiate decisions that guide international climate policy and cooperation.
As a global manufacturer of flexible packaging in operation since the early 1970s, we have closely followed the COP conferences with interest since the first meeting took place in 1992. Since then, we have also worked to help our customers, the wider packaging industry, and communities around the world adopt a holistic approach to ESG, transition to a sustainable future, and confirm Korozo as a leader in recyclable flexible packaging.
Some of our developments have included the greater use of and transition towards fully renewable energy, greater control of waste and water management, the rollout of recyclable mono-material flexible packaging, and the greater use of post-consumer (PCR) and post-industrial (PIR) recycled content.
It has been a decade since the final wording of the Paris Agreement was adopted at the conclusion of COP21. This had the long-term goal of keeping the rise in global surface temperature to well below 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. The treaty also stated that preferably the limit of the increase should only be 1.5 degrees C.
Since then, the yearly COP gatherings have seen further commitments made to support the world’s transition to a sustainable footing. At COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, for example, the focus on limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C was strengthened, while pledges were made to cut methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 and to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation, also by 2030.
The main outcome of COP28 in the UAE in 2023 was the first-ever ‘Global Stocktake’. This was a comprehensive assessment of progress toward the Paris Agreement goals. Participating nations agreed to a call in the final text to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels in energy systems to achieve net zero by 2050. Additionally, 125 countries committed to tripling global renewable energy capacity to over 11,000GW and doubling the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. There was also an agreement on a framework for identifying targets related to water, food, health, and ecosystems to enhance resilience to climate impacts.
At this year’s COP30, calls have been made for financing to support the steps needed to be taken, particularly in developing countries; stronger roadmaps away from fossil fuels; greater protection of forests and indigenous rights; and better mechanisms to steer private capital toward low-carbon, circular solutions.
As a global industry, what must the packaging sector learn from COP30? For brands and their flexible packaging suppliers, this will irreversibly drive policies and markets towards recyclable and lower-carbon materials and increase the focus on supply chains and their input to climate change.
COP30 takeaways
COP30 carried forward a push to mobilise large-scale financing for the transition to sustainable practices and models, with a focus on firm roadmaps to channel public and private capital into decarbonisation and resilience. This includes Circular Economy projects that reduce waste and emissions.
Fossil fuels remained in the spotlight, with concrete phase-out pathways and national roadmaps being implemented. This places pressure on energy and raw material sourcing and encourages the move away from fossil feedstocks and toward recycled content and bio-based alternatives where appropriate. In Europe, this aligns with the requirements of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which has been adopted for over a year already and is scheduled to become enforceable as of 12 August 2026.
A stronger emphasis on the impact of supply chains means there will be increased expectation on companies to trace, reduce, and root out environmental harms embedded in packaging value chains.
Clearer rules on carbon markets and finance will create new commercial incentives and compliance risks for businesses, who must accurately measure and reduce emissions across all scopes of their activity. Buyers and investors alike will demand to see evidence of certified emissions reductions and robust circularity claims.
Implications for Packaging
Regulation and procurement will favour recyclability and recycled content. Retailers, FMCG brands, and food companies are already updating their procurement specifications to meet national and corporate targets. This will only continue, and mean packaging must support easy recycling and see higher PCR content prioritised.
Brands will intensify due diligence on polymer feedstocks, inks, adhesives and additives. Packaging suppliers that can demonstrate chain-of-custody and supplier engagement will have a distinct commercial advantage. At the same time, customers will prefer suppliers that disclose their Scope 1-3 footprints and show reductions or credible avoidance strategies.
Through our long-standing commitment to sustainability and responsible practices and products, Korozo Group is ideally placed to help progress the flexible packaging industry forwards in the fight against climate change. This comes off the back of COP30 and looks toward COP31, which is to be held in Antalya, Türkiye during 2026.
As a globally focused manufacturer, we have been building exactly the capabilities the market needs. Our operations are producing a growing amount of recyclable flexible packaging for brands and retailers around the world. Today, 64% of our production is designed to recyclable and recovered under existing collection and recycling streams. These packagings are manufactured using our proprietary KoroRCY MDO-PE laminating film and use increasingly responsible processes and practices that reduce our footprint and those of our suppliers.
We are also well on our way with a high amount of PCR for non-contact sensitive applications (greater than 30%), while developing solutions for more challenging and sensitive applications where consumer health is a greater priority. The increased use of mechanically reclaimed PCR reduces reliance on virgin fossil feedstocks, directly responding to COP30’s acceleration of low carbon material pathways. For brands seeking to lower product lifecycle emissions, using films already formulated with PCR is a fast route to action.
Our innovation pipeline ensures we are creating sustainable and recyclable solutions without compromising functionality. KoroRCY can be used to create high barrier flexible packaging options and highly functional pouches and films that promote food safety and shelf life while still being recyclable. This combination of circularity plus barrier performance meets the circularity criteria the market will be demanding post-COP30.
We are also leading the way in reporting and certification. Whether demonstrating measurable reductions in our Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions or increasing the share of recyclable film production, transparent reporting and third-party metrics for GHG emissions make it easier for brands to include supplier performance in their carbon accounting and procurement scorecards, a capability that will become more valuable as carbon governance tightens.
Post-COP30
COP30 has narrowed the gap between ambition and implementation. For the packaging value chain, this creates clear commercial incentives at the same time as growing regulatory and investor demand for recyclable materials, recycled content, and robust supply chain integrity.
An immediate result of COP30 is that brands and packaging buyers must move quickly to audit their packaging formats and ensure they are aligned with global moves to limit climate impact. In Europe, PPWR means this should already be happening but COP30 reinforces the need for any brand or retailer that is trailing behind.
The focus should be on SKUs with the highest volume and end-of-life impact, and the conversion to recyclable mono-material packaging formats. Brands, packers and retailers should also only work with suppliers that can provide detailed chain-of-custody evidence and verified Scope 1–3 reductions to align procurement with the finance and carbon expectations that emerge from COP30.
Most importantly, they should make sure to work with partners that contribute to the improvement in their environmental performance, and who allow testing and development of new solutions, cut carbon out of the supply chain, and achieve sustainability goals.
You can find out more about our responsibility to people, packaging, and the planet here, including details of all of our certificates, commitments, and reports.
To further your journey towards a sustainable and circular future, contact us today to discuss how our recyclable packaging solutions can help tackle climate change.