Six CPG Giants Form PaperFlex Consortium for Paper-Based Flexible Packaging

Six of the world's largest consumer packaged goods companies — Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Unilever — have joined a new consortium the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched Wednesday to accelerate development of paper-based flexible packaging as an alternative to plastic.

The PaperFlex Consortium will primarily target innovation for small-format packaging and will prioritize geographic markets where plastics are likely to end up in the environment due to a lack of collection and recycling systems, according to EMF. The foundation is inviting other companies to join the six founding members.

Early conversations about the consortium ran in parallel with EMF's work on a paper-based flexibles report released in March, which suggested that switching to fiber could reduce pollution from small-format plastic packaging. "They really share the same objective. The report was an important piece to make sure that all the stakeholders are aligned on the same vision," Sander Defruyt, strategy lead for plastics at EMF, told Packaging Dive.

That report laid out six criteria paper flexibles would need to meet, including responsible production and the avoidance of hazardous chemicals. But solutions that satisfy all of them remain out of reach.

"The report really concluded that paper-based flexible packaging solutions that meet all those criteria do not exist today, and definitely not at the scale and the cost that we need them," Defruyt said. "That's the gap that the PaperFlex Consortium aims to answer."

Members intend to collaborate on R&D to bring flexibles innovations to market faster. They are aiming for solutions that are both biodegradable and recyclable — a combination that currently lags in the marketplace, Defruyt said.

The group will also target replacements for a particularly stubborn category: small-format flexibles sized A5 or smaller, such as sachets, wrappers and pouches. Made from plastic, these items carry high "leakage rates," or instances of ending up in the environment, according to EMF.

"They are very hard to collect — they're very small, flimsy, lightweight — making it hard especially in countries where there's no formal collection systems," Defruyt said. He cited Asian markets such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines as examples.

Barriers and coatings form another focus area. The consortium will look for biodegradable coatings that boost packaging performance. "That combination really doesn't exist for most" paper-based flexibles, Defruyt said. Any resulting products would also need to run at manufacturing speeds that are "economically viable."

Some operational details remain unresolved. The current thinking, Defruyt said, is that the fast-moving consumer goods companies would engage with solution providers along the supply chain. "Small innovators or big banks. Suppliers or coating companies, etc. We will need all of these earlier in the supply chain to work with the consortium towards solutions," he said.

The timeline is similarly undefined. "By the very nature of the innovation process, it's a bit hard to predict," Defruyt said. The group will start by identifying the most promising specific technologies. It will focus collectively on R&D, leaving individual member companies to commercialize the solutions.

The consortium intends to share its findings and progress publicly, allowing the entire industry to benefit rather than just its members.

The effort aligns with the 2030 plastics agenda EMF outlined in late 2025, which calls for collaboration and pooled resources to tackle plastic pollution. That agenda identified flexible plastic packaging as one of the major roadblocks to a circular economy for plastics and packaging, Defruyt said, and "this consortium really addresses that very specific issue."