Collaborations for circular food packaging: The set-up and partner selection process

Almost 40% of plastics are converted to packaging and half of those to food packaging (Rhim et al., 2013), of which 32% escapes collection systems and accumulates in the natural environment (EMF, 2017). Circular food packaging is often promoted as a solution to the inefficient production, use, and disposal of plastic packaging. Its implementation, however, remains limited due to the high degree of cross-chain collaboration required. Literature on CE collaboration is scarce and provides little guidance on how to build up circular partnerships. This research examines European food companies engaging in cross-chain collaborations for reusable or recyclable primary retail food packaging to answers the question: “How do focal firms set up and choose collaborations for circular food packaging?”. 17 qualitative interviews with food companies and circular packaging experts were used to refine a literature-based framework of how firms typically identify and establish collaborations for circular food packaging. The resulting framework consists of five phases (prerequisites, understanding, preparation, partner involvement, and formalisation) and nine sub-steps. Factors that influence the collaboration choice and set-up in the different steps were also identified, including the firm’s size and its position in the value chain, type of packaged food, location of operations, type of project (reusable vs recyclable food packaging) and collaboration type required. Finally, the study determined 14 roles of potential relevance in a CE, easing the assessment of internal capabilities and partners needed; as well as nine (either generic or CE-specific) partner characteristics that are important in the evaluation of the partners’ fit.