Ceepackaging

Environment

EU urged not to penalise packaging

The concept was put forward in a recent letter to the Commission President from UK Prime Minister
Gordon Brown and France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy addressing the role VAT might have in combating
climate change. It is not clear to EUROPEN members why particular reference is made to packaging in
this context, but EUROPEN is concerned that initiatives to apply multiple layers of charges to packaging
could divert attention from more fundamental measures that need to be taken to address climate change.
“Further measures would only add to existing ‘stealth taxes’ on consumers and distortions of competition
within the packaged goods sector,” said Julian Carroll, Managing Director of EUROPEN. “We consider the
idea is flawed because it fails to take into account the fact that the packaged goods sector is meeting the
ambitious EU recovery and recycling targets it has been set, and has successfully decoupled waste
generation from economic growth.”
In its letter, EUROPEN sets out the positive role that packaging plays in protecting products and thereby in
preventing waste. This saves energy and natural resources, with the result that packaging’s impact on
climate change is minimal and may in some cases actually result in a net reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions1. “The priority should be to avoid under-packaging, rather than to penalize its use,” said Carroll.
The possibility of applying reduced rates of VAT to certain packaging systems would also be unjustified,
ineffective and unworkable in EUROPEN’s view. “Any attempt to favour some packaging systems over
others by applying a reduced rate of VAT would be disproportionate to any real environmental differences
and would distort competition,” said Carroll.