“Does anyone know the weight and material breakdown for these packs in Germany and France?”
Spreadsheets appear, numbers clash, and after a few long evenings the portal finally accepts the upload. Then everyone forgets about it until next time.
With the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and expanding packaging EPR rules, this approach is risky and unnecessarily expensive. PPWR brings stricter recyclability rules, minimum recycled content, reuse and waste-reduction obligations, and more granular, harmonised EPR reporting that all depend on reliable data per pack, per market.
If instead you treat packaging data as a strategic asset, the same information can:
- Cut EPR fees and material costs
- Accelerate eco-design and PPWR readiness
- Simplify your portfolio and operations
- Strengthen ESG/CSRD reporting and claims
- Prepare you for Digital Product Passports (DPPs) as they roll out by sector
- Support better decisions across the whole business
This article explains how.
1. Why PPWR and EPR make packaging data non-negotiable
PPWR in a nutshell
PPWR replaces the old Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC and applies directly in all EU Member States. It introduces, among other elements:
- Stricter recyclability and “design for recycling” requirements
- Recycled content targets for plastics
- Waste-reduction and reuse obligations
- More detailed, harmonised EPR rules and modulated fees
You cannot manage any of this without knowing, per pack and per market, what you place on the market, how it is designed, and how it behaves at end-of-life.
EPR: data-heavy by design
Under packaging EPR, producers must typically:
- Register in each relevant country
- Report weight and material of packaging placed on the market by category
- Pay fees that increasingly depend on recyclability and eco-design criteria
- Keep auditable records behind every reported number
In some countries and for certain producer sizes, additional recyclability or “minimum standard” assessments already apply, and similar expectations are likely to increase under PPWR. Stopping at “just enough to report” keeps you compliant on paper, but you miss most of the strategic value of that data.
So: no robust data, no robust compliance—and no way to use packaging as a serious optimisation lever.
2. What “good” packaging data actually looks like
“Proper” packaging data is not a one-off Excel built when the portal opens. It is a structured, governed data set that at least covers the following dimensions.
2.1 Identification
- Packaging item ID
- Link to product / SKU / GTIN
- Pack level (primary / secondary / tertiary)
- Markets where it is placed on the market
- Commercial status (active, delisted, in development)
2.2 Composition
- Materials and sub-materials per component (bottle, cap, label, adhesive, coating, inserts, overwrap, transport elements)
- Weight per component
- Percentage of post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content where relevant
- Presence of substances that may be restricted now or under future chemicals and packaging rules
2.3 Circularity attributes
- Recyclability “in practice and at scale” by market or region, using a transparent, updatable methodology
- Reuse / refill attributes (system description, intended number of cycles, return logistics)
- Compostable / biodegradable status and applicable standards or national rules
- Labels and markings (sorting instructions, material codes, reuse info, deposit symbols)
2.4 Governance
- Named data owners and stewards (typically packaging/R&D plus regulatory/sustainability)
- Version control and approval history linked to specification change processes
- Basic validation rules (required fields, sensible ranges, unit checks)
- Access control and data security, so critical information does not live in uncontrolled spreadsheets
If you are not at least close to this, PPWR/EPR reporting will always be painful—and you will not be able to reuse the same data for strategy, design and ESG.
3. Beyond compliance: 5 business benefits of strong packaging data
3.1 Lower EPR fees and material costs
Modulated EPR fees mean you increasingly pay more for problematic packaging and less for recyclable, well-designed formats. With solid data you can:
- Spot items that attract high fee rates (for example, non-recyclable laminates, opaque or heavily pigmented plastics, formats outside collection systems)
- Quantify the fee impact of redesigns (“Switching these SKUs to mono-material or to a different colour system saves X per year”)
- Reduce over-specification (unnecessary weight, components or protective layers) while staying compliant and fit-for-purpose
- Optimise logistics by analysing weights and dimensions across the range
EPR stops being just a fixed cost and becomes a lever for cost optimisation and eco-design.
3.2 Faster, PPWR-aligned eco-design
PPWR raises expectations on recyclability, recycled content and reuse, with timelines that differ by material and application. Good data lets packaging teams:
- Map all current packs against recyclability criteria and national “minimum standards” where they already exist
- Prioritise high-impact redesigns instead of chasing minor or purely cosmetic wins
- Avoid “surprise” non-compliance when rules, minimum thresholds or fee structures change
You move from reactive “firefighting redesigns” to a planned, PPWR-aligned eco-design roadmap.
3.3 Portfolio simplification and smoother operations
Once packaging data is centralised and comparable, you often discover:
- Multiple near-identical specifications maintained separately in different markets
- Local variations that add complexity but little commercial value
- Legacy formats that are hard to recycle and no one has challenged for years
With good data you can:
- Group packaging into families and standardise across brands and countries
- Reduce the number of materials, formats and artworks in use
- Simplify life for suppliers, co-packers and internal teams
The result is lower operating costs, fewer errors and simpler PPWR/EPR reporting.
3.4 Stronger ESG, CSRD and marketing claims
Under CSRD and broader ESG expectations, packaging is a visible, quantifiable part of your footprint and value chain reporting. Robust packaging data allows you to:
- Quantify Scope 3 emissions more accurately by linking materials, weights and end-of-life assumptions to emission factors
- Back up claims like “X% of our packaging is recyclable in practice” or “We have reduced average pack weight by Y%” with traceable evidence
- Avoid greenwashing by connecting every statement to underlying data, calculations and approvals
Your sustainability report, website and on-pack messages align—and can withstand scrutiny from auditors, NGOs and authorities.
3.5 Ready for Digital Product Passports and future audits
The upcoming Digital Product Passport (DPP) under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation will be rolled out by product category and will require granular, standardised product data. Packaging data will sit in the same ecosystem as product, materials and supply-chain information.
If your packaging data is already structured, you can:
- Feed relevant packaging information into future DPP systems as your product categories come into scope
- Align packaging and product data across PLM, ERP and spec systems, using common identifiers
- Respond calmly to audits and data checks from EPR schemes, regulators, customers and certification bodies
You are no longer scrambling for numbers every time someone asks, “Can you prove this?”
4. A practical roadmap to build your packaging data foundation
Step 1 – Define ownership and governance
- Appoint clear data owners (often packaging/R&D) and data stewards (regulatory/sustainability, sometimes finance for fees).
- Define who can create and change specs, how changes are approved, and when data is “locked” for reporting periods.
- Set rules for where data lives and how external partners (suppliers, co-packers) contribute.
Step 2 – Design your data model
Start with what PPWR/EPR clearly require (weights, materials, pack level, markets, recyclability, recycled content, reuse attributes). Then add fields to support:
- Eco-design (recyclability grades, key design features, problem components)
- DPP and ESPR (IDs, data quality flags, lifecycle attributes that may be required for in-scope categories)
- ESG/CSRD (links to LCA results, emission factors, reduction initiatives)
Keep it future-proof but pragmatic: enough structure to scale, without blocking progress.
Step 3 – Choose your “single source of truth”
Decide where packaging master data will live in your architecture:
- PLM
- ERP with a packaging module
- Specialist specification system
- Or a data platform that joins these up
The key is one controlled, authoritative record per pack—not three conflicting Excels in different departments.
Step 4 – Clean and backfill the highest-risk areas first
Focus your initial effort on:
- High-volume SKUs and key markets with the biggest fee and regulatory exposure
- Non-recyclable or complex formats with higher fees or clear PPWR risk
- Strategically important products where claims and visibility are highest
Use supplier specifications, test reports and technical data to improve accuracy, then lock in better collection processes so you do not have to “clean” the same data twice.
Step 5 – Embed data into daily processes
- Make complete, approved packaging data a gate in new product development.
- Integrate data capture into supplier onboarding, spec approvals and artwork processes.
- Give teams simple dashboards: recyclability by market, fee hotspots, progress vs PPWR-aligned goals.
When people use the data to make daily decisions, they also maintain and improve it.
5. How RegSurance can support you
At Regsurance, the goal is not just to “get the report in on time”, but to help you build a packaging data foundation that:
- Meets PPWR and packaging EPR requirements with lower compliance risk
- Reduces your total packaging and EPR costs over time
- Prepares your organisation for Digital Product Passports and future EU rules
If your reality today is “Excel chaos” whenever an EPR deadline appears, turning packaging data into a strategic asset is one of the most impactful steps you can take.