The formation of an Federation of Asian Packaging organisations and associations was first proposed in Tokyo at the International Packaging Conference on the 7th September 1996 held in conjunction with the first ever Tokyo Pack, this was also the first international packaging conference held in Asia.

More than 135 people from 16 countries attended the conference and as a result it was decided that two packaging organizations be formed: A global organisation and an Asian regional grouping - these later became World Packaging Organisation and Asian Packaging Federation (APF).

The Inaugural General Meeting of the Asian Packaging Federation was held, appropriately, in Kyoto in July, 1997 and has been a force to unite the packaging interests of all trade and industries in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, under one co-operative umbrella with the objective to enhance cross-country co-operation among all packaging-related bodies, covering a gamut of subjects like training & education, package development, environmental aspects, law and regulations.

Sustainability

 The 40th Anniversary Congress of the APF will see the presidents and chairmen of packaging orgainistations from across the region leading delegations of their members to Singapore to address and discuss the very real issues of Sustainability and Compliance in Asia’s rapidly developing market.

In addition to the closed-door Board Meetings the APF Asian Packaging Summit, a public session, will be open to all players in the packaging industry whether they are APF members of not.

Addressing the delegates on the topic of Packaging Sustainability will be representatives from China, Thailand and India, while international packaging legislation and compliance will be addressed by Europen, the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment.

Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and the role of the Brand Owner will be discussed by Nestle, PepsiCo and speakers from Japan Packaging Research Institute and Japan Packaging Institute.

According to Albert Lim, President of the APF and the Packaging Council of Singapore  “Although in a broad sense sustainability is a recent phenomenon, for packaging this is not the case because for decades our industry has been the focus of environmental attention and pressure.”

 “Therefore, the packaging chain is probably one of the industry sectors best prepared and with the most experience in meeting today’s sustainability challenges.

“The overarching environmental issues driving sustainability demands include climate change, energy sources, our use of natural resources and the disposal of waste.  For packaging the drivers of the environmental response to these challenges come both from legislative and non-legislative sources.”

The Packaging Oscars of Asia

Held in conjunction with the APF Congress will be the “Packaging Oscars of Asia’ – AsiaStar Awards, in which winners of national packaging awards from all over the region will be compared, judged and honoured with the ultimate accolade – an AsiaStar.

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