Yet it moves

Acceleration by Stefano Lavorini

It’s nice to be able to establish that progress never stops, not even in this period of crisis, marked by downturns in nearly all segments of the huge world of packaging producers and users.

Going against this trend the turnover of the machine builders, both for converting (Acimga) as well as for packaging (Ucima) thanks to the good performance on the foreign markets.
Hence the world goes on, perhaps due to a lack of alternatives, perhaps from a pure spirit of survival or perhaps, as Leopardi would have said, for the “vain pleasure of illusions”.
The point is, putting together what was recently seen and heard, one senses a growing need among the actors of the sector to exchange knowledge and share information, to foster a process of growth common to both suppliers and users.
The central theme of this joint effort - over and beyond finding a way of easing ones daily toils - can be summed up in the term “sustainabiity”, declined in the most various meanings.

Environmental sustainability. This was discussed by the pressure sensitive label producers (Gipea), who exchanged opinions with their users on product and process technological innovation, implicating substrates (basis weights, new materials), production waste, eco-inks and traditional as well as digital print technologies.
Indeed the paradigm of sustainability, as asset for future development, is at the centre of Nespresso’s global Ecolaboration campaign for sustainable production and social responsibility. A model of virtuous cooperation that shows we are better off being prepared for situations that might strike at any moment.

Social sustainability. Of note the encounter organized by L’Oréal in Paris with their chief suppliers (also mentioned at Achema), to underline that the integration of social, environmental and economic questions is fundamental to the strategy and activities of the selfsame company; as a consequence, respect for the laws, human and labour rights, the safeguarding of public health, questions of safety in general as well as environmental policy become key elements in rating ones direct suppliers.
In the more circumspect field of food safety authoritative voices had their say during the encounter organized by Sun Chemical to dialogue with converters and users on regulatory shortcomings, development of EB UV inks and controlled migration along with risk assessment: recognised and declared the intent to coordinate management of information and knowhow at sector level.
Worthy of note too the work done with coherent steadfastness by Box Marche who, to present its Global Report 2011, invented a space for reflection on “Growth and Convergences”, interpreting matters from a human, relational and cultural as well as economic point of view.

Economic sustainability. A sensitive and cross-cutting subject that shifts the reflection to innovation - covering issues of design, production, strategy - to be tackled coherently working on the entire grouping of suppliers, on partnerships (the “real” ones), on the creation of values through information and services.
This was broadly broached at the SPS fair by all industrial automation producers, committed as they are to developing systems capable or reducing energy consumption.
On a more general level the folding case producers and their suppliers (Gifasp) raised the question of entrepreneurship and the effort to reinforce the capacity and the will to encourage the same, courageously crossing over into the field of psychology and psychotherapy, wondering how they can better react to the difficulties.
Some striking, against the mainstream considerations were raised, first and foremost that “work is a resource for human beings and NOT the opposite”.

Everything fine then? Well… the huge fine of 3 billion dollars that the pharmaceutical giant Glaxosmithkline will have to pay following the case against them for fraud and incorrect indication of the safety of pharmaceutical brought to bear by the US department of justice is not a good sign. It is proof of the fact that a lot still needs to be done to create consensus and build new relations of trust and faith between suppliers and customers, between brands and consumers.

That is to say, life goes on…