Reshaping Pharmaceutical Packaging’s Sustainable Future at Pharmapack 2026

Pharmapack 2026 returns as the pharmaceutical packaging industry's premier gathering, bringing together global leaders, innovators, and decision-makers for an unparalleled showcase of cutting-edge solutions and strategic insights.

Morten Munk focus and success in making pharmaceutical products available for patients, is founded on more than 35 years of industry experience in biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing, which has made him a globally recognized technical expert in the field.

One common denominator for his work has been to use his business and quality mindset in combination with a broad perspective on biomanufacturing, to support all stages of development and the full supply chain of high-quality pharmaceuticals. This includes experience in addressing the areas critical for commercial manufacturing during the process development and subsequent scale-up stages, as well as handling drug product operations and distribution aspects. Morten holds a position as Senior Commercial Program Director at FUJIFILM Biotechnologies (FLB), supporting the strategic partnership collaboration with several FLB’s key partners. Before joining FLB in 2020, Morten worked at NNE as Global Technology Partner since 2015. In 2001 he co-founded CMC Biologics (now AGC Biologics), after working 14 years at Novo Nordisk.

Morten is active in the biopharmaceutical community as member of scientific committees for various international conferences and as volunteer in international industry organizations such as PDA, ISPE and BPOG. Currently, Morten is member of the Board of Directors at PDA and member of the Advisory Board for Master studies at Copenhagen University.

The Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) is the leading global provider of science, technology, and regulatory information. PDA creates awareness and understanding of important issues facing the pharma community and delivers high-quality, relevant education to the industry. Since its founding in 1946 as a nonprofit organization, PDA has been committed to developing scientifically sound, practical technical information and expertise to advance pharma manufacturing science and regulation, so members can better serve patients.

1. What are the most urgent global or regional regulations companies need to consider when looking at sustainable pharmaceutical packaging?

With a focus on sourcing, supplier collaboration and Scope 3, some of the key regulations to keep an eye on include the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), as well as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS ) – while these last two don’t target packaging specifically, they do push for transparency on environmental impact, including packaging emissions and waste.

In general, it is expected that the industry will keep focusing on high quality and reliable data, traceability, and that supplier engagement will grow. Even though pharma packaging is highly regulated, we’ll likely need to demonstrate more in terms of lifecycle impact and supplier due diligence going forward.

With focus on reliable data, we find it important for companies to use the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which focuses on reducing GHG emissions and combating climate change.

However, it can be recommended to take an even more holistic and broader view on the industry’s impact on the environment.

To support such an approach, I recommend considering the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD). TNFD is a global initiative that provides a framework for businesses and financial institutions to report on their impacts and dependencies on nature, including considerations around both the climate, but also other natural elements such as biodiversity, water, land, and oceans.

2. What approaches are most effective for harmonising packaging designs across different markets with varying sustainability infrastructure and regulations?

There’s no simple answer here, especially not in pharma. We’re dealing with highly regulated formats, long qualification times, and strict stability requirements. But we’ve seen that supplier engagement makes all the difference.

One of our approaches is to go beyond our usual ESG questionnaire and introduce a more structured sustainability evaluation, where we ask suppliers about:

• Their access to CO₂ and lifecycle data
• Use of recyclable, certified, or renewable materials
• Supplier roadmaps and future ambitions
• How they’re working to improve sustainability in packaging

This process has given us a better picture of what’s possible – but just as importantly, it has highlighted how important early dialogue is. We need to understand what suppliers can realistically offer, and where co-development is needed to find the best solutions for sustainability.

Next steps will be to work even closer with our suppliers on biodiversity and the sourcing of raw materials for packaging materials, where wood is a key component. I believe that we will see more focus on how trees are grown and how it impacts the environment where they are produced.

3. How do you anticipate packaging regulations evolving in the next 5 years and how can companies actively respond to these changes?

Sustainability regulations continue to evolve. In 5 years, we anticipate that there will continue to be a focus on CO₂ reduction and recyclability, with additional new sustainability requirements advancing to the forefront. New expectations may include reducing amounts of raw materials to be used, especially where water consumption and amounts of plastic will be some of the key areas. Moreover, other key areas to focus on will be deforestation, traceability, biodiversity, and working conditions.

Some of those areas are already being looked at, for example through our involvement in EUDR mapping, we’re identifying and reviewing suppliers of packaging materials that may be affected.

It’s still early days, but we apply a stepwise approach which helps us to prepare for future reporting requirements and due diligence expectations.

Those steps include the following initiatives:  

• Including ESG questions in tenders and assessments
• Updating our contractual terms
• Engaging in cross-industry collaborations like PSCI, STBI, and TNFD

Having open conversations with suppliers and customers on sharing best practices, goals and initiatives
 

4. How can companies best manage the implementation of sustainable packaging changes across multiple product lines and manufacturing facilities in different regions?

It’s not straightforward, especially in pharma. Packaging is often tightly regulated, and we’re dealing with many sites, product types, and setups. What works at one place may not be possible somewhere else.

We use shared tools like our ESG questionnaire, training materials, and templates, and rely highly on close collaboration and partnership with our suppliers.

This includes sharing approaches and collaborating on which tools to use to evaluate the impact on the environment from different raw materials used to make the packing materials. This can include sharing the cost for making certification of different raw materials, which can be a complicated task, as, for example, hundreds of different raw materials might have been used even to make a relatively simple paper or cardboard product.

Some of the best ideas come from meeting in person with suppliers and customers and exchanging ideas. A successful part of such meetings has shown to be visiting the production areas together and including personnel at all levels in the organisation as part of the discussions. Such in-person visits to the production floor often result in someone making suggestions for how something might be done in a smarter way. It could be small changes to reduce packaging, improve working conditions, or adjust bulk packaging to avoid waste.

In general, many Lean tools can successfully be applied for such in-person meetings, such as having a group of people with different competencies and job functions making a visualisation of the full supply chain as well as the production flow for both the raw materials and the final product.

5. What metrics are most meaningful when reporting on packaging sustainability achievements to stakeholders and regulatory agencies?

Packaging-related reporting is still a relatively new discipline. We’re starting to explore how we can better reflect the impact of packaging on our Scope 3 footprint, particularly under Category 1. In some cases, packaging is a purchased component and can be included in calculations – but this depends on our setup and on data availability from suppliers.

At this point, we are not tracking packaging CO₂ separately, but we are moving in that direction by:

• Asking suppliers about emissions and material data
• Discussing packaging choices in tender processes and supplier meetings
• Looking at opportunities for waste reduction, including bulk packaging setups

We also recognise that packaging is not just about emissions – it connects to waste, resource use, and even working conditions. While customer demand is not always consistent yet, we see potential for change if the industry aligns and pushes in the same direction. Just like with other sustainability areas, shared expectations tend to drive maturity and make better solutions more accessible over time.

Additionally, we continue working on and refining all the other metrics discussed previously as well as being inspired and exploring new metrics.