A New Year's Message from Philip Law

A New Year’s Message from Director General Philip Law

A very happy and healthy New Year to all our member firms!

We begin 2020 with a new UK Government, a new European Commission, and a potentially major turn of events in international affairs. A daunting prospect !  But without wanting to be unduly optimistic, there are always challenges and we consistently display our ability to ‘just get on with it’ and meet them successfully.

There are signs that the national frustration with Brexit has to some extent been relieved, although we are just at the beginning of a very long story. I was heartened by  
A discussion with machinery representatives in the New Year which indicated that higher levels of investment are now in sight. Brexit will remain a core topic for the BPF and our first Council meeting of 2020 on January 15th will feature a discussion with senior officials from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. In December we published specific guidance to the plastics industry on how to prepare for Brexit and you can download it from here.

I will confine my message to just five practical points and here they are:

1) Make 2020 the year when your company establishes a firm relationship with your local M.P.  We have 109 new Members of Parliament and the BPF will be making contact with all of them to tell them that the plastics industry is a national economic strength, is in the forefront of sustainability thinking and practice and is an essential part of the solution to environmental issues.  It would be great if members can reinforce this by making their own contact.

2) We also ask all firms in the industry to ensure that they have signed up to the Operation Clean Sweep programme to deter pellets from entering the environment.  This has won a high profile and has been publicly lauded.  Let’s build on this success!

3) It’s been extremely encouraging to see the very positive membership interest show in our BPF eco-design initiatives.  ‘PackScore’, our online tool to evaluate a pack design against sustainability criteria has been used by over 500 packaging companies, brands and retailers..  We will be hosting a further Design Roundtable for members later in the year as well as launching a toolbox to help firms guide their way through the 40 or so design guidelines which exist for plastics, We urge companies, if they haven’t already done so, ‘to think Eco-Design’ and use our tools as they emerge. This applies to all companies irrespective of sector.

4) We have just launched a microsite focussing on how plastics contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.  This will be a first rate vehicle to illustrate the industry’s enlarging contribution to sustainability.  We urge companies to upload their own success stories in sustainability innovation in plastics and contribute to the great story already underway

5)  2019 was the best year ever for attendance at BPF events. Our 2020 programme features ‘Meet the Toolmaker’ on 13th May and includes seminars on the Automotive market, Thermoplastics Composites and Health and Safety. Not only do these seminars present actionable industry information, they are excellent opportunities to network with your industry peers.

Keep faith in our materials and industry in 2020 ! They remain THE MATERIALS of the 21st Century.

With my warmest wishes

Philip Law