BPF's First Ever "Meetings Day" Takes Place

On 4 June 2024, the British Plastics Federation (BPF) hosted a Joint Group Meetings Day for its members – the first event of its kind that the trade association has run. Held at the Draycote Hotel in Rugby, with an optional evening meal the night before, the event was designed to be an informative mix of top-level industry updates, sub-sector updates and cross-sector networking.

As the BPF represents the entire plastics supply chain attedence at the event covered everything from raw materials to processors and recyclers to equipment suppliers.

As many of the BPF groups meet multiple times throughout the year to discuss key issues affecting their businesses and to receive key updates from the BPF it was agreed the it would enable cross sectoral discussion if the meetings were combined into one day. As a result a number of groups were invited to host meetings at the joint Group Meetings Day to see if it helped people to network with others outside of their typical professional circles.

The event also included stands from a number of Univeristies, many of which had recelty joined.  This included...

• Brunel University London
• The University of Birmingham
• Queens University Belfast
• WMG University of Warwick
• The University of Sheffield
• The University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC)
• The University of Manchester
• Birmingham City University
• Loughborough University

University staff were available to discuss their latest research relevant to the plastics industry. RJG Technologies, PS Partnerships & Consultancy, LG Energy and Interplas also had stands.

In the morning, group-specific meetings were held, during which key legislative updates and other core information specifically relevant to each sub-sector was discussed. This was followed by a networking lunch.

 

BPF Director General presents on his "Vision for the BPF" during the plenary session

The afternoon session began with a speech from the BPF Director General Philip Law, who explained how the organisation had grown to over 590 members, representing the third largest manufacturing sector in the UK that employs around 150,000 people. He explained how the trade association continues to provide value to its members from seven core activities:

• Strong political engagement, such as the BPF Parliamentary Reception at the end of 2023, delivered in conjunction with Plastics Europe, which was attended by 28 MPs and seven peers.
• Providing a platform to network in a variety of situations, including the recent trip to the Lego factory in Denmark or the recent Mission to Chinaplas.
• International engagement (such as the BPF’s strong involvement with several international trade associations).
• Education and skills – providing tools for the industry to train staff, promote careers in the plastics industry and reach out to schools.
• Providing a hub to support innovation via activities focused on optimising productivity and increasing engagement with universities.
• Communications activities such as constantly growing informative content for the BPF website (the second most popular plastics website in the English language), the trade association’s large social media presence and various PR activities.
• Issues management – helping companies by engaging with business-critical issues, such as mass balance methodology in chemical recycling, food contact regulations for recycled material and the evolution of REACH regulations.

BPF Membership Services Director Stephen Hunt then provided the room with some early insights into the trade association’s biannual Business Conditions Survey, which is yet to conclude. This comprises of data and insights provided by BPF members on market trends and business confidence and is used to update BPF members about the wider industry, as well as to inform key government departments about the health of the industry. Although there is more data expected before the latest survey closes, much of the information seemed generally positive.

BPF Sustainability Manager Helen Jordan and Sustainability Issues Executive Lara Steinhobel followed, explaining their visit to the recent INC 4 negotiations in Canada, explaining how the event worked, the various subgroups that exist and the detailed textural negotiations that take place.

ICIS Senior Analyst in Plastics Recycling and Sustainability Egor Dementev then spoke about chemical recycling, examining the current state of play and where the industry may end up. He explained that Europe needs to work to remain competitive with Asia in terms of capacity but that, generally, he is cautiously optimistic for the chemical recycling industry, despite the challenges it faces (such as ongoing regulatory uncertainty).

After the presentations, BPF members were then invited to a further informal networking session and drinks before they headed home.

The BPF has received a lot of positive comments from the attendees and is looking to make the BPF Group Meetings Day an annual event.