PPWR Compliance: A Challenge for Packaging Manufacturers – How Can AI Help?

The new EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is putting packaging data centre stage. For many companies, the challenge ahead will be less about developing packaging than about providing the required information in a verifiable way. A look at real-world practice shows why data management is becoming a compliance task – and how AI can help.

From 12 August 2026, packaging manufacturers across Europe will face a new reality. That is when key requirements of the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) come into force. The regulation aims to strengthen the circular economy, reduce packaging waste and establish uniform standards across Europe. For many companies, however, it means above all one thing: a considerable organisational and documentation burden.

Because the real challenge often begins long before a package is assessed for recyclability or material composition. It begins with the data.

In public debate, the focus tends to be on the regulatory goals of the PPWR. Far less attention is paid to the question of how companies are actually supposed to provide the required evidence.

Many packaging manufacturers already hold most of the information they need. The problem is that this data is rarely in one place. Material information sits in technical data sheets, supplier declarations are exchanged via email, specifications are maintained in Excel files, and further information is stored across various ERP or document management systems.

What at first glance looks like an organisational problem is increasingly becoming a compliance issue under the requirements of the PPWR. Because only those who can fully document the required information and make it traceable will be able to reliably meet regulatory requirements going forward.

For many companies, 12 August 2026 marks the start of practical implementation of the new PPWR. While some provisions will only take effect gradually, packaging manufacturers must already be able to provide and document a wide range of information from that date.

Central to this is what the regulation refers to as packaging conformity. Companies must be able to demonstrate that their packaging meets the applicable regulatory requirements. This calls for comprehensive information on materials, composition, recyclability and other product-specific characteristics.

Added to this are new documentation and verification obligations. Packaging data must be systematically recorded, kept up to date and made available in a traceable manner upon request. For many companies, this means a significantly greater need for transparency across the entire supply chain.

The PPWR fundamentally changes the role of packaging data. Until now, the focus in packaging has typically been on material selection, product protection or cost. Going forward, however, what will increasingly matter is whether companies can fully document the required information about their packaging and provide evidence of it upon request.

This represents a shift in the challenge itself: it is no longer enough for packaging to meet regulatory requirements. Companies must also be able to prove that conformity. What was once a technical task is increasingly becoming a question of data management.

A particular difficulty is that the required information is often not held entirely within a company's own organisation. Data on material properties, ingredients or recycling-related aspects frequently comes from suppliers, raw material manufacturers and other partners along the value chain.

Just how significant the difference is between conventional compliance processes and a digitalised approach becomes clear when looking at the day-to-day reality of many packaging manufacturers.

The requirements of the PPWR make clear just how significantly the understanding of packaging compliance is changing. Where regulatory checks in the past often focused on individual products or materials, the systematic management of packaging data is now moving to the fore.

This is due above all to the growing volume of information that companies must capture, document and keep up to date. Data on material compositions, recyclability, supplier details and technical specifications is generated along the entire value chain and changes continuously. The larger a company's packaging portfolio, the more complex the task of bringing this information together consistently.

Manual processes are increasingly reaching their limits here. Companies that manage packaging data across spreadsheets, documents and email threads risk not only a high administrative burden, but also a lack of visibility into the actual compliance status of individual packaging items.

Digitalisation is therefore increasingly becoming a prerequisite for regulatory conformity. Not because digital systems replace legal requirements, but because they can help companies establish the necessary transparency over their data. Only when relevant information is centrally available, up to date and documented in a traceable way can regulatory requirements be met efficiently and on a lasting basis.