EuPC Annual Conference 2026 Successfully Concludes in Brussels

Khatuna Zabakhidze
4 hours ago
3 min read

The European Plastics Converters (EuPC) successfully concluded its Annual Conference 2026 on 2–3 June in Brussels, held at the Crowne Plaza Brussels Airport, bringing together around 100 participants from across the plastics value chain, including industry leaders, EU policymakers, investors, researchers, and sustainability experts.

Under the theme "Building Europe's Plastics Value Chain: From Regulation to Industrial Reality," the conference provided a platform for exchanging views on the policies, market developments, and innovations shaping the European plastics value chain.

New EuPC President Elected

A key milestone of the Annual Conference was the election of a new EuPC President during the General Assembly on 3 June 2026.

Jean-Marc Galvez, Chief Operating Officer of Amcor's Global Rigid Packaging Division, succeeds Benoit Hennaut, who successfully led EuPC over the past four years. Jean-Marc Galvez will serve as EuPC President for the 2026-2028 mandate.

With more than 35 years of international leadership experience, Mr. Galvez brings extensive expertise spanning general management, sales, operations, and R&D across both private and public companies.

EuPC would like to sincerely thank Benoit Hennaut for his dedication, leadership, and commitment to advancing the interests of European plastics converters throughout his presidency.

Day One: Industry Workshops

The first day of the conference featured dedicated industry workshops focused on packaging and building & construction applications.

Packaging Workshop

The Packaging Workshop welcomed distinguished speakers representing academia, industry, policy, and environmental practice:

Prof. Steven De Meester, Ghent University
Annemarie Abbeel, Senior Expert Design for Recycling, Fost Plus
Wolfgang Trunk, Team Leader for Plastics and Packaging, DG Environment, European Commission
Volker Glöckner, Head of Public Affairs & Circular Economy, ALPLA Group

The packaging workshop focused on one of the most important and challenging topics regarding packaging: the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). The keynote speakers shared updates, practical insights, and perspectives on the regulatory developments and the potential implications for the plastics packaging industry.

Building & Construction Workshop

The Building & Construction Workshop addressed several strategic topics shaping the future of plastics in the construction sector, including:

BUILDERS - Building Up Industry Loops through Development, Evaluation, and Testing of an Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Construction Products
Industrial Accelerator Act: Overview
Green Public Procurement Workshop
EuPC Building & Construction Division
Methodology to Market: ANALYST Project SSbD Toolkit for Plastics Value Chain

The workshop was dedicated to innovation, circularity, and the future of plastics in the construction sector.

Day Two: Building Europe's Plastics Value Chain

European Polymer Markets: A Perfect Storm of Supply Disruptions, Competitive Pressures and Sustainability Challenges
- Egor Dementev, EMEA Analyst Team Lead, Plastics Recycling & Sustainability, ICIS
Commission's Plans to Help Rebuild the Plastic Value Chain in Europe
- Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea, European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment
Europe's Plastics Value Chain: Rebuild. Align. Act.
- Craig Arnold, Vice-President Plastics Europe
Relaunch of the CPA
- Stefano Soro, Head of Unit – Sustainable Products European Commission, DG Internal Market, Industry Entrepreneurship and SMEs
Which innovations are needed in times of crisis and how can EU Funding help companies?
- Bertrand Fillon, President of The European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform (ECP4) and represents EuPC in the ECP4 Board
Updates on EuPC Market Divisions Activities
- Packaging - Liesbeth Van Branteghem (Senior Division Manager, EuPC)
- Building & Construction - Myriam Tryjefaczka (Director Sustainability and Public Affairs EMEA, Tarkett)
EuPC ESG Working Groups: Status and Progress
- Pierre-Henri Bournazel (Head of Group Sustainability, United Caps)

Looking Ahead

The success of the EuPC Annual Conference 2026 demonstrated the strong commitment of stakeholders across the plastics value chain to work together towards a more competitive, circular, and resilient European industry.

EuPC thanks all speakers, sponsors, partners, and participants whose contributions made this year's conference a valuable place for dialogue, cooperation, and forward-looking action.

We look forward to welcoming the plastics industry again at the next EuPC Annual Conference in early June 2027.

For further updates and industry news, follow EuPC on LinkedIn