The Dutch Sector Innovation Plans for Sustainable Packaging: A First Reflection

Abstract

Member states of the European Union have some flexibility in how they implement EU legislation. With regard to the legislation on packaging and sustainability, the Netherlands has experimented recently with sector innovation plans. Thirteen innovation plans, together representing 88 percentage point (by weight) of packaging introduced on the Dutch market, were drafted and approved. In this paper, we will evaluate the targets formulated in the 13 plans for their diversity and review the process of drafting sector innovation plans through sector organizations. In doing so, we aim to inform policy in other countries.