SustainPack conference manager Lucia Bly said the initiative was a four-year research scheme intended to establish fibre-based products as the dominant substrate in packaging within 10 years.

Bly said this would be achieved through the use of nanotechnologies to produce environmentally friendly bio-degradable coatings for paper-based packaging. These will aim to reduce supply chain costs and add value to the functionality of fibre-based packaging.

Some 11.5m of the funding is being provided by the EU's framework programme.

Buyers of plastic packaging are being driven towards the use of alternative materials, due to environmental concerns and rising costs of raw materials such as oil.

Fibre-based packaging offers an alternative that is renewable, recyclable, bio-degradable and able to compete with other materials such as foils and plastics.

The SustainPack project team comprises a consortium of 35 partners from 13 countries, representing packaging research associations, industry and academic institutions.

The event will be held in Stockholm on 6-7 December. www.sustainpack.com.

SustainPack Project Aims
- To identify what the market needs for paper and board to replace plastic and metallic packaging
- To conduct research to deliver answers to meet the market requirements
- deliver projects that will prove the technical and commercial viability of the technologies