The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) has released a significant discussion paper titled “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging: Design and Implementation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.” The publication provides essential guidance for policymakers and stakeholders on establishing effective, fair, and sustainable EPR systems in emerging markets — marking a pivotal contribution to the global transition toward a circular economy.
The Importance of the Consumer Goods Forum’s Work
The Consumer Goods Forum is a CEO-led global network of more than 400 retailers and manufacturers, including leading companies such as Nestlé, Unilever, P&G, and The Coca-Cola Company. Its Plastic Waste Coalition of Action, founded in 2020, aims to accelerate the shift toward circular packaging and responsible plastic use across the consumer goods industry.
By promoting collaboration between producers, governments, and civil society, the CGF provides a unified platform to align business practices with sustainability goals and international frameworks like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy. The CGF’s ongoing work on EPR design principles — including eco-modulation of fees, public–private cooperation, and social inclusion — plays a critical role in ensuring that circularity becomes a practical reality in diverse markets.
Key Takeaways from the CGF Report
The new report emphasizes that well-designed EPR systems can dramatically accelerate progress in reducing packaging waste and pollution, even in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It calls for:
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A centralized, producer-governed single Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) to ensure efficiency, transparency, and accountability;
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Ring-fenced, net-cost funding to guarantee that producer fees are dedicated solely to collection, sorting, and recycling of packaging waste;
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Eco-modulation of fees to incentivize sustainable packaging design;
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Strong public–private partnerships to strengthen governance and infrastructure; and
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Responsible inclusion of the informal sector, ensuring fair remuneration, social protection, and representation of waste pickers in EPR governance.
These principles aim to ensure that EPR systems are both environmentally effective and socially fair, creating long-term value for businesses, communities, and the environment.
EXPRA’s Perspective
Commenting on the CGF’s publication, Joachim Quoden, Managing Director of EXPRA, stated:
“We welcome the Consumer Goods Forum’s clear endorsement of a centralised, producer-governed single PRO model and its strong focus on ring-fenced, net-cost funding, eco-modulation, robust public–private cooperation, and the responsible inclusion of the informal sector.
These principles reflect and reinforce EXPRA’s long-standing convictions and best practices, which have consistently demonstrated the effectiveness of transparent, producer-driven, and socially responsible EPR systems”
EXPRA — the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance — has long advocated for producer responsibility systems that are transparent, non-profit, and industry-governed, ensuring that funds collected are fully reinvested into collection and recycling. The CGF’s findings validate EXPRA’s approach and reinforce the importance of centralised systems that prevent market fragmentation, ensure fair cost distribution, and drive genuine circularity.
A Shared Path Toward Global Circularity
The CGF’s call for cooperation and the alignment of its recommendations with EXPRA’s principles demonstrate a growing global consensus on what constitutes effective EPR.
Together, such initiatives strengthen the foundation for a circular packaging economy that works for producers, governments, and citizens alike — and supports a just transition for all stakeholders, including the informal sector.