The ninth edition Strategic Immersion 2021 reCONNECT of the Packaging Cluster It was held in person on December 2 in the Llotja de Mar de Barcelona and welcomed more than 150 professionals from the world of packaging and packaging.
During the institutional welcome, Monica Roca Aparici, President of the Chamber of Commerce Barcelona, highlighted the efforts of the business community to lead the economic revolution in a difficult context, where talent, innovation and knowledge have been the pillar of progress. Martina Fountain, President of Packaging Cluster, then underlined the presence of two women presidents, a fact that does not occur in all current scenarios, and highlighted that the tenth edition of the Strategic Immersion will be held on October 28, 2022, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the Packaging Cluster .
The reCONNECT program allowed us to enjoy four Keynote Speakers in the morning and a round table with retailers in the afternoon. The day started with Jaime Asián, Director of the Services Area of Caixa Enginyers, who introduced the educational expert in Innovation, Artificial Intelligence and Smart Cities from Esade, Esteve Admiral. The expert explained how we can achieve high levels of productivity and competitiveness, in a complex market with great competition. He spoke about technological disruption, cloud computing and the GPT (General Purpose Tech); the solution is to try to support digital transformation, new technologies allow us to compete in innovation.
The day continued with Peter Coll, Director of R + D + i at Enplanter, who introduced the second presentation of Juan Jose Blanco, partner of the Customs and Special Taxes area of KPMG, who explained the bill to create a tax on non-reusable plastic containers and the effect on all companies that manufacture, import or make intra-community acquisitions of disposable plastic containers.
After a networking break in the exhibition area, Ana Osuna, Packaging Materials Specialists of Lecta, presented markus schmid, Institute director of the Sustainable Packaging Institute of the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University. From Germany and via videoconference, Markus Schmid commented, from a research point of view, the application projects oriented to food packaging that seek to provide sustainable solutions that reduce food waste thanks to the latest technologies. He also exposed the development of several EU-funded projects that could contribute to healthy nutrition, less food waste and a circular bioeconomy.
For its part, Xavier Pifarre, Channel Manager of Robotics & Discrete Automation in Spain of ABB, announced the presentation of Monica Utrera, professor at the Euncet Business School, on the importance of talent in the new era. Mònica Utrera motivated and raised the public with a performance making the audience dance, with the music at full volume. The talent professional affirmed during her speech that one of the main keys for directive leadership is related to the leader and his / her position in the day-to-day management, to get the “technicians to do and the bosses to do that others do ”. The positive or negative positioning of a team objectively affects the performance of workers in a hyper-connected world with great competition in the market. Mònica Utrera highlighted that 90% of the work of company leaders is to motivate teams to be positive.
To end the Strategic Immersion 2021 #reCONNECT, Xavier Pascual, director of Hispack, presented the round table with retailers composed by Ana Palencia, Communications Director at Unilever, Borja Lafuente, Head of Sustainability for Southern Europe at Danone and Joan Sabartes, director of operations of Bonpreu - Escalt, energized by Serge Escuriet, Global Applications Manager Printing & Packaging at Lubrizol. Ana Palencia highlighted that Unilever made a public commitment in 2019 to halve the use of virgin plastic in its packaging, to use at least 25% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, and to collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells, by 2025. Danone's South European Sustainability Officer, Borja Lafuente, highlighted the regularities of the waste law, consumer behavior, social pressure to achieve sustainability strategies, quality and food safety in the Danone company. Finally, Joan Sabartes explained the sustainability challenge facing the packaging world and in the case of Bonpreu - Esclat with the 3R strategies used in the company.
Members, sponsors and attendees of the reCONNECT 2021 event enjoyed a closing cocktail to end the day along with jazz music.
