President's Letter


It is an honour and privilege to serve as the President of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). I am humbled and most grateful to the member countries and the board of directors for electing me and providing me with this opportunity.

The WPO is a membership supported organisation registered in Vienna, Austria. It was founded September 6, 1968 in Tokyo by visionary leaders from the global packaging community. The World Packaging Organisation is a non-profit, non-governmental, international federation of national packaging institutes and associations, regional packaging federations and other interested parties including corporations and trade associations.

The purposes of the organisation is to:

Encourage the development of packaging technology, science, and engineering
Contribute to the development of international trade
Stimulate education and training in packaging

The WPO Board are engaged in implementing our strategic plan to meet our global responsibilities of the future.

Our priorities are:

*To strengthen the WPO membership and serve our members and the global packaging as best we can. To this end, I urge you to become involved with WPO and spread the word to your colleagues encouraging them to join us. Do help us reach out to others across the globe in all countries because all countries are involved in packaging.
* Reduction of food waste through the better use of packaging and awareness thereof. Included in this is education, which is happening as we continue to build on activities that are already taking place within WPO. In addition we will continue supporting the Save Food Project, an initiative of Messe Düsseldorf and the UN's Food & Agriculture Organisation
* Reduction in poverty by the use of better and more effective packaging but focusing on correct use of packaging. Of course, packaging alone cannot fix the problem. Before we consider concepts such as packaging design and materials, innovation, technological advancements, environmental responsibility and sustainability, we must appreciate where the packaging industry fits into the chain that could deliver food to people who need it most.


Prof Pierre Pienaar
President

“Better Quality of Life, Through Better Packaging, For More People”