For Hiroshi Suzuki, managing executive officer and CTO, Toppan, the next phase of sustainable flexible packaging is not simply about developing better materials. It is about making the entire system work – from the film and converting process to collection, sorting and recycling.
Speaking at the 13th Specialty Films & Flexible Packaging Global Summit in Mumbai, Suzuki outlined Toppan’s approach to the changing packaging landscape, with particular emphasis on mono-material structures, recycled content, supply-chain resilience and commercial viability.
Toppan’s global manufacturing footprint gives the company an important advantage in this transition. With operations across 60 countries, the company has increasingly built capabilities that span material development and packaging production. Its strategy includes developing films in-house and integrating them with converting capabilities.
“We develop and manufacture our own film in-house. That is the mechanism when I talk about recycle-ready mono-material packaging or locally manufactured sustainable solutions. It is because we control the film chemistry and converting ourselves,” Suzuki said.
But material innovation, he argued, is only one part of the equation. Packaging may be technically recyclable, yet still fail to enter a recycling stream if the necessary infrastructure does not exist.
“A recyclable pouch is very little if the sorting infrastructure in the market can actually capture it,” he pointed out.
That makes collection, sorting and end markets for recycled materials just as important as packaging design. Suzuki sees greater cooperation across industries as one way to build these circular pathways, including the use of recycled materials in applications beyond packaging.
The industry, however, faces a practical constraint: there simply is not enough recycled polymer of the required quality and specification. Food-contact requirements add another layer of complexity, particularly as regulations push converters towards higher recycled-content targets.
Toppan’s response is what Suzuki calls its “green transformation” strategy, built around geographical diversification, vertical integration and supply-chain development. The aim is to create more secure circular material flows while reducing dependence on a limited number of sources.
India, he believes, is well positioned to play a larger regional role. The country’s evolving recycled-content requirements and regulatory roadmap provide a clearer direction for investment and innovation.
“I strongly believe that the scale and execution in India can become the Asia-Pacific hub for green transformation,” Suzuki said. Toppan is already translating this approach into products. Suzuki highlighted transparent BOPE film manufactured in India, designed to combine performance with recyclability, and ultra-high-barrier structures aimed at replacing aluminum foil in selected applications.
The commercial proposition is central to the strategy. Sustainable packaging cannot remain a technically attractive but economically difficult option.
“Toppan is aware of the next generation of sustainable solutions that are commercially viable, not just technically advanced,” Suzuki said. “Sustainability and cost savings can be in the same decision.”
The same thinking applies to supply-chain resilience. Geopolitical uncertainty, freight disruptions and fluctuations in crude oil and resin prices have exposed the weaknesses of single sourcing and lean inventories. Suzuki advocates a different model: diversified procurement, strategic buffering, regional manufacturing and supply security by design.
For Toppan, therefore, sustainable growth is increasingly inseparable from operational resilience. And while better films and structures remain essential, Suzuki’s larger message is clear: the packaging industry will make meaningful progress only when innovation, infrastructure, economics and collaboration move in the same direction.