CPA, GPCA sign MoU to advance packaging circularity in GCC

UAE – The Circular Packaging Association and the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance packaging circularity, supporting evidence-based policy development across the UAE and wider GCC region.

The MoU was signed by Mater Aldhafeeri, GPCA’s secretary general, and Mohamed Ali Eldabaa, CPA’s chairman, bringing together expertise, networks and industry perspectives from both associations. 

Under the agreement, the two bodies will cooperate across policy engagement, knowledge exchange, industry advocacy, thought leadership, awareness and capacity building. 

The collaboration may include joint participation in policy dialogues, exchange of industry knowledge and best practices, development of research and thought-leadership initiatives, and convening workshops bringing together industry, government and other stakeholders.

The partnership reflects a shared commitment to practical, scalable and economically sustainable approaches to circularity built on industry engagement and constructive public-private dialogue.

Regional Petrochemical Sector Anchors Packaging Value Chain

GPCA represents the downstream hydrocarbon industry in the Arabian Gulf, voicing common interests of more than 240 member companies accounting for over 95 percent of chemical output in the GCC. 

The industry constitutes the second largest manufacturing sector in the region, producing over US$108 billion worth of products annually. 

This petrochemical base supplies the polymers, resins and chemical inputs that underpin packaging production across the Gulf, making GPCA’s involvement central to any circularity initiative. 

CPA launched in 2023 as an industry working group licensed under Dubai Chambers, positioning itself as the first cross-sector circular economy platform working to transform the packaging value chain. 

It grew out of work started in 2019 by founding members of the CIRCLE Coalition for innovation in recycling toward a closed-loop economy, formalised under the sponsorship of the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.

Leadership Frames Collaboration as Essential

Aldhafeeri said collaboration was essential in promoting a circular economy, adding that by working together, GPCA and CPA could strengthen industry dialogue, share expertise and support development of practical and effective frameworks advancing sustainability, resource efficiency and long-term competitiveness across the region. 

Eldabaa said advancing packaging circularity required collaboration across the entire value chain and a shared commitment to practical solutions. 

He noted that through the partnership with GPCA, the organisations aimed to bring together industry expertise, support evidence-based policy dialogue and help create enabling conditions needed to scale circular solutions across the UAE and wider GCC. 

CPA works to embed circular and green economy principles across the packaging value chain, shifting from a take-make-dispose model to one treating packaging waste as a resource, while raising consumer awareness and providing recommendations on sustainable packaging legislation.

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