Luciana Pellegrino re-elected as WPO president for second term, as packaging faces sustainability transformation

GERMANY – Luciana Pellegrino has been unanimously re-elected as president of the World Packaging Organisation for a second term covering 2027-2029, confirmed at the 115th WPO Board Meeting in Düsseldorf.

The meeting was attended by 50 members from 37 countries. 

Pellegrino’s first term saw WPO strengthen its international positioning, including participation at the World Circular Economy Forum, COP28 and COP30, and the launch of a paper on food loss in partnership with UNIDO and Wageningen University and Research. 

The re-election follows a first term in which WPO raised its profile beyond traditional packaging industry events into global policy forums where packaging regulations are shaped.

A Business-Driven Approach to Governance

Pellegrino stated that she is honoured to lead WPO for another term and to work alongside members from so many countries around the world, noting that her guiding principles are a business-driven approach, transparency and governance, collaboration and teamwork, commitment and consistency, continuous learning and improvement, and building strong relationships and partnerships. 

The second term, beginning January 2027, will focus on WPO’s long-term strategic projects as the packaging sector faces transformation driven by sustainability regulation, digitalisation, food protection, and circular economy requirements. 

Unlike trade associations that advocate for specific commercial interests, WPO serves as a neutral platform for packaging professionals, educators, and standards bodies. 

Its influence comes from convening power, not lobbying budgets.

WPO’s Role in Global Policy

During Pellegrino’s first term, WPO participated in COP28 and COP30, bringing packaging’s perspective to climate negotiations where packaging has often been framed as an environmental problem rather than a food preservation solution. 

The paper on food loss in partnership with UNIDO and Wageningen University and Research addressed the trade-off between packaging and food waste: over-packaging is environmental waste; under-packaging leads to food waste, which has a higher carbon footprint than packaging. 

WPO’s involvement signals that the packaging industry is trying to engage constructively with regulators, not resist them.

The Challenges Ahead

The second term will be defined by the implementation of the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which will require all packaging in the EU market to be recyclable by 2030. 

Extended Producer Responsibility schemes are expanding across the globe, shifting waste management costs from municipalities to producers. 

Digital product passports will require packaging data to be machine-readable. WPO’s members, national packaging institutes from around the world, will need guidance on how these regulations apply to their local industries. 

The re-election was confirmed during interpack 2026, the world’s largest packaging trade fair.

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