II Sustainability Symposium

Packaging plays an important role in the consumption realm and delivery systems for products. Its main functions are to protect, store, preserve, and hygienically handle a product, to convey information, and to communicate a brand image of a specific item. Yet packaging uses a wider range of natural resources and energy, and it is responsible for a high proportion of waste, of which only part is recycled or properly disposed of. So far, packaging generates more plastic waste than the four biggest industrial sectors combined (WEF, 2020).

Heriot-Watt University launched the Programme on Packaging for Sustainability in 2023, and since then, it has carried out two Design Competitions among students and set up the Scientific Platform on Sustainable Packaging, with more than 15 active members, who have been supporting the programme and providing guidance, technical, and financial support to find solutions to packaging waste.

Heriot-Watt University Dubai is honoured to be hosting the next Sustainability Symposium on the 29th of January 2026 on 'the essential role of strategic partnerships in achieving sustainable packaging solutions’, to shed light on the relevance of multi-stakeholder initiatives in aligning resources in addressing common goals, such as sustainable packaging.

The Symposium welcomes all those organisations that are contributing to addressing this challenge by providing alternative and innovative solutions to traditional packaging materials and schemes. It also aims to provide insightful scientific findings to advance knowledge and shared practices on more effective and feasible solutions to packaging waste. It contributes to policies and regulations, enabling circularity and sustainability in UAE.

Through keynote addresses, business case studies, and panel discussions, participants will gain actionable insights into innovative materials, global best practices, and collaborative approaches to tackle post-consumption packaging waste.

Why Attend:

• Hear from industry leaders and government representatives
• Explore innovative materials and technologies shaping sustainable packaging
• Build strategic partnerships to advance circular economy initiatives
• Network with peers and potential collaborator.