Companies are using the data from the new packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws to build a packaging roadmap that can lead to lower fees, stronger claims, and a sustainable packaging strategy that delivers value to the business.
- Compliance is the floor, not the goal. The companies seeing returns on EPR are using the data and fee structures these programs surface to drive business value, not just check the regulatory box.
- A roadmap built on the three Rs, refine, redesign, reimagine turns EPR data into a portfolio strategy. Quick wins matter, but the upside comes from material changes and format shifts.
- The Pure Strategies EPR Value Index is a free self-assessment tool to help identify next steps. It scores both compliance readiness and strategic value readiness, so you can see where the highest-return moves may be.
By now, most companies have done the hard work on the new packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws in the U.S. You registered with Circular Action Alliance (CAA), mapped your covered materials, paid your first fees, and completed your early rounds of reporting.
While that work was necessary, the producers seeing real returns on their EPR investment are moving past compliance and using the data and fee structures to drive business value.
What does this look like in practice?
Companies treat eco-modulated fee schedules as design signals, EPR aims as company targets, and build packaging improvement roadmaps tied to these business opportunities. This is more than addressing quick wins with small packaging changes, there is a need to also consider a broader shift across the packaging portfolio.
In our report, Realizing Sustainable Packaging: The Next Era of Packaging, we offer the three Rs: refine, redesign, and reimagine. Which each company should consider when building their sustainable packaging roadmap – including the quick-wins (refine) and then reaching beyond those with adjusting materials (redesign), and changing formats (reimagine).
Importantly, companies benefit with follow-through that brings targets and roadmap expectations into the stage-gate process, so they shape decisions before packaging gets locked in. The result can lead to lower fees, stronger claims, and a sustainable packaging strategy that delivers value to the business.
Is your company ready for this?
The Pure Strategies EPR Value Index is a short, free self-assessment that scores your EPR and sustainable packaging efforts on two lenses. Compliance Readiness covers registration, agreements, reporting maturity, and the data underneath. Strategic Value Readiness measures whether your data, fee optimization work, and sustainable packaging program are positioned to capture the upside the regulations now make available.
The assessment is built around six dimensions: scoping, governance, filings, data, fee optimization, and sustainable packaging that we cover in the Pure Strategies EPR Readiness Accelerator program. It maps your answers to specific actions and groups them to compliance gaps that support legal and regulatory obligations and value gaps that are the higher-return moves that can support cost savings and brand advantage.
Why now?
You have the packaging data needed to build a meaningful strategy that in the past was hard to gather, e.g., material types, weights, and volumes. At the same time, the state programs are finalizing regulations, updating fee schedules, and building eco-modulation incentives. There is an opportunity to identify short, medium, and longer-term opportunities and start acting on them accordingly.
The self-assessment is a quick way to explore your company’s readiness to take these next steps and build the business value from sustainable packaging.
Contact Pure Strategies at info@purestrategies.com to access the free assessment or to schedule a working session with our team. For a deeper look at how EPR is reshaping packaging strategy, see our report Realizing Sustainable Packaging: The Next Era of Packaging or purchase our EPR Readiness Accelerator program.
