“We see strong opportunities for expanding the pallet pooling and reusable packaging solutions, particularly in FMCG and retail sectors. We welcome the new EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation, both at the European and national levels, as it aligns with our commitment to promoting the ‘share and reuse’ model. Our business model is based 100% on the circular economy principles as our pallets and containers are constantly shared and reused by producers and distributors throughout the entire supply chain,” Gabriel Ivan, Country General Manager CHEP Romania & Bulgaria told Sustainability Today.
What were the most significant achievements your company made in 2024?
In 2024, we grew in line with the expectations, almost double digits. Last year, we set the bar higher for ourselves, the industry, our customers and our partners and this led to positive improvements to our customers’ businesses, the people we work with, the communities we operate in, and nature. A significant achievement is increasing the number of customers participating in collaboration projects, and our portfolio of companies we serve, our client base now exceeds 600 companies.
In terms of sustainability achievements, we maintained 100% renewable electricity and carbon neutrality in our own operations (scopes 1 and 2). We also progressed in gender equality, with women holding 50% of all management roles in Romania, and supported local communities with contributions totaling EUR 250,000 through partnerships with food banks, financial and in-kind donations, and employee volunteering. Globally, we helped our customers save emissions, approximately 2.3 million trees, and 1.3 Mt of waste.
Last but not least, we have made great progress in our digital transformation journey, developing technologies and digital solutions that will enhance visibility, improve foresight and strengthen connections across the supply network.
Can you share specific projects or initiatives that greatly reduced waste or promoted resource efficiency?
The FMCG industry champions understand that reducing their dependency on natural resources and reducing waste is a reputational imperative and a commercial opportunity.
To support them and enhance their benefits from our share, repair and reuse supply network, we launched in 2019 “Zero Waste World” a global collaboration program aimed at co-creating and delivering zero waste innovation and scalable solutions together with retailers and manufacturers, to meet consumer demand in a smarter and more sustainable way. As part of this initiative, our Collaborative Transport Solutions has been a game changer for many of our clients in Romania that decided to use CHEP’s unique scale, reach and data to cut empty miles, wasted fuel and CO2 emissions from their supply chain.
What new technologies, solutions, or processes did your company implement in 2024 to support circular economy principles?
Designing out waste is a critical component of the circular economy. We reinforced our support for the transition to a more circular economy and a regenerative supply network by several actions that resulted in zero product waste sent to landfills for all CHEP’s and subcontracted locations, the launch of the first ever closed loop products containing more than 90% recycled or upcycled plastic waste – the Q+ quarter pallet, the ZirConic container, and the FalConic container – and by achieving 100% zero waste in CHEP’s locations.
What were the biggest challenges you faced in 2024, such as regulatory hurdles, consumer behavior, or supply chain issues?
Keeping control and visibility of our pallets and containers throughout the supply network is still challenging, as we continue to see pallet theft, misuse or unauthorized usage. This implied a great effort to educate our stakeholders and other supply chain players about pallet pooling and the rules of the game, as well as the environmental, functional, and legal consequences of not following them. We have made great progress by partnering with the Romanian authorities, but there is still a lot to do. Digital technologies are definitely proving to be a strong ally for pallet recovery and protection and we are already seeing positive results.
What are your company’s main priorities and objectives for 2025?
We’ll focus on advancing and extending circular economy adoption to more producers and retailers worldwide. Accelerating decarbonization initiatives and expanding collaborative partnerships are also among our priorities. We want to strengthen our global leadership in sustainability and lead the transition to regenerative supply networks.
Digital Transformation is also a key element of our objectives for this year. We aspire to harness the power of data and digital insights to unlock new sources of value for our customers. We seek to drive a step change in value creation and excellence to become the natural partner of choice.
Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives planned for 2025 that focus on advancing sustainability and circularity?
We plan to scale up our digital asset tracking capabilities. We will also continue to promote the circular economy and create leading industry circularity indices with strategic partners.
What opportunities do you see for scaling circular economy initiatives in Romania?
We see strong opportunities for expanding the pallet pooling and reusable packaging solutions, particularly in FMCG and retail sectors. We welcome the new EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation, both at the European and national levels, as it aligns with our commitment to promoting the ‘share and reuse’ model. Our business model is based 100% on the circular economy principles as our pallets and containers are constantly shared and reused by producers and distributors throughout the entire supply chain. As global leaders in reusable packaging solutions, we are ideally positioned to be compliant and enrich our value proposition, as we are committed to helping our customers reduce single-use packaging and eliminate waste by promoting reuse and recycling and upcycling long lasting plastic products.
What steps are you taking in 2025 to increase awareness and adoption of circular economy practices among consumers or businesses?
As part of our sustainability 2025 Program, we have a Circular Economy Transformation goal, which aims to advocate, educate and impact one million people to become circular economy change makers by the end of FY 2025. We can proudly say that we have already reached 1.3 million the benefits of the circular economy by educational outreach, industry forums, partnerships, academic events and customer engagement programs.
How do you anticipate Romania’s economic conditions or regulatory environment will affect your circular economy efforts in 2025?
Extended Producer Responsibility, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, Deforestation-free Regulation – multiple regulatory innovations are currently coming into force and are shaking up companies. This evolving regulatory landscape is indeed a big challenge for many FMCG and logistics companies with linear operations.
If Romania aligns with the EU sustainability directives, we can expect a stronger regulatory push towards circular packaging and carbon reduction. The new European regulatory framework, highly focused on upcycling and reuse, is an opportunity for consumer goods companies to rethink models for more circularity.
The concept of the Circular economy is inherent in CHEP´s DNA. Reducing waste, maximizing the use of natural resources through our focus on reuse and validating and certifying our sustainability focused actions by independent bodies have always been our motto. This new European regulatory environment is therefore opening opportunities for us and our customers. By aligning our efforts with evolving regulatory frameworks and with an eye on the future, we aim to contribute to the circular economy legislation in the supply chains where we operate and to support our customers in achieving the set objectives by providing our current services in tertiary packaging and innovative reusable solutions.
How do you see Romanian consumers’ attitudes toward sustainability and the circular economy evolving in 2025?
Romanian consumers are embracing a more and more sustainable lifestyle themselves. The Deposit-Return system effective since 2024 most probably boosted the positive trend of responsible purchasing, consumption and recycling behaviors.
MQOR’s “The Ethical Consumer in Romania in 2025” study shows that the incidence of ethical consumption increased by 5% year-on-year and over 60% of ethical consumers buy sustainable food, more than 20% as compared to the previous years. This points to Romanian consumers’ growing concern for health, the environment, and the quality of life-essential products, including sustainable packaging solutions and recycling.
What role do you see your company playing in fostering a culture of sustainability and circularity in Romania?
Being pioneers of the circular business model at a global level offered us an important role to play in supporting the transition to a circular economy in Romania.
For over a decade, our team has been working to shift the Romanian market mentality from a linear to a circular supply chain. These efforts pave the path to a nature-positive local economy with reuse, resilience and regeneration at its core, with over 500 companies choosing circular solutions for their supply chains, including the top 10 players in most of the FMCG sectors.
Based on the achievements of over a decade of local operations, we are building future-ready supply networks through data, scale and collaboration. We support cross-industry collaborations and will continue to improve and expand our circular model every year, and implement new technologies to increase the environmental benefits in our customers’ supply chains. Last but not least, we will continue to advocate for circularity. We have an extraordinary team involved in educating and training people in the business and the academic environment to become circular economy change makers.
What advice would you give to policymakers, businesses, or consumers to help accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Romania?
The consumer goods industry is leading growth in the global circular economy market, driven by heightened environmental awareness, regulatory initiatives, and technological advancements.
In this context, policymakers and the government should incentivize circular solutions with a special focus on the consumer goods industry through regulatory support and investment in sustainable infrastructure and by offering recognition to the leading industry actors that integrate circular practices in the transition to a more circular economy.
As for businesses, moreover for businesses in the consumer goods sector, we encourage them to adopt circular models focusing on recyclability, durability, and reduced environmental impact. Companies that can leverage technological and regulatory support, as well as consumers’ environmental awareness can benefit significantly from this transition. The continued expansion of the circular economy market offers substantial opportunities for innovation, cost savings, resilience and enhanced environmental stewardship.
