Suppliers Partnership for the Environment Releases New Circular Automotive Packaging Guidance

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) today announced the release of Applying Circular Economy Principles to Automotive Packaging, a new guidance document designed to help automotive manufacturers and suppliers identify practical opportunities to reduce packaging waste, retain material value, and advance packaging circularity.

Developed through SP's Sustainable Packaging Work Group, the guidance provides a practical introduction to applying circular economy principles to automotive packaging, with a focus on designing and managing packaging to support reuse, life extension, recovery, and recycling.

"Advancing packaging circularity starts with considering how packaging is designed, used, recovered, and ultimately returned to productive use," said Kellen Mahoney, Executive Director, Suppliers Partnership for the Environment. "This guidance provides companies with a practical framework for evaluating opportunities to reduce waste, preserve material value, and identify approaches that make sense for their own operations and supply chains."

The guidance emphasizes that circular outcomes depend not only on packaging design, but also on the systems available to support reuse and recovery, including collection, sorting, storage, transportation, and access to viable end markets.

This latest resource continues a series of deliverables developed through SP's Sustainable Packaging Work Group to advance packaging circularity across the automotive value chain. Existing published resources address related topics such as design for recycling, materials collection and handling practices, recycled and renewable content reporting, waste disposition metrics, and packaging extended producer responsibility policy trends.

Applying Circular Economy Principles to Automotive Packaging is available for download at no cost at: www.supplierspartnership.org/circular-packaging/ 

About Suppliers Partnership for the Environment

Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) provides a forum for global vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to work together toward a shared vision of a thriving automotive industry with positive environmental impact. Learn more at: www.supplierspartnership.org

Contact: Kellen Mahoney, [email protected] 

SOURCE Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP)