The spotlight is on the thirteenth edition of Ecopack, the eco-design call promoted by CONAI, the Italian National Packaging Consortium. A new starting point for companies that produce and use packaging which, in the 2024/2025 period, have redesigned their packs focusing on innovation, efficiency and reduced environmental impact.
The goal is to collect and highlight the most environmentally friendly packaging solutions introduced to the national market, rewarding companies that have been able to turn sustainability into an industrial strategy.
Submissions are open from March 3 to April 30 2026. The challenge once again revolves around nine eco-design levers: reuse, refill, facilitation of recycling activities, use of recycled/recovered materials, reduction of raw material use, reduction of virgin raw materials, optimization of production processes, logistics optimization and simplification of the packaging system.
Projects related to packaging made from all materials can be submitted: steel, aluminum, paper, wood, plastic, compostable bioplastic and glass.
There is no limit to the number of cases that can be submitted, provided that primary packaging involves different formats and that secondary or tertiary packaging includes a different eco-design intervention.
For this thirteenth edition as well, the total prize fund amounts to €600,000.
€550,000 will be distributed among all the admitted cases based on the score achieved. €50,000 will fund five special awards of €10,000 each, dedicated to the most virtuous cases from a circular economy perspective.
“Each edition of Ecopack represents a new milestone toward a more sustainable production system,” comments Simona Fontana, General Director of CONAI. “Today more than ever, the way we design packaging can make the difference: choosing solutions that reduce environmental impact means not only optimizing the use of resources, but also making a concrete contribution to building an increasingly circular model. Rewarding companies that invest in sustainable innovation is our way of recognizing those playing a decisive role for the future of the Planet. We hope that more and more companies will take up this challenge.”
Each proposal will undergo Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis through the CONAI Eco Tool and will be verified by the Technical Committee, which will check compliance with the requirements set out in the Regulation.
The five winners of the special awards will instead be selected by an extended Technical Committee composed of external experts.
To be admitted, the projects must demonstrate—through a comparison between “before” and “after” packaging—environmental benefits in at least two of the three LCA indicators analyzed: energy savings, reduction of water consumption, and reduction of CO₂ emissions.
As in every edition, the analysis procedures will be verified by a third-party certification body to ensure transparency and accuracy.
The list of winning cases will then be published in November 2026 during the traditional award ceremony.
The full regulation is available at www.conai.org and www.ecotoolconai.org.