Positions and Publications

For the adhesives and sealants industry, the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) represents both an opportunity and a risk. As a mid‑stream enabler, A&S are embedded across multiple strategic value chains. Measures that are not carefully calibrated risk creating disproportionate administrative burdens, fragmenting supply chains and weakening competitiveness—without delivering additional climate or security benefits.

Achieving defossilisation through a technology-neutral approach

FEICA welcomes Commission’s initiative on Biotech Act II to enhance EU’s industrial competitiveness and unlock innovation.

This paper outlines the concept of Debonding-on-Demand technologies, their purposes and applications, and the considerations needed when discussing their role in EU sustainability policies[1]. Therefore, with this paper, FEICA urges the European Commission to:

1. Acknowledge and implement FEICA’s proposed definition of Debonding‑on‑Demand.
2. Apply in EU sustainability policies a technology‑neutral approach and assess the effects of DoD adhesives on a case‑by‑case basis, taking into account the repair or recycling path relevant to each product category placed on the EU market.

This document contains a written adaptation of the questions raised during the Q&A session of the FEICA webinar on the role and obligations of packaging adhesives under the PPWR.

INCLUDED IN THIS POST: PRESENTATION,  VIDEO RECORDING and Q&A ADAPTATION

The webinar supported packaging adhesive suppliers and their supply chains in understanding their responsibilities ahead of the PPWR’s entry into force on 12 August 2026. It clarified regulatory requirements for packaging adhesive suppliers, including obligations related to restricted substances, recyclability and conformity‑assessment, as well as the actions companies can—and cannot—take before August 2026.

Below is a summary of the key takeaways from the webinar:

• Declarations of Conformity under the PPWR will be required from 12 August 2026 to place packaging on the EU market
• Economic operators across the supply chain will need to provide technical information to support PPWR compliance
• Adhesive formulators are required to provide specific information, in particular on:
  • substances of concern, including heavy metals
  • PFAS, notably for food‑contact packaging applications
• In certain scenarios, adhesive formulators may qualify as packaging manufacturers, which may require them to:
  • collect relevant information from packaging suppliers
  • issue a Declaration of Conformity
• Design‑for‑recyclability criteria and assessment methods are currently under development, with publication expected by 2028

View the webinar recording here.

View the Q&A pdf with questions from the webinar here.

The following selection includes FEICA publications relevant to the webinar audience:

1. EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation – Requirements for Packaging Adhesives – guidance (2026)
2. Labelling adhesives in the context of packaging recycling – report (2025)
3. Laminating Adhesives in Flexible Plastic Packaging Recycling – report (2024)
4. Adhesives in paper board recycling – report (2023)
5. Adhesives are not Plastic (2025)

FEICA publications and guidance on PPWR compliance for packaging adhesives are available on feica.eu under the Paper & Packaging section.

Thank you for your attendance. We look forward to welcoming you to another FEICA event.

FEICA publishes a PPWR guidance document for packaging adhesive suppliers

The PPWR introduces new EU‑wide rules that will soon start affecting packaging adhesives. To ensure compliance with PPWR provisions, FEICA laid down a guidance document for packaging adhesive suppliers. These companies will need to monitor restricted substances, ensure compatibility with upcoming design‑for‑recycling criteria, and support compostability assessments where applicable. Future compliance will rely on updated CEN standards and PPWR delegated acts. Companies should begin preparing by evaluating product formulations, issuing information to downstream users, and engaging in value‑chain communication to ensure alignment with PPWR requirements.

FEICA welcomes the Circular Economy Act as a key opportunity to support Europe’s transition to a resource‑efficient economy and strengthen the Single Market. It stresses the essential role of adhesives and sealants in enabling durability, repair, reuse and high‑quality recycling across value chains. FEICA calls for a harmonised EU‑wide legal basis under Article 114 to avoid fragmentation, recognition of mass balance accounting to enable circular and defossilised materials, technology‑ or feedstock‑neutral targets based on life‑cycle performance, and alignment across EPR schemes, ecodesign rules and Digital Product Passports to ensure legal certainty, scalability and investment readiness.

FEICA supports the Digital Product Passport (DPP) as a harmonised EU tool to digitally provide legally required product information. To ensure legal certainty, innovation and competitiveness, DPPs should be fully EU‑harmonised, proportionate, technically feasible and protect commercially sensitive data. FEICA calls for minimal, relevant data requirements, harmonised terminology and IT standards, digitalised upstream information, and strong safeguards for data ownership, confidentiality and technical feasibility.

The chemical industry is undergoing a profound transformation as it advances toward defossilisation and a fully circular economy. For downstream sectors such as adhesives and sealants, this transition depends on access to a broad range of renewable carbon sources—recycled materials, biomass, and CO₂-based feedstocks—as well as new technical processes needed for a functioning circular economy and that are not yet developed to scale.