About INCPEN
We are a membership organisation bringing together global packaging manufacturers, brands, retailers and recyclers. We work for our members, but our impact is much wider, achieving environmental sustainability gains that benefit us all.
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do, in fact, we are known for it! Effective teamwork and strong relationships across the packaging value chain is how we operate. This includes with the UK Government and Devolved Administrations, brands, retailers, manufacturers, recyclers, local authorities, waste management companies, representative organisations and others.
To colleagues who work with us on the challenges and opportunities in progressing circular economy packaging systems, a huge Thank You!
Our Members
INCPEN’s membership ranges from global multi brand companies to UK family businesses. The beauty of our membership (as well as being a talented, lovely bunch of people to work with!) is that they span the whole value chain of packaging.
Our members design, manufacture, distribute, retail, collect, recycle, re-use, refill and reprocess packaging of all shapes, sizes and materials; the packaging the public see at work, home and on the go and the ‘behind the scenes’ packaging used to transport and store goods in the UK and around the world.
Packaging is essential in every manufacturing sector – food & drink, health & beauty, home cleaning, electrical appliances, furniture, DIY, automotive, hobbies & gaming- it’s a long list.
The packaging our members work with protects the things we all use in daily living, keeping products safe and reducing damage and waste in their journey to reach us.
Our membership has doubled in recent years and includes many household names and successful brands.
UK Packaging Reforms
Huge reforms on packaging are being progressed by the four UK governments – the UK Collection and Packaging Reforms. The success of the reforms depends upon INCPEN’s members and others across the sector changing how our organisations work when it comes to designing, making, selling, collecting and reprocessing the packaging essential to modern life.
The changes in the next few years will increase companies’ costs by £billions every year.
Our members also operate in the European Union serving the needs of over 500 million citizens and there are similar policy changes for the EU too.
Working on the UK Packaging Reforms has been a major part of our work for several years, we have been very active. The role we continue to play with governments and others on the reforms is a key benefit companies value from their INCPEN membership.
Our Team
Whilst INCPEN’s membership spans UK and global companies employing thousands, our own team is small with four staff who cover a lot of ground on behalf of our members including nationally important responsibilities on major government programmes.
Paul Vanston - Chief Executive Officer
Paul has been CEO of INCPEN since 2017. As well as overseeing and steering the management and running of the organisation, Paul leads on representing INCPEN members’ inputs in shaping the governments’ ambitious packaging reforms.
Before INCPEN, Paul worked for over twenty years in central and local government including his first packaging work in 2000 when he started his first of several roles in recycling and waste services within local councils including heading-up the Kent Resource Partnership of 13 councils from 2008 to 2016. Paul is a Ministerially appointed member of the four governments’ Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme Administrator Steering Group. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and a member of the Chartered Institute of Waste Management.
Alison Skuse - Memberships & Finance Officer
Ali has been with INCPEN since 2014 and is a lynchpin in running INCPEN smoothly. Ali deals with our memberships; financial affairs; monthly INCPEN member newsletters; and supporting important INCPEN Board meetings and events. Ali has a background in IT and project management. Before INCPEN Ali spent ten years in Telecoms holding various global roles in Supply Chain Management, CSR and Internal Comms.
Paldeep Bhatti - Director of Research & Policy
Paldeep has been with INCPEN since 2021 and his role focuses on INCPEN’s research work and keeping on top of the many and changing packaging related policies in the UK and EU. Patience is one of his many virtues! He leads and organises INCPEN responses to consultations issued by governments and others. Paldeep’s background is over a decade in waste management in local government in the Kent Resource Partnership including heading up that partnership of 13 councils for five years.
Louise Bowe - Head of Packaging Impacts
Louise joined INCPEN in September 2024. Her role includes several aspects of whole-value-chain packaging performance including recycling rates, value for money, achievement of efficient and effective systems, and communications and behaviour change programmes. Before joining INCPEN Louise worked for over twenty years in the environmental sector in NGOs and local government including senior roles as CEO of the River Thame Conservation Trust, and WRAP’s Head of Local Communications and Head of Citizen Campaigns & Community Partnerships for several years.
Our Values
Our team developed a set of values to underpin how we work with each other, colleagues outside INCPEN and how we deliver our work.
- Living integrity, accountability, objectivity, openness, honesty, leadership and selflessness
- Striving to be the best version of ourselves as team players, lateral thinkers, having a can-do approach and willing to make the effort
- Professional, honourable, seeking to help, never set out to embarrass
- Having a consistent and fair approach towards all, a passion for diversity, equality, inclusivity, collaboration and the power of acting together
- Having neutrality across packaging materials whilst promoting the roles & functions of packaging overall
