Labelexpo Europe 2025 to Drive Sustainability at Barcelona
The leading event for the label and package printing industry is placing sustainability at the very heart of this year’s iteration
Barcelona is all set to host the 2025 edition of Labelexpo Europe – the world’s largest event for label and package printing industry – attracting over 35,000 visitors to Fira Gran Via from 16-19 September 2025. Dedicated to label, flexible packaging, and folding carton print and converting technology, Labelexpo Europe 2025 will unfold as a vibrant festival of innovation, precision, and imagination.
Innovation and Sustainability on the Show Floor
In addition to global consumer concerns about the environment, the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is fundamentally influencing the sector, challenging converters, brand owners, and designers to rethink materials, processes, and compliance strategies.
This September, Labelexpo Europe sets the stage for the industry to move towards a more sustainable innovation-driven future.
Pulse Arena (Hall 7, Stand 7B27) will shine a spotlight on PPWR, and address how label converters can benefit from diversifying into flexible packaging and folding cartons and look into the future of artificial intelligence and automation. Each topic is addressed with keynote speakers and daily presentations in a spacious hub designed for learning, engaging, and connecting.
Labelexpo Global Series Strategic Director Andy Thomas-Emans comments, “The label and package printing industry is actively responding to sustainability pressures at the same time as new opportunities open up with automation and the growing impact of AI. Many brands are transitioning from plastics to technical paper and fibreboard-based packaging formats, so label converters need to look at how that could impact their business going forward. Trends here include the use of technical coatings to create recyclable mono-material packaging as alternatives to laminated cartons and multi-layer flexible packaging. We aim to empower the industry by bringing speakers who are at the cutting edge of these new trends and developments.”
Sustainability Guidelines
Labelexpo Europe 2025 already follows comprehensive sustainability guidelines set in place by its parent Informa PLC, which are applied to its event operations globally. These guidelines focus on reducing event waste, reusing events’ stand materials with the Better Stands programme, and utilising renewable energy where possible.
This year, the show announces an exclusive partnership with DMP Europe to divert printed materials away from landfill. Based in Cluj, Romania, DMP recycles label matrix waste, a notoriously challenging material to process. The material will be collected from the show and reprocessed into a range of re-usable items such as industrial bumpers and pallets. The partnership is supported by CELAB, an industry consortium focused on label recycling, and FINAT, the international association for the European label industry.
Claire Sacker, Operations Director, Labelexpo Global Series, elaborates, “The partnership with DMP is unique as its solution is truly circular: from the recycling to reintroducing to the market extended categories of plastic waste considered non-recyclable, which would otherwise go to landfill or incinerated. The material produced as a result is completely recyclable and reusable, closing the loop completely.”
Labelexpo Global Series Managing Director Jade Grace says, “In addition to being the biggest event to date, Labelexpo Europe 2025 will also deliver on demonstrating that innovation and sustainability aren’t just concepts: they’re actionable and profitable pillars, essential for our industry’s future.”
