PRO appointment: INCPEN and FDF through to next round

The PRO will be responsible for the management of Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR), taking on many of the functions of scheme administrator PackUK.

It is currently unclear what other organisations – if any – are also in the running to become the PRO.

In an online statement, INCPEN said: “In submitting our Expression of Interest we take seriously our responsibilities to bring together an extensive coalition across the packaging value chain that provides confidence to the governments and Pack UK of the collective desire to deliver an ambitious circular economy for packaging through the PRO.”

The joint Expression of Interest was facilitated by INCPEN and the FDF’s “PRO SteerCo”.

Process for appointing the PRO

In October 2024, ministers from the four nations signalled their support for an industry-led PRO.

Scheme administrator PackUK opened the Expression of Interest phase for the PRO in May 2025, which closed on 10 June 2025.

Those who made it through to the second phase were told by 24 June 2025, which INCPEN today (7 July 2025) publicly announced it had achieved.

The next phase will focus on industry engagement and will run across summer 2025 – before the formal bidding phase in autumn and winter this year.

The engagement phase will inform the final specifications of the PRO which will be set by PackUK and the four governments.

‘Our engagement has already started’

INCPEN added: “Our engagement has already started and we will be building on that over the summer. There are many sectors, and many thousands of organisations and colleagues.

“All are important in their own right because they have key roles in delivery of the governments’ packaging reforms embracing packaging extended producer responsibility, collections and recycling of household packaging, and onward reprocessing of recyclates for use as recycled content in new packaging.

“Our goal is to ensure the four governments and Pack UK have confidence in appointing a PRO that anchors its delivery on the best circular economy packaging systems, improved performance across sectors, high value for money and focused on environmental, economic and social outcomes across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.”