A chair dedicated to the reduction, reuse and recycling of packaging

The 3R Packaging Chair, for Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, was created in July 2024 at the Institut Agro Dijon. It brings together faculty, students, and companies around the issues of the ecological transition in the agri-food sector.
Its guidelines are clear: share a common understanding of packaging issues, promote eco-design initiatives, train engineers with dual food/packaging skills, and develop research projects on container compatibility.content and safety of materials.

GEPPIA, a committed partner from the outset

The GEPPIA is one of the founding partners of the chair. This commitment reflects a conviction of the group: the transition towards sustainable packaging is built with manufacturers who design machines and equipment, and is passed on to engineers who will develop them tomorrow.
This industrial anchoring is reflected even in the round table of the chair, which includes MECAPACK, a manufacturer member of GEPPIA, among its partners. A direct illustration of the link between the group’s network and research on food packaging for an ever more responsible future.

The Packathon, a real-life learning environment

Among the highlights of these two years, the Packathon TM occupies a special place. Organized since 2021 by GEPPIA, this collaborative event brought together in December 2025 students and professionals around innovation challenges dedicated to packaging.
For the engineering students of the chair, the experience was an opportunity to mobilize their technical skills in real conditions, develop their creativity and work as a team alongside manufacturers. In addition, the Institut Agro Dijon has hired a team of teachers and staff trained in agile facilitation techniques and creativity within the University of Bourgogne Europe to facilitate the coaching of the various student-professional groups involved in the event.

A shared presence at major industry events

Since the launch of the chair, GEPPIA and the 3R Packaging Chair presented their approach together at the All4Pack exhibition on November 4, 2024. This joint presentation helped to raise the profile of the chair among packaging stakeholders and highlight the link between training, research, and industry.

Two years of concrete results for the sector

The support of GEPPIA is part of a collective dynamic whose results are now tangible:

• An annual conference organized every March at the Institut Agro Dijon, bringing together between 150 and 200 participants. The first two editions were devoted to plastic packaging, then to paper-cardboard.
• Student projects on concrete industrial issues: packaging reuse, life cycle analysis (LCA), and perceived practicality by the consumer.
• An international mobility scheme, with six €2,000 scholarships allowing engineering students to conduct research internships in Croatia, Italy, and Thailand.
• Support for the NEXTFOODPACK project, winner of the ANR France 2030 call for projects, dedicated to a new generation of paper-board packaging.
• The Packlab, an experimental space dedicated to food packaging, open to students and younger audiences.

And tomorrow: a second cycle from 2027 to 2030

The first cycle of the chair will end in July 2027. Building on this momentum, the Institut Agro Dijon is planning a second three-year cycle, from 2027 to 2030, to sustain the actions undertaken and broaden the scope of projects, particularly at the interface between packaging and food safety.
GEPPIA intends to continue its support, convinced that training and research are essential levers for the competitiveness of French equipment manufacturers and for the sustainable transition of the sector.