Over three years, CLIC Innovation and Metropolia UAS worked with companies, researchers, public bodies, and civil society to explore how sustainable packaging can move from fragmented efforts to shared direction. Along the way, we tested new methods, developed practical tools, and consolidated an ecosystem that is better prepared for the challenges ahead.
A collaborative foundation for the future
One of the most valuable outcomes of Engage4BIO has been the space it created for open, structured collaboration. Across a series of co-creation workshops – covering vision building, governance models, training and mentoring, and awareness raising – Finnish stakeholders repeatedly demonstrated that the packaging value chain is ready for deeper alignment.
Participants highlighted a shared need to improve knowledge sharing, clarify roles, and build trust across sectors. They also underscored the importance of engaging policy, and consumer facing stakeholders early in the process — a learning we are already carrying into future initiatives.
This collective work has strengthened the hub’s role as a platform where ideas can be tested, challenged, and refined. CLIC’s long-standing 4R innovation ecosystem proved particularly valuable in anchoring this work in Finland’s broader innovation landscape.
A clearer path toward sustainable packaging criteria
One technical contribution from the project has been the pre-study on sustainable packaging criteria – a topic that surfaced early as both a gap and a major opportunity. Stakeholders across industry and research consistently asked for a more consistent, holistic approach to defining sustainability, one that moves beyond climate metrics to include biodiversity, circularity, social aspects, and systemic impacts. The resulting roadmap not only synthesises the current state of definitions and regulations but also outlines concrete next steps for building a credible, widely adopted criteria framework. This work now serves as a foundation for potential consortium-building and shared RDI initiatives that extend well beyond Engage4BIO.
Testing what works: governance, engagement and creativity
Engage4BIO also allowed CLIC and its partners to experiment with new formats for engagement and knowledge gain. Workshops piloted governance tools that help ecosystems identify where collaboration is fragmented or misaligned – and how it can be strengthened. At the same time, communication and awareness pilots, including the Regulation Node webinar series, demonstrated how demand for knowledge is growing as regulations tighten and value chains transform.
These experiences also revealed practical considerations: that emotional engagement matters as much as technical explanation; that simple, visual formats resonate strongly, and that stakeholder groups benefit from hands-on, example-driven learning whenever possible. Many of these insights have already been converted into reusable tools and formats – including refined approaches for planning communication activities, capturing the outcomes of awareness work and designing impactful workshops – that CLIC now deploys across multiple projects.
What is more, Engage4BIO showed us just how strongly creativity can drive innovation. Whether through LEGO® Serious Play® workshop formats, piloted influencer collaboration, or co-developed exhibition-based awareness activities, we saw that materials, ideas, and methods from outside the core packaging sector can unlock new perspectives. The influencer campaign especially highlighted how creative formats can amplify impact, as the videos designed together with renowned Finnish packaging designer Outi Oravainen resonated widely and drew in an audience of almost half a million viewers.
A stronger starting point for what comes next
Perhaps the clearest impact of Engage4BIO is the one it leaves behind: a community that is better connected, more aligned, and better equipped. The partnerships built here will support long-term efforts to define sustainability criteria, co-develop new initiatives, and continue scaling awareness efforts that can reach consumers, companies, and policymakers alike. The project has also expanded our storytelling capabilities, with concrete examples and narratives that help communicate the potential of sustainable packaging to funders, partners, and the wider public.
The work continues, and the foundations built through Engage4BIO will support Finland’s journey toward more sustainable packaging solutions for years to come.
About Engage4BIO
Engage4BIO was an initiative funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme with a total budget of around EUR 2,5 million. The three-year project (10/2022-09/2025) was coordinated by Zentrum für Soziale Innovation GmbH (ZSI), and the consortium consisted of 11 partners from six European countries. The aim was to strengthen circular, sustainable bioeconomy and sustainable regional development through processes of design thinking, co-creation, (re)training and skills development in five regional bio-based systems (hubs): circular and bio-based textiles (NL), agriculture and agro-food industries (HU), wood and interior (AT), bio-based and sustainable packaging (FI) and blue bioeconomy (IT).
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