Regulatory change is becoming a defining challenge across many industries, with requirements evolving alongside scientific understanding and sustainability expectations. Manufacturers are having to respond to these developments while continuing to protect their production efficiency, productivity, supply continuity, product performance and customer confidence. This in turn places an increasingly important responsibility on suppliers to support their customers prepare for new regulatory requirements.

Suppliers can add value by monitoring the regulatory landscape and emerging concerns, building a clear view of where the market is heading. Strong supplier relationships can be built around sharing perspective with customers so that decisions about the future are made with the fullest understanding of potential implications.

Regulatory change can be complex and fragmented across the value chain, and can involve manufacturers, brand owners, technical teams, regulators and multiple tiers of the supply chain. So collaboration is essential and success comes when supply partners work across these boundaries, bringing expertise together to test options, understand practical constraints and build confidence in the chosen route.

The metal packaging industry continues to undergo a period of transition which started with national bisphenol A( BPA) restrictions in countries like France in 2015. When the EU listed BPA as a Substance of Very High Concern( SVHC) under the REACH regulation in 2017, this set in motion a process of regulatory scrutiny which led to new stringent chemical safety rules. This included Commission Regulation( EU) 2024 / 3190, which effectively bans BPA and other bisphenols with harmonized classification in the manufacture of food-contact materials.

Food and beverage can makers had been relying on the same type of coating technology to protect their cans for around 50 years, but this regulatory change resulted in a significant and complex transition across the whole value chain starting with the coating chemistry.

For the metal packaging industry, the main transition period for single-use food-contact articles ended in July 2026, and for can makers like Ardagh Metal Packaging, this marked an important milestone in the transition away from BPA-based internal coatings for cans sold within the EU market. Certain applications and coatings used on the outside of cans have longer transition periods extending to January 2028 so the practical work of testing and qualifying new coatings with the brand owners continues.

As a specialist coatings business serving metal packaging manufacturers, we anticipate that regulatory scrutiny of bisphenols beyond BPA will continue to evolve in response to emerging scientific evidence and regulatory developments. In response to this, we’ ve been developing a full range of coatings that do not use BPA or other bisphenols as starting substances to provide future proofed technologies.

This has required robust technical development and practical collaboration with our customers. Our partnership with Ardagh Metal Packaging, for example, has been instrumental in bringing key external coatings to the EU market.

Our role is to help customers navigate complex compliance requirements, identifying solutions that address immediate challenges while also taking potential future regulatory developments into consideration. This approach supports their long-term success by combining technical expertise with regulatory foresight, transparency, implementation support and a willingness to work collaboratively to reduce avoidable risk. It offers customers a stronger foundation for decisions that need to stand the test of time.

This same principle applies well beyond packaging. Strong supplier relationships are built on a shared perspective: one that addresses the immediate challenge while keeping sight of what might follow. By working this way, manufacturers can move through regulatory change with greater confidence, reduce the need for repeated transitions and build more resilient operations over the longer term.

Discover how AkzoNobel Packaging Coatings is developing next-generation coating solutions to help can makers and brand owners meet evolving performance and regulatory requirements. Click here