Trace One, a premier SaaS leader in product lifecycle management (PLM) and compliance software, and Citeo, an eco-organisation whose mission is to reduce the environmental impact of household packaging, has unveiled a new partnership designed to revolutionise how grocery retailers and national brands achieve sustainability and regulatory compliance.

This collaboration combines Trace One’ PLM business platform with Citeo’s expertise in recyclability calculations, offering brand owners a seamless, automated way to assess and improve the environmental impact of their packaging. Together, the two companies hope to set a new standard for innovation, efficiency, and sustainability in the food and beverage sector.

Grocery retailers and F&B brand owners face increasing complexity as they navigate stringent regulations such as the QCE (environmental qualities and characteristics) decree and prepare for Europe’s forthcoming packaging waste regulations. Historically, recyclability assessments have been slow and manual, proving difficult to maintain and improve effectively due to the volume of technical packaging data.

The Trace One and Citeo partnership delivers:

• Effortless Automation: Eliminating manual data entry by seamlessly integrating packaging data from Trace One’s PLM system with Citeo’s trusted recyclability calculation engine.

• Instant Insights: Brands gain immediate access to recyclability scores, detailed analytics, and actionable recommendations—all visualised through Trace One’s intuitive dashboards.

• Future-Proof Compliance: Stay ahead of evolving regulations, ensuring businesses are always aligned with European standards.

At the heart of this partnership is the integration of Trace One’s PLM platform with Citeo’s recyclability tool, a solution recognised by French authorities. The process is simple yet transformative, thanks to integration with Citeo’s ‘TREE’ packaging recyclability tool:

1. Retailers and suppliers input packaging data into Trace One’s PLM system.
2. Recyclability scores are calculated in real-time through an integration between Trace One and Citeo, ensuring no data is stored at Citeo to maintain strict customer data protection.
3. Recyclability results are returned to Trace One Analytics solution, empowering brands with insights to optimize packaging and meet their sustainability goals.

This collaboration enables brands to save time, reduce complexity, and focus on what matters most: creating a sustainable future.

“We believe that innovation and sustainability go hand in hand,” said Antoine Daviet, Chief Product Officer at Trace One. “This partnership with Citeo transforms how retailers approach recyclability, empowering them to achieve their goals faster and more effectively than ever before.”

“In order to support companies in their environmental transition, this strategic partnership with Trace One will enable us to accelerate and facilitate the assessment of the recyclability of all their packaging. We need to meet regulatory targets faster than ever and reduce the environmental impact of all packaging materials,” said Valentin Fournel, Head of Eco-design and Reuse​ at Citeo

The Trace One-Citeo integration is currently being implemented with seven leading French brands with a phased rollout enabling customers to adopt the solution at their own pace.

As European sustainability regulations evolve, Trace One and Citeo plan to stay ahead, continuously refining their solutions to ensure retailers remain compliant, competitive, and innovative.