The Data Work is Now: Build Your EPR Data Roadmap for 2027

"Our current systems don't capture all the data we need, and major changes are unlikely in the next two to three years. Where should we start?"

A producer asked us that in September. If it sounds like your company, you're not alone.

2026 was the first full EPR reporting year for most brands, and most of what went wrong never showed up as an error: spreadsheets with 50 tabs built the month before, supplier weights that were still estimates, HDPE film logged as LDPE, state sales figures that were best guess. The report went through. The numbers were bigger than they needed to be, and so were the fees. A reclassification of poly-coated paperboard was worth $122,000 to one brand.

We'll skip the state-by-state minutiae on this one and give you a data framework: the questions to ask your team, and the order to run your data cleanup and collection. Whether you're reporting for the first time, or you've reported and you want your next cycle to run faster and cleaner, you'll leave with a checklist to start fixing this month.

• Where your number comes from, with real SKU examples
• The five places brands overpay, and how to check each one this week (misclassified materials is the most common, by a distance)
• What foundational packaging data looks like, and how to get it from suppliers
• The readiness checklist, scored live
• Our advice on who should own what inside your company and how to make the case to leadership for what you need
• NEW: a live look at the rebuilt data ingestion engine with Alyssa, Head of Product
• Your EPR data questions, answered live

Who should attend:

Sustainability leads, packaging directors, regulatory and compliance teams, operations and supply chain leads, and anyone who owns EPR reporting for their company, whether or not it's the whole job.