Sustainable Packaging

First of a Series

Posted on June 13, 2007 | Permalink

By Lane Casteix

Environmental concerns are impacting the packaging industry in a huge way. This "storm" is already raging in the EU and has been for a while but is only fairly recently getting its footings in the United States, but it is here and it is growing rapidly. As package designers (and users of packaging) we should understand this trend and adjust to address its concerns, whether real or imagined. And frankly, while some issues associated with this movement are very real and represent danger to life on this planet, I believe there is also a lot of over-reacting taking place. The problem is it is difficult to sort the truth from the junk science.

The buzz word associated with this movement is "sustainable," which is variously defined but mostly as eco friendly and healthy. One of the best and simplest definitions of "sustainable" is it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The Sustainable Packaging Coalition has lots of background information on this important movement. The following eight points, defining sustainable packaging, were pulled from their web site.

1. Is beneficial, safe & healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle;

2. Meets market criteria for performance and cost;

3. Is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy;

4. Maximizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials;

5. Is manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices;

6. Is made from materials healthy in all probable end of life scenarios;

7. Is physically designed to optimize materials and energy;

8. Is effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or industrial cradle to cradle cycles.

As you can see the focus is on effectively and efficiently using our natural resources in a way that does not harm the environment or damage health. This is a worthy goal. We should be good stewards of our environment. Whichever side of the global warming argument you are on is somewhat irrelevant, in that waste only makes our environment dirtier and depletes valuable resources.

What does this mean for packaged products? Frankly, that is a little up in the air at this moment. One thing is certain, this will impact our business. For now the main focus seems to be on "wasteful packaging," meaning packaging that is unnecessary in that it goes beyond what is needed to contain and protect the product until the sale is made. Wasteful packaging uses resources inefficiently, wastes energy used in the manufacturing process, and the excess packaging ends up in rapidly filling local landfills. Reducing the amount of packaging then has positive impact on our environment in three areas.

The sooner we as package designers and you as package users understand this and begin the process of assessing its implications on the market, and thus on the designs of your packages, the better off we will all be. And since (not "if") government is embracing this, there will also be regulatory issues to deal with.

There is a lot more to be said on this subject. I will continue to dig into it and post what I have discovered right here in Intel.