If you’ve been around sustainable packaging circles for the last 10 years, you’ve probably heard of the LCA tool COMPASS. The COMPASS project was launched by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition in 2006 after a review of existing tools applicable to the packaging supply chain. A survey of publicly available life cycle industry assets was launched, […]
Consumers and brand owners love flexible packaging. Consumers prefer flexible pouches and bags to traditional bottles and containers because flexible packages are easy to open, easy to transport, and easy to store. Brand owners favor them for similar reasons: The flexible layers that make the package more versatile can be dropped, squashed, and twisted while keeping their protective […]
The right sustainability strategy will not only strive for environmental benefit but also enhance a company’s operations in the process. The only way to ensure measurable and lasting success is for sustainability to be mainstreamed into an organization’s current processes. This means that sustainability must become a part of all daily considerations associated with a […]
Is Zero Waste Packaging the Future? In previous blogs, we’ve explored many topics within sustainable packaging, such as the role of LCA, ways to implement recyclable materials, and source reduction strategies. While all ambitious reduction goals, none of them solve the inherent waste that occurs once the job of packaging is done. Stemming from this […]
Sustainable Packaging Trends Consumers’ views on packaging are changing. Packaging is no longer seen as “essential waste,” but instead an opportunity for brands to improve their relationship with the environment and the consumers they serve. This shift has had a dramatic impact on the consumer goods marketplace in recent years. Sustainability is becoming an expectation […]
One of the biggest focuses of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s recent conference was a shift from end-of-life considerations to material management. SPC Advance kicked off with Industry Leadership Committees tackling the topics of bioplastics, the value of forest certification, cold chain packaging, and multilayer flexible packaging. These committees brought together thought leadership from throughout the […]
Life-Cycle Assessment or LCA is a cradle-to-grave analysis that calculates environmental impacts associated with all stages of a package’s lifecycle including material sourcing, manufacturing, conversion, distribution, and end-of-life. The life cycle approach accounts for environmental impacts associated with the materials and processes used to bring packaging to market and allows decision makers to incorporate environmental parameters alongside economic factors. Here […]
By creating packaging that is able to be recycled, products become more attractive to consumers that are becoming increasingly environmentally aware. Recycling is the reprocessing of materials at the end of their primary lives, ideally for use in a similar application. By diverting what would normally end up in landfills, recycling has the potential to manage […]
The UPS Eco Responsible Packaging Program is a cooperative sustainability effort between UPS and its customers. Created in 2010, the program provides a formal strategy designed to reduce packaging waste. Through this initiative, UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company, is taking a leading role to encourage and support responsible packaging practices among its customers. […]
Recently, the phrase “circular economy” has become the latest craze in sustainability news and initiatives. A circular economy is a system that strives for little to no waste; products are used to their maximum potential and then materials are resourced when they have reached the end of their lives. It’s meant to revolutionize the old […]