In an address to delegates at the Third Annual Sustainable Packaging Forum in Pittsburgh, Julian Carroll, managing director of the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN), stated that “EUROPEN believes we should all avoid the risk of the Wal-Mart Packaging Scorecard becoming a de facto industry standard. Not only could such an eventuality disrupt the market but even worse, it risks evolving in such a way as to become an inhibitor of innovation rather than a stimulator. Just getting a high score for your packaging with Wal-Mart should not be a reason to rest on your laurels. In our dynamic industry this is clearly something we do not want.”
Two-thirds of chief financial officers at leading U.S. retailers say their company is actively involved with “green” or environmentally friendly practices, and 44% of those indicate they have increased their investments in these practices during the past two years, according to a new study by BDO Seidman, LLP. Among the 100 largest retailers, 83% are involved in green practices and a majority of those (62%) have increased their green investments during the past two years.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., announced a partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to measure the amount of energy used to create products throughout its supply chain, including the procurement, manufacturing, and distribution process. Using this measurement tool, Wal-Mart will initiate a pilot with a group of suppliers to look for new and innovative ways to make the entire process more energy efficient.
The Netherlands has passed a first-of-its-kind carbon-based tax on packaging that will mean higher costs for processors. The law is due to be implemented in January and could start an EU-wide move to force companies to add CO2 emissions to the list of criteria they use when choosing their packaging. The European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN) will calculate the tax based on the CO2 emissions from the production of each kilogram of packaging material put into the Netherlands market and, presumably, the embedded carbon content of the packaging.
Napco announced the availability of its 100% recycled pulp paper CD and DVD ECOtrays. The company said the environmentally friendly packaging solution provides outstanding performance for disc retention and full automation on select automated pack-out lines.
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