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IoPP: Future Strategizing Around Sustainability

Four key steps to developing successful sustainability plans for your brand or CPG include planning further into the long-term, keeping an eye on Europe, taking a fresh look at new materials and tech, and getting involved in interested organizations.

Jim George, IoPP, contributor
Jim George, IoPP, contributor

I hear many conversations among packaging professionals, both IoPP members and elsewhere in the packaging industry. Yes, sometimes people still ask whether sustainability is a fad that will subside. Unquestionably, it is a central driver of packaging’s future role within companies, with a direct bearing on the bottom line and our planet. Packaging consultancy PTIS’s recent survey of packaging thought leaders makes this impact clear: Focus on sustainability and circularity is now the number one impact force for packaging. E-commerce, the leading impact force just three years ago, has slipped to fourth.

Just as likely, sustainability will evolve as developments continue in packaging materials, technology, and regulations.

Sustainable packaging has made significant, if sometimes bumpy progress over the past few years. Here are just a few examples: In beverages, emerging initiatives have increased recyclable/biodegradable content and paper-based bottlesβ€”and yes, the merits around using paper or plastic continue to be debated. Players across the medical device industry are working to reduce packaging, make it recyclable or reusable where possible, and put sensitive instruments in surgeons’ hands faster while keeping them sterile until use.

Many companies have created departments or teams specializing in packaging and sustainability. Vice presidents and directors with packaging-facing titles continue to gain a voice in the C-suite.

What’s next?

Yet, much remains to be done. A key point repeated during several recent IoPP webinars is to observe and anticipate where things are heading, rather than trying to merely keep up. Here are four thoughts our speakers emphasized to help packagers strategize forward around sustainability.

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