Four practical steps to sustainability

Product management – the manufacturer's brand management/sales team or the retailer’s procurement / sales.

Manufacturing plants – the manufacturers owned and 3^rd party plants or the retailer’s private-label and nonprivate-label sourced plants.

Packaging suppliers/converters – the people that convert materials into packaging that is used by the manufacturing plants.

Raw material processors – the people that take raw materials and turn them into a format used by packaging suppliers/converters.

As a starting point, the following data building blocks—each a subset for the four tiers—are recommended (see accompanying graphic).

 Creating the packaging strategy

The packaging strategy then follows from the data that has been collected.

First you identify your current packaging datum point. This means understanding the following fundamentals:

Tonnage used per material

Tonnage used per material category (plastics, paper, glass, etc.)

Tonnage used by packaging supplier

Tonnage that is compostable, biodegradable, degradable etc.

Distances that packaging has traveled

Next, you identify targets that become your strategy based on the four simple metrics described earlier.

Packaging weight – target to reduce

You now know the weights of all your packaging and can identify the products that use the largest amounts or products using excessive packaging.

Best-in-Class modeling applied to packaging can identify key areas for lightweighting.

Packaging miles – target to reduce

Packaging miles is a measure used to identify manufacturers that are sourcing their packaging from distant suppliers.

Products with excessive miles when compared with others in the same product category can be easily identified. This measure lends itself to a strategy for local packaging sources.

Packaging volume – target to reduce

Reducing the volume of space required to distribute products will require less transportation, which in turn has a direct impact on the environment. Clearly, over-packaged items will be identified.

Material choice – target the ‘least bad’

Based on existing knowledge, there is no right or wrong material choice with regards to its environmental impact. Materials give varying properties technically, aesthetically and environmentally and choice cannot be made in isolation.

Conclusion

Thus, a packaging strategy is created by having the data to know where you are now and then having applicable metrics to move your business to a point that is demonstrably more environmental. A Holy Grail no longer!

For the full report, click here.

Greenshare is also working alongside major retailers and manufacturers across the globe to help them build their environmental packaging strategies. For more information, visit www.greenshare.com.