Green Packaging: The Higher the Awareness, the Slower the Implementation

Sustainability is a major hot topic in the packaging industry and will shape the development of the entire industry over the next few years. This driving force comes mainly from environmental issues such as warming, energy consumption and limited natural resources. The sustainability question in packaging has crossed cultural and geographical boundaries and is now drawing widespread attention. Modern lifestyles that demand longer product shelf life and more competitive brands are the main drivers of demand for packaging, and now this appears to have made an outstanding "contribution" to the generation of waste as well. Such pressure leaves the packaging industry with no choice but to act immediately.

The higher the awareness, the slower the implementation

MarkDiVito, director of the research team at Reed Business Information, said, "The survey results show that packaging companies in the four main regions position 'green' differently. These questions include the level of awareness and adoption of sustainability, how it affects the formulation of a company's strategy and decisions, what actions will be taken, how goals are set, and how success of a sustainability strategy is defined."

The respondents all belong to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and are also subscribers to Converting and Packaging Digest magazines. The companies they represent are all connected to packaging in some way. The vast majority of participants come from packaged consumer goods companies, alongside raw material manufacturers, packaging producers, machinery manufacturers, packaging service providers and retailers.

For a company, pursuing a sustainability strategy brings many benefits. About a quarter of the respondents are executive managers at their companies, and of these, 20% come from engineering, marketing, and research and development. About 10% are involved in packaging design. The study also shows that many companies have created positions related to sustainable development.

As one respondent put it: "The challenge is making everyone aware of the importance of sustainable packaging." Different departments apply different policies and rules. Eight months ago we appointed a deputy manager for sustainability strategy and have already integrated all functions.

No longer ignoring the ecological environment

The survey shows that sustainability has taken deep root throughout the packaging industry, especially at large companies with more than 1,000 employees and those with formal, written sustainability policies, where 46% of respondents said they were "very familiar" with it. Yet among all those surveyed, only 21% of respondents felt they were very knowledgeable about packaging sustainability. Close to 40% of respondents said they were "somewhat familiar", while 10% knew nothing at all.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362309.html