A product’s packaging is the first element a customer sees, touches, and engages with. It’s also the first element of a product that gets thrown away. A product and its packaging are inextricably linked to tell a story and sell a concept. So, why is that so easy to discard?
This week, the Framework Filtered is exploring the crucial topic of Packaging Design Transition.
Recent reports show that only 9% of all global plastics are recycled, while we produce 300 million tonnes of plastic each year worldwide. Half of this is single use. It stands to reason, then, that packaging design is an area the European Union has been focusing heavily on to speed up change.
Over the last two years, the European Union and the UK Government have released new packaging and Extended Producer Responsibility regulations which focus on taxing producers for the volume of product packaging released to the market. Meanwhile, the USA is expected to continue fleshing out its EPR requirements state-by-state over the coming months. Change is coming, if not already here.
What this means, of course, is that focusing on your packaging will not only reduce your environmental impact but deliver you a large cost saving too.
Remember: waste = money. The incoming environmental taxes will only make this more apparent. So, there’s no better time to start the transition than right now.
“The focus on packaging is increasing. Being prepared and informed will stand you in good stead, financially and in the public eye,” says Mike Swain, Products of Change’s Ambassador for Packaging and Material Innovation.
“If you value your packaging and give it the attention it deserves, it will deliver that value right back.”
WHY CHANGE? WHY IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME TO TRANSITION YOUR MY PACKAGING?
As the legal requirements for data collection towards governmental legislation such as the Extended Producer Responsibility law comes into effect, a growing number of retailers are beginning to ask more of their suppliers.
Among some of the biggest in the world we can count the likes of Walmart (whose Project Gigaton is on a mission to avoid 1bn tonnes of CO2e greenhouse gasses from by engaging and incentivising suppliers to measure and reduce their carbon footprint), Target, Amazon (which laid bare its intentions only last week to work closer with suppliers on a journey of sustainable development), and of course Tesco.
Core to Tesco’s sustainability strategy is its approach to packaging and it’s mission to strip out single use plastic from its partner packaging through the implementation of its RAG (Red, Amber, Green) list as well as its Three Rs mantra to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle materials and packaging across its product portfolio.
“We want to be the most helpful retailer for recycling and reuse, ensuring every material we use is either reused or easily recyclable, using recycled materials where possible,” Paul Earnshaw, senior packaging director at Tesco told Sustainability in Licensing Conference attendees last year.
WATCH PAUL EARNSHAW DISCUSS SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING
In December 2020, the LEGO Group committed to removing 37% of its overall emissions by the end of 2032. To meet that target, the company will continue to focus heavily on its scope 3 emissions and to do that means engaging with its partners across its entire supply chain, through its Engage to Reduce initiative.
“This programme aims at inspiring and helping our suppliers set specific carbon reduction targets and holding them accountable to this commitment,” said Sine Møller, the LEGO Group’s sustainability transformation for licensing and extended lines.
“It allows the LEGO Group to leverage our position as a global toy company to drive change in the global supply chains, even if we’re not the ones manufacturing the products.”
Packaging, of course, falls into this sphere of influence. LEGO has been taking major strides to transition its packaging to more sustainable, recyclable designs and materials.
WATCH THE LEGO GROUP DISCUSS ITS SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY FOR TOYS, LICENSING, AND PACKAGING
USING THE FRAMEWORK
With growing demand on manufacturing partners and suppliers to address their packaging design, let’s take a look at some of the short, mid, and long term steps you can be taking to reduce your impact and increase the sustainable credentials of your product packaging.
Short Term
- Build a simple review of your packaging usage and look to reduce the highest volume, most damaging, or least recyclable elements first.
- Do you require a second layer of packaging? Or can you print on the product?
- Minimize the size of the packaging
- Consider the shape of the packaging and resulting wastage.
- Can you suggest alternative uses for the packaging?
- Work to reduce single use plastic.
- Remove glitter and foils or plan to reduce if removal is not possible in year one.
- Mixed materials make it hard for packaging to be recycled. Can you use mono materials where possible and communicate how to split materials within the product packaging?
Mid Term
- Begin a systemic design review for the highest volume/impact products and start to look beyond just material impact and consider business model design.
- Review wasted materials.
- Are you shipping air? Can you reduce the box size further?
- Think about shelf space. Can you redesign the box for more efficient sales?
- Can you start to track the impact of scope 3 within your packaging?
Long Term
- Systemic design looking at all life-cycle states of the packaging, aiming to reduce resource consumption, keep packaging and materials in use and to promote regeneration of natural systems.
- Introduce targets as part of your requirements for a transition to circular economy principles.
- Introduce target to reduce environmental impact in relation to reduction of scope 3 emissions.
To learn more about the circular economy, check out this week’sPOC Academy educational articleand head to theProducts of Change Members Hub to download the Products of Change Circular Economy Whitepaper.
Using the Products of Change Industry Framework
The Products of Change Industry Framework has been billed as a “game-changing” resource developed by the industry for the industry offering a step-by-step guide to transitioning the $340bn global licensing industry towards a more sustainable and positive future.
“This framework will be a great resource for any company, no matter where they are on their sustainability journey,” said Danilo’s Claire Bates. “The creation of useful resources such as this will also help Products of Change continue its great work of educating and driving sustainable change.”
The Industry Framework is available to download here.
The Framework has been launched to be used in tandem with the educational content Products of Change provides through the Education portal as well as its library of content across On Demand video and podcasts. Products of Change members, make use of the resources available to you via the Members Hub and remember to share your progress with the POC community as you take on the journey of sustainable development.
