Good for business

These days, sustainability initiatives can have a big payback. According to the 2015 “Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report” from New York-based Nielsen, sales of consumer goods from brands with a demonstrated commitment to sustainability grew more than 4 percent globally in 2015 alone, while those without grew less than 1 percent.

And own-brand sustainability enhancements on the packaging side can help demonstrate such a commitment on the part of retailers — especially in the eyes of millennial and Generation Z consumers. Seventy-three percent of millennials in Nielsen’s survey-based study said they are willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings, up from approximately half of millennials in 2014 — and 72 percent of Generation Z respondents said they are willing to pay more, up from 55 percent in 2014.

Start small

Retailers that are in the beginning stages of a packaging sustainability initiative could find that some small steps reap big results. Adam Gendell, associate director of the Charlottesville, Va.-based Sustainable Packaging Coalition, notes that “efficiency is the name of the game” here.

“The good news is that efficiency gains are often accompanied by cost savings,” he explains. “Efforts like reducing material usage, improving cube utilization and transport efficiency, and reducing back-of-the-house packaging waste generation can all save money.”

But retailers can make only so many efficiency gains, he cautions. Reductions overdone in one area could result in “burden shifting and unwanted tradeoffs in other areas.”

Retailers — and their private brand suppliers — also could ask their packaging suppliers about any environmentally preferred alternatives they offer, notes Don Reed, managing director for the Sustainable Business Solutions practice of PwC, a global professional services company. For example, for paper packaging, he recommends that they ask about certified sustainable forestry options.

“If you don’t hear good alternatives at the right price points, talk to an extended group of packaging suppliers,” Reed advises. “Shamelessly imitate competitors you admire. Take a hard look at secondary and tertiary packaging.”

Retailers should ask themselves not only if such packaging really adds value, he adds, but also if it exceeds product protection requirements and represents an opportunity to eliminate something entirely.

Ian Lifshitz, the North American sustainability director for Jakarta, Indonesia-headquartered Asia Pulp & Paper Group, agrees.

“Some food products, in particular, include multiple layers of packaging,” he says, “from a paper wrapping followed by a sealed plastic-wrapped cover to a paperboard box. New advancements in packaging technology now allow companies to eliminate some of these layers while still serving the packaging purpose” such as food protection.

Retailers and their private brand suppliers also have an opportunity to align the supply chain process with the packaging vendor, says Paul Nowak, director of customer experience – packaging for QuadPackaging, Franklin, Wis. By communicating and coordinating here to align the store brand print run with a similar name brand print run, for instance, they could reduce energy, waste and production costs while gaining efficiencies.

“It is also a smart business strategy,” he says. “Good business and sustainability are not mutually exclusive terms.”

When feasible, the inclusion of recycled content in packaging also presents a good starting point, Lifshitz maintains.

Light-weighting, too, is another cost-effective starting point, according to Todd Bukowski, senior packaging consultant with HAVI Global Solutions, Downers Grove, Ill. Such a strategy reduces packaging’s impact on the environment across the supply chain.

“Many retailers are shifting towards flexible packaging in a number of package categories such as baby food, snacks, cereal, etc.,” he points out.

But before a retailer acts on any initial packaging sustainability initiatives, it should define its vision as a retail organization and set specific goals, Bukowski maintains.

“Whether it be carbon reduction or increasing a product’s recycling capabilities, if your vision is not defined, the approach you take to reduce environmental impact may lead to confusion and end up costing your business more,” he explains. “For example, if increased product recyclability is the main goal, the focus should be on identifying, using and replacing materials with ones that are generally considered as highly recyclable — HDPE, PET, paperboard, aluminum and steel.”

Leverage what’s new

Material and technology advances also present opportunities for retailers to enhance packaging sustainability. Many such innovations are addressing an increasingly “nuanced and sophisticated” definition of recyclable packaging on the part of industry, Gendell notes.

“Recycling-preferable paper coatings are on the rise,” he says. “Even packages that have been vilified by recyclers, like multilayer plastic pouches and single-serve coffee pods, are improving their recyclability outlook through design changes.”

The use of layered board as a packaging sustainability enhancement is increasing, too, thanks to paperboard manufacturing advances that offer a smooth surface designed for multiple colors and complex graphics, Lifshitz says.

“Compared to the traditional single thick and heavier sheet technology, this new material is designed with multiple layers — a layer of virgin fiber paper on the outside of the packaging and layers in the middle of lighter or recycled pulp,” he explains. “These middle layers are lighter and less dense, [have a] lower cost and require less need for trees. This transition to using layered board can provide a yield advantage of 8 to 15 percent, depending upon basis weight.”

Weight reductions, meanwhile, are possible with today’s low-basis-weight materials from “fast-growing, fiber-efficient sources” such as eucalyptus, Nowak notes. By using these types of materials, retailers could slash shipment weight and save money — while reducing their carbon footprint.

Fully renewable packaging that fully protects the product inside holds potential, too. According to Carla Fantoni, vice president of communications for Tetra Pak U.S. and Canada, such packaging, including Tetra Pak fully renewable packaging, is already available for chilled beverages.

“And we’re making good progress in the development of an aseptic package fully manufactured from renewable packaging materials,” she adds.

Bio-based PET is yet another advance that Bukowski says companies are using to set a standard for water bottle recyclability. He notes that Dasani’s water bottles now are 30 percent bio-based, and the company’s goal is to eventually reach 100 percent bio-based content.

“There is also a lot of movement on how to improve and achieve food waste reduction goals,” he adds. “We’re seeing new initiatives to utilize advanced packaging to improve the shelf life of fruits and vegetables and reduce food waste.”

Overall, the market is shifting from the “old school” perspective on packaging sustainability, which emphasized recyclable materials (which might or might not actually ever be recycled) and recycled content (even if it was “ordinary for the material”) to a “new school” perspective, Reed explains. The new school perspective calls on companies to look for “opportunities to contribute meaningfully to the demand for a recycled material — and particularly for materials that are just becoming recycled,” he explains. It also emphasizes “packaging that contributes to better overall environmental outcomes,” including options that positively affect the lifecycle impacts of the products, are antimicrobial, promote better shelf-stability, help in portion control, create biodegradable barriers and/or boast strong performance while still incorporating more environmentally friendly materials.

Toot your own horn

Although a growing number of shoppers make packaging sustainability part of the purchase decision, they can’t make a decision without information. So the right messaging should be part of any own-brand packaging sustainability initiative. Fantoni suggests that any communications be simple and relevant.

“In other words, the environmental profile of the package should be translated into simple terms that define the tangible benefits to the consumer,” she says. “Storytelling is also an effective technique to grab attention and engage. Finally, visual representation of environmental benefits such as certification seals helps consumers quickly and easily spot packages on the shelf [that have] a lower impact on the environment.”

Messaging also has to mesh with that for the overall brand, Reed cautions.

“Consumers have grown skeptical — maybe even cynical — of sustainable package claims,” he stresses. “While having a little green logo on the packaging has become ordinary for product packaging with environmental advantages, it has largely become meaningless to most consumers.”

And perhaps most important, any messaging should tie into the overall corporate sustainability strategy, Bukowski emphasizes.

“Let packaging be part of the brand story through sustainable practices and selection to help guide and educate consumers on food waste,” he adds.