Sustainable Packaging: Why It Matters and How to Achieve It?
NuGreen Ltd | Certified B Corporation ??
Our vision is that of a truly sustainable healthcare sector, with strong, long term local networks.
We’ve all been there. Opening our latest online order to be greeted with an excessive amount of packaging and feeling frustrated it’s something we cannot control. The value of online retail sales in the UK has grown from ￡33.24 billion in 2012 to ￡119.64 billion in 2021[1]
Packaging waste and CO2 emissions have grown with it. Not to mention the extreme packaging waste from our supermarket shop. Worrell and Van Sluisveld cite packaging is our biggest source of municipal waste generation with paper & cardboard, glass and plastic being substantial contributors.[2]
Many companies are turning towards more “sustainable packaging” options. But what does this actually look like? Baumann et al 2002 claims there is great confusion around what it means to provide a green or sustainable product.[3] While there has been progress within the last 20-30 years, the problem of misunderstanding sustainable consumption still hangs over us, for example, the misconceptions surrounding the true value of plastic and how biodegradable packaging really breaks down.
The traditional linear "take-make-dispose" model of industrial packaging, where packaging is designed for single use purposes is no longer sustainable. The circular economy offers solutions, relying less on virgin materials and keeping resources within the resource economy for longer. Here packaging is seen as a valuable commodity rather than a worthless item post consumption.[4]
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What is Sustainable Packaging? ?????????????
Sustainable packaging is the design and production of packaging materials and systems that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In other words, it's about using materials and designs that are environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and economically viable. Conserving resources, minimising energy consumption, and reducing GHG emitted should be weighed up with cost efficiency and profitability as well as ethical production, fair treatment of workers and limiting discriminatory barriers in accessing products and its packaging.
Material efficiency and designing for recycling are effective tools for delivering sustainable packaging. As there is an appetite for sustainability...
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Marketing Manager at qpeople
1 个月We definitely need to move from a take-make-dispose model to a make, reuse, reuse, reuse approach.