You are here: interpack Magazine. Packaging sustainably.

Sustainability is Indispensable

Articles

Sustainability is Indispensable

View large image in photo gallery

It is commonplace nowadays for sustainable concepts to play an ever more important role in international enterprises. But how, exactly, does this translate into reality? With what materials can sustainable processes really be implemented? What do consumers actually understand by this term? Answers to these questions were provided by the experts at the “Trendtag Glas 2009”.

Early October saw the German sectoral event of the “Aktionsforum Glasverpackung” (Action Forum Glass Packaging) being held in Hamburg for the fourth time now. Under the heading “Glass – a Sustained Success” experts from the fields of politics, business and companies shared information on the sustainability theme with a view to international specificities.

More Properity with Less Use of Nature

What exactly does the term “sustainability” mean? It is on everyone’s lips but most of us are still in the dark as to what its consequences are in concrete terms. The fact is: sustainability is a must and one of the pivotal issues for the food and packaging industries across all borders – and this will continue to be the case for quite some time in the future. However, since the world has not learnt to live without growth and the desire for mass prosperity, the constructive task now is to produce prosperity while easing the burden on nature – as Prof. Dr. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker summed up future objectives here.

The sustainability debate is also of key importance for retail, as Thomas Maiwald explained representing the views of the Metro Group Buying International GmbH. What do retail companies expect from tomorrow’s retail packaging? Even today the Metro Group’s “Packaging Guideline” specifies that all legal packaging requirements of the receiving country are complied with. Product and consumer safety have the highest priority and packaging must not have a detrimental impact on products or consumers. All ingredients and their migration must be below set thresholds, packaging material input must be reduced to a minimum. Add to this that in future the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of the packaging in combination with the packaged goods must display the lowest entropy and that adhesives and/or glues and printing inks for non-food packaging should also be suitable for use with food packaging. Another focus is on the modularity (ISO 3394) of transport packaging with a view to optimum space utilization of palets, trucks and shelves.

Ethical Consumption still in its Early Stages

Of course, the carbon footprint of products was also a focal theme: Dr. Klaus P. Stadler, Director of Environment & Water Resources of the EU Group at Coca-Cola, felt that this was only suited for product labelling with some reservations. Assessing products purely on how much CO2 they emit was too one-sided: products and their packaging had to be viewed in a much more differentiated way. Facts and figures were presented by Günter Birnbaum, Division Manager of ConsumerScan Beverages, at GfK, one of the world’s largest market research institutes. He shed some light on the role played by sustainable packaging in food retail for achieving the broadest distribution possible. One thing is crystal clear: social structures are undergoing change. He made a clear distinction between “new” shoppers who are “responsibly committed” to man and nature and the “critically consuming” shoppers who have an eye on ethical business. The “progressive doers” opt for new avenues in order to demonstrate social responsibility while the “ego-centred indulgers” want the state and companies to promote culture, sports and health. “Autonomous family members” are primarily focused on their immediate environment. But they all have one thing in common: the desire for organic, ecology and sustainability that goes hand in hand with the regionality and authenticity of products. Which is why enterprises have to realise the relevance of sustainable packaging and translate this insight into concrete solutions. But: ethical consumption is still in its early stages.

What do Consumers understand?

And what exactly do consumers understand by the term “sustainability”? After all, they are expected to buy these sustainably manufactured products. This topic is therefore also a decisive factor in marketing, advertising and PR. At the “Trendtag Glas” Prof. Dr. Jo Reichertz of the Duisburg-Essen University presented the exclusive results of a survey and case studies of companies already incorporating this topic in their communication. Summary: Even if social, economic and ecological values become ever more important purchasing criteria for consumers, the term “sustainability” as such is still far too abstract for many and scarcely understood. This means companies have the obligation to “make this term come alive” and to communicate these values appropriately. Advertising “sustainability” will become indispensable in future.