&Ldquosustainable packaging as a term is no longer relevant today as the debate about good vs. Bad packaging has moved on.&rdquo that&rsquos the conclusion of a new study by pricewaterhousecoopers llc pwc, which posed the question, &ldquosustainable packaging myth or reality.&rdquo according the executive summary, the 24page report set out to &ldquorevisit the packaging debate addressed by pwc in 2010 and track the progress towards closer collaboration and common language that goes beyond the phrase &lsquosustainable packaging.&rsquo&rdquo through interviews with representatives from the four key stakeholder groups driving the development of sustainable packaging&mdashretailers, fastmoving consumer goods fmcg companies, packaging manufacturers, and government and trade bodies&mdashpwc concluded that industry has moved toward a shared understanding that &ldquothe product, its packaging, and the related supply chain has to be viewed as a single solution.&rdquo relating the findings from discussions with packaging manufacturers, the report reads &ldquothe past two years have seen the industry take an active role in the debate, but emphasizing that packaging is only a part of the wider sustainability story.
The industry as a whole has argued that focusing on packaging alone in the sustainability debate is counterproductive and shortsighted. As a result the industry has increased its communication efforts, particularly in explaining to the public why and how packaging is used, the contribution that it makes to a sustainable society, and how consumers can play their part in the life cycle.&rdquo as part of the study, jane bickerstaffe, executive director of the u.k.&rsquos incpen the industry council for packaging and the environment, is quoted as saying, &ldquocompanies have shifted their attention from addressing just one issue or a selection of issues on one topic to a more holistic approach incorporating economic, environmental, and social considerations.&rdquo complementary conclusions another conclusion of the study, pwc relates, is that stakeholders are engaging in greater collaboration to ensure the objectives for sustainable packaging are aligned. &ldquoit&rsquos evident that the packaging industry, retailers, and suppliers are putting aside their traditional views of commercial sensitivities and the &lsquosilo&rsquo approach to sustainability,&rdquo says the report. &ldquoin its place is a willingness to develop an overall solution to sustainability that covers the entire life cycle.&rdquo notes study participant michael wilson of diageo, &ldquoour approach hasn&rsquot changed dramatically, but we are looking to collaborate more with our suppliers and customers.
Collaboration up and down the supply chain is the way forward, with technology and innovation being the crucial components of progress.&rdquo to facilitate this collaboration, pwc reports, the industry has come together to construct a uniform language around sustainable packaging, as well as standard metrics and key performance indicators. This refers to the global protocol on packaging sustainability, launched by the global consumer goods forum in september 2011. Says anne roulin, also of nestle, &ldquowe have better tools available to analyze environmental impact than ever before. Life cycle assessment is the tool of choice, and it is fully embedded into our r&d processes.&rdquo tools for change according to the study, &ldquonew packaging materials, improved efficiency processes, and &lsquosmart design&rsquo products are all helping to improve the impact of packaging across the supply chain.&rdquo among the technologies for both product and packaging cited by pwc as having the potential to create greater packaging efficiency are &bull product reformulation &bull the use of filler materials &bull nanotechnology &bull paper manufacturer upm&rsquos development of fibril cellulose &bull printed functionality, sometimes known as printed intelligence &bull retailready packs rrps in conclusion, pwc reports that the evolution of efficient packaging solutions will be shaped by the cost of materials breakthroughs in new technologies the security of supplies such as fiber, glass, pet, water, and electricity consumer demand for convenience and finding sources of competitive advantage in falling consumer spending. Methodology participants in the study included the alliance for beverage cartons and the environment ace uk, diageo, incpen, marks & spencer, nestle, procter & gamble, and rexam. Pwc relates that it also drew conclusions from other pwc publications, eu commission web sites, and various analyst sources, including datamonitor, pira, and kantar.