Business

An alliance of brand owners is developing an alternative to Wal-Mart's packaging scorecard because they do not believe it is sufficiently comprehensive or objective.

The consortium is developing the scorecard with the help of design group PI, which is also working with another group to develop distributed manufacturing methods for FMCG brands.

PI was unable to reveal the identities of the brand owners involved in each initiative, but partner Steve Kelsey said the scorecard alternative aimed to use updateable models and standards, and to be independently reviewable by scientists and economists.

The news comes after Asda said that, from early 2009, it planned to adopt the packaging scorecard used in the US by its parent group Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart announced last week that it was rolling out the scorecard in the US after a one-year trial that started in February 2007.

The firm's buyers are using the scorecard as a tool for making purchasing decisions and rating suppliers' progress on developing sustainable packaging.

More than 97,000 products, from 6,371 different vendors, have been entered into the scheme.

The scorecard evaluates a pack's performance against nine criteria, including greenhouse gas emissions and product-to-package ratio.

Suppliers receive an overall score relative to other suppliers, and can view how they rate against competitors in each category.