Industry ‘confused’ over sustainable pack design

But they said they had little power to do anything about it, because brand owners were not specifying sustainability as a criterion for design.

Meanwhile, packaging technologists at a workshop run by PI Group were divided about how to respond to calls for more sustainable packaging.

The New Directions in Sustainability workshop attracted delegates from firms such as GlaxoSmithKline and Twinings.

PI Group partner Steve Kelsey, who led discussions, said one third of the group wanted to take PI’s suggestions about sustainability further.

However, another third of the group were “genuinely quite confused” and needed to assimilate the new information they had learned before taking action.

Kelsey said a third group had expected to attend the day to have it confirmed that “short-term remedial actions were all they needed to do. And they were not happy.”

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THE 80/20 APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY
According to Steve Kelsey, an 80/20 approach to sustainability is needed to make changes last for the long term.
• 80% of a firm’s spend in sustainable design and production  should be made in the short term, the next 12-36 months. This includes using bio-sourced polymers, making concentrated products, and using refillable packs that can be taken apart and re-manufactured
• 20% of effort should be spent making more radical changes in the following 24-48 months. This can include closed-loop material pooling, closed-loop distribution, mini-factories making packs locally, and packs designed for online retail

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