Courtauld’s new direction sparks optimism in sector

Wrap head of retail Richard Swannell revealed last month the body was looking at measurements such as recycled content and carbon footprinting for a more balanced measure.

He said Wrap was responding to the widely-held view that weight alone was not the best metric for understanding environmental impact, but acknowledged carbon footprinting was also problematic.

A new version of the Courtauld Commitment, the voluntary scheme for brand owners and retailers, which is designed to reduce packaging’s environmental impact, is likely to come into play by 2011.

It would replace the existing 2005 agreement, which ends next year and used packaging weight as the key measurement for reducing packaging waste.

Andrew Barnetson, corrugated sector manager at the Confederation of Paper Industries, warned increasing recycled content may not reduce environmental impact. “We’re probably not far from the optimum limit already, and I would urge Wrap to be careful in attempting to push it higher.”

British Plastics Federation director general Peter Davis said that increasing recycled content was a good idea, but the crux of the issue was high quality and adequate supply of recyclate. “Customers have also got to be prepared to pay for it,” he added.

Glass and metal have particularly suffered from a weight-based agreement. Nick Mullen, director of the Metal Packaging Manufacturers’ Association, called for the focus to be on net weight of waste sent to landfill.

He said that while recycled content was of recognised environmental benefit, setting targets without sufficient supply could lead to conflicts between brands looking to get hold of material.

Incpen director Jane Bickerstaffe, meanwhile, argued that the agreement must share the work brands and retailers had already done to reduce their environmental impact with other firms.

“Why set targets when companies are already ahead of those? If we’re not careful, target setting will divert from reducing environmental impact,” she said.

A NEW COMMITMENT
“To start specifying recycled content could make more problematic issues like creating a barrier to trade”
Dick Searle, Packaging Federation

“When we look at a product, the carbon content of the packaging is so small, but all the focus is on packaging”
David Workman, British Glass

“A high recycling rate will ensure a positive impact. If we can get our hands on recovered material, we can use it”
Nick Mullen, Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association

“We have got to publish the basis for assessing carbon – what information and level of accuracy is needed”
Richard Swannell, Wrap

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