easyFairs Ecopack preview: Green options buck recessionary blues

Despite the recession, the drive towards greener brands is gaining new momentum, according to new research by easyFairs, the organiser of the Ecopack and Packaging Innovations shows at the NEC, which take place from 24-25 February.

In a study of 120 brand managers and product designers, over one in five (22%) report that their companies are planning a major environmental initiative for the year ahead. And at product level, 40% plan to implement a product innovation designed to improve environmental performance over the next 12 months.

Just 2% say green packaging has become less important in the recession. Indeed, the green trend appears to be accelerating, despite the economic downturn. For instance, 39% say they are now more committed to the environment than a year ago.

The research found brand managers believe eco-packaging solutions are more likely than ever to reach supermarket shelves. And yet, last year 66% said that it was hard to find packaging solutions that both significantly improved their environmental performance and that were commercially viable. This year, a far fewer 40% hold this view.

Sustainability central to strategy

So, given the commitment seen here by brand owners and retailers will they find new options at Ecopack to satisfy these needs?

SIG Combibloc (stand 325) will be highlighting its new FSC-certified beverage cartons at the show and is a company that has put sustainability at the centre of its corporate strategy, so it is unsurprising that marketing manager for northern Europe Cindy Haast says global environmental issues do not go away because there is a recession. “We want to grow as a sustainable company,” she says. “And so do brands and retailers.”

The major discounter Lidl has been the first to adopt the new FSC cartons. “Many retailers and brands are focused on lightweighting, reducing their carbon footprint, and the Courtauld Commitment and this has not changed during the recession,” says Haast.

Peter Woods, sales director at CFN Packaging (stand 334a), does not share this enthusiasm as, he says, there is often indifference to the whole issue. He does believe, however, that carbon footprinting is a thing for the future as industrial customers are looking at it now. “Business is building, but only slowly,” he explains.

Degrading plastics

CFN offers its Biothene additive to polythene at no extra cost and will be promoting it at the show. Polythene containing Biothene will not degrade before being exposed to UV light, but once it has, the degradation reaction is triggered and continues, even in the dark (or buried in a landfill site). It can be used for anything that polythene is used for at present, including food.

At Polythene UK (stand 310), managing director James Woollard says: “Green has slipped from the public focus during the recession, but it will come back into the public domain when council tax bills go up to accommodate higher landfill charges.”

The company has been working closely with its local council and the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership to offer its Polycomp compostable packaging and will highlight these bags at the show.

“We’re hoping to set up a Polycomp bag trial with a retailer very soon,” he says.

‘Always on the agenda’

John Lancaster, commercial director of Bpi.films (stand 331) says: “Sustainable packaging is never off the agenda and it is an absolute necessity at any time, especially given the world’s current environmental issues.”

The company will show its extended Wrapsmart pallet stretchwrap range as well as its other new product – Nov8 – which delivers the performance of conventional shrink film from a thinner film thickness.

First of the new films is Wrapsmartblue, which is designed for use with food products and employs a distinctive blue tint to aid identification and help minimise accidental food contamination. Wrapsmartblack benefits from a black tint and can aid product recognition or disguise valuable goods, while Wrapsmartsubzero meets the challenging demands of chilled distribution and storage.

Less waste

Lancaster admits that polythene packaging is not widely regarded as being green, but typically, the food being packaged is 200 times the weight of the film being used to protect it. He argues that the green alternatives Bpi.films is now offering can actually save customers money in the long run either by getting more film on the reel or through having less waste to handle after use.

Andy Sweetman, business development and sustainability manager at Innovia Films (stand 361), says: “Cost has been the number one driver for customers over the past 12-15 months, but sustainability has not disappeared. Instead, brand owners have been pausing for breath to ensure they are taking the optimum sustainable path in the future,” he says.

Innovia will be showing a new grade of NatureFlex film – a high-barrier metallised version suitable for dried foods, such as biscuits, cereals, coffee, snacks and tea. This material can also be laminated to other biofilms and used for VFFS, flow-wrap, pouches, twistwrap and overwrap.

Visitors to the stand can also discuss the range of NatureFlex-coloured films that are now available in heat-seal-able and barrier options. “Differentiation is the key word and going green doesn’t mean your packaging has to be dull,” argues Sweetman. “Using sustainable options can make the packaging a positive part of a brand offering.”

Tree-huggers?

Richard Hands, environment manager at Tetra Pak UK (stand 314) and Ireland says sustainability is crucial to the future of the packaging industry, and “it is therefore a key consideration in everything we do”. The company will highlight its commitment to responsible forest management at the show. A total of 75% of Tetra Pak cartons in the UK and Ireland are now using paperboard sourced from FSC-certified forests and other controlled sources.

“Anything we can do to reduce resource usage has to be positive, whatever the economic conditions,” says Gary Tee, business development manager at FFP Packaging (stand 344). The flexible packaging manufacturer will be displaying its approach to waste reduction, showing how it has lightweighted products and how it uses its auditing system to minimise production waste in food manufacturing plants.

Ecopak’s reappearance at easyFairs goes to show the continued importance of  sustainability to brands in the face of recession. The industry’s commitment to the environment will be emphasised at the show in the form of sustainable pack designs, materials and at the learnShops. All of which looks likely to carry on the green agenda into 2011. n

Case study: renewable resources

One of the free-to-attend learnShop sessions during Ecopack will be delivered by Cindy Haast, SIG Combibloc marketing manager for Northern Europe. She will be looking at the benefits of renewable materials in relation to long-life carton packs for liquid food and beverage cartons as well as detailing the environmental steps taken by the company.

Last November, for example, SIG Combibloc launched the first Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified beverage carton for fruit juice drinks and ice teas in Europe. These products are now on sale in all German branches of the Lidl supermarket chain, marked with the FSC label. In  the UK, chopped tomatoes can also be found in this packaging.

The FSC label on the beverage cartons is a clear visual confirmation to consumers that all the wood fibres used to manufacture the packaging can be traced back to their source – from the labelled carton pack right up to the forest of origin – in accordance with the FSC standards.

The paper will also focus on a pan-European life-cycle assessment for food metal cans, glass jars, carton packs and pouches that claims to show that using carton packaging reduces CO2 emissions and fossil resource consumption by up to 60%.

Case study: It’s in the bag

If you’ve ever fancied watching how a compostable bag actually composts, then visit Polythene UK (stand 310) where you’ll find a video showing you just how it works. If you think this might be akin to watching paint dry, do not worry; although it was filmed over 10 days, the footage is sped up to show the entire life-cycle process in just
two minutes.

“We want to show people the incredibly short life-cycle of our compostable Polycomp bags and to demonstrate how easily they can switch to these greener bags,” explains managing director of Polythene UK James Woollard.

The biopolymers used in the bags consist mainly of starch and biodegrade fully within 10 days. The bags are certified as fully biodegradable and compostable to EN13432, the European standard that regulates products that are disposed of in composting sites. Biodegradation within the bags takes place as soon as micro organisms are present, and the process is accelerated even further when the temperature
is increased.

The company is currently working with councils on these bags and hopes to persuade a major retailer to take Polycomp bags on in 2010. Woollard also talks about compostable PE being used for mailing films for Sunday supplements and magazines. “The World Wildlife Fund has already adopted this film to bag its magazine and made a marketing choice to pay more for the green benefits it delivers,” says Woollard.

Visitors to the stand will also walk away with a free roll of the compostable bags, which Polythene UK hopes will help persuade people to switch to this greener option.

Click here for more news and previews for the easyFairs shows

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