Packaging products play a ubiquitous role in our lives, serving diverse purposes from transportation to ensuring safety during use. Available in myriad formats and crafted from materials like plastic, cardboard, wood, and glass, packaging exhibits a vast range of designs and content variations. While packaging is inherently part of sustainability efforts, it stands out as a sector facing heightened demands for sustainability due to its integration into the supply chains of numerous industries such as food, construction materials, furniture, and white goods.
Sustainability holds paramount importance in the packaging industry because packaging plays a crucial role in determining the environmental performance of products across various sectors. Packaging materials wield significant influence, particularly in domains such as international transportation, the packaging of valuable goods, and the creation of luxury packaging.
Currently, numerous strategies aimed at reducing emissions are being explored, including eco-design, utilization of recycled materials, adoption of recyclable packaging, and the incorporation of biomaterials in packaging.
While factors such as the production of alternative materials and transportation distances yield varied outcomes in each scenario, the sustainability performance of the packaging must be calculated on a case-by-case basis.
How can sustainability be incorporated into product development in the packaging industry?
Eco design
Reducing material consumption through design modifications while maintaining the same functionality—such as replacing protective foil with secure cardboard enclosures.
Minimizing resource consumption through size optimization.
Decreasing resource usage by independently reducing either product dimensions or packaging size.
Use of recycled materials
Utilising recycled raw materials in place of primary sources.
Single-material, recyclable packaging
Manufacturing packages that can be easily separated or recycled at the end of their life without requiring pre-treatment, as an alternative to cardboard and plastic packaging.
Alternative raw materials
Adopting raw materials with a lower environmental impact compared to current sources, such as kraft cardboard, recycled plastic, reclaimed wood, etc.
Similar studies can be provided as illustrations.
What Can We Do Together?
In the field of packaging, where Metsims boasts nearly 20 years of experience in sustainability, diverse studies can be undertaken on both product sustainability and corporate sustainability. We stand prepared to actively contribute to your sustainability journey, drawing on our expertise in areas such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), product carbon footprint analysis, exploration of alternative raw material carbon footprint scenarios during the design stage, as well as the development of sustainability strategies and business models at the corporate level. Explore our capabilities in this domain and engage with our team of experts!
Meet our Consultants in the Packaging Industry
Orhan Atacan
Sustainability Manager
David Parker
Sustainability Consultant