"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.“ 1987 publication of the World Commission on Environment and Development report, Our Common Future.
Sustainability?
• There are 3 legs to sustainability.
Economy
Environment
Society
SPC Definition
• • • • • • • •
1. Beneficial, safe, healthy through lifecycle 2. Meets market criteria for performance & cost 3. Uses renewable energy 4. Renewable or recycled source materials 5. Clean production, best practices 6. Healthy in end-of-life scenarios 7. Design optimizes materials and energy 8. Recovered, used in cradle-to-cradle cycles
Product Life Cycle Material Production
Converters
Material Extraction
Brand Owners
Recyclers
Composting Incineration Land-filling
Consumers
Retailers
Sustainability – Why now?
• High oil prices • Focus on global warming • Retailers’ commitments • Brand owners are driving sustainability
• Municipalities are mandating legislation to ban certain types of packaging.
Wal-Mart
• To be supplied by 100% renewable energy • To create zero waste • To sell products that sustain resources & the environment. • Reduce packaging by 5% by 2013 • Wal-Mart Packaging Scorecard
Wal-Mart Scorecard Metrics • 15% GHG emissions from Package Production • 15% Health & Safety • 15% Package to Product Ratio • 15% Cube Utilization • 10% Transportation • 10% Recycle Content • 10% Recovery • 5% Renewable Energy • 5% Innovation
Carbon labeling
• Tesco UK: Measuring the carbon footprint • Announced in January, the label will show the amount of carbon emitted during the production and transport of items.
Sustainable Materials
Sustainable Materials
• Sustainable materials are NOT: – More expensive – Poor performers – The only solution to over-packaging
• Bio-Based plastic: – Derived from “new” carbon – Does not have to be 100% from new carbon
• Biodegradable plastic: – a degradable plastic of which all of the fragmented residues are consumed by microorganisms as a food or energy source. – Defined time and environment
Sustainable Materials – What’s out there?
• Recycled content – – – – – –
Less energy Less raw materials Limited quantities Odor Discoloration FDA compliant for PET – FDA soon for HDPE
Sustainable Materials
• Bio-based materials – NatureWorks PLA – Cereplast – Mirel (PHA) – available in 2008 – PE from sugarcane in 2009 – Starch – propylene blends
What does all of this mean to me?
• Holistic approach to sustainability – It’s not just biopolymers
• Capturing Past Successes – Check out past cost reduction projects
• Education – Get involved • Establish a baseline and set goals • Sustainability in Design
Sustainability Resources • SPC
– Industry Working Group – www.sustainablepackaging.org – Design Guidelines for Sustainability, also available
• IoPP Sustainable Packaging Task Group – Definitions, Metrics, Education – Focus on deliverables – www.iopp.org/sptg
