Carbon, communication and the consumer were the talk of the day at IGD’s Sustainable Packaging 2008 conference, where leading retailers, manufacturers and opinion formers were aligned in assessing what the greatest challenges around sustainable packaging are for industry.

With a variety of speakers on the day from ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, MARS and Heinz the event was of great significance and saw the industry’s sustainability strategies and commercial priorities shifting considerably.

IGD has been at the vanguard of the debate about packaging and product waste reduction for well over a decade, and in the past the industry has primarily focused its attention on the weight and/or volume of waste.

However, the last year has seen some dramatic changes in how packaging and product impact should be measured. The recurring theme of the day was that industry must now come to an agreement on a carbon-based metric alongside tonnage of waste, and this looks set to be included in the continuation on the Courtauld Commitment.

The day started off with Claire Costello, General Manager, Central Buying, from ASDA, giving a retailers perspective on packaging reduction, and insight into how they will achieve their Courtauld Commitment target of a 25% reduction in packaging by the end of 2008.

Claire expressed ASDA’s concerns about weight being a blunt tool for measuring, and that there is now a need for a more holistic approach to product and packaging impact assessment.

She announced that ASDA will introduce a Wal*Mart style Packaging Scorecard in the UK. She said: ‘We are going to aim to bring it in the summer of 2009, but in a very revised version.’ The ASDA style Packaging Scorecard will expand the scope of the Wal*Mart Scorecard, it will include raw material extraction and conversation and the end-of-life of materials.

Jean Harper, Director of Nutrition and Sustainability European Corporate Affairs, from MARS then gave a manufacturers perspective, she highlighted the fact that in many situations the most significant impact of a product is outside of the manufacturers’ control. For this reason the whole of the supply chain will need to work together to achieve real results. The introduction of scorecards could help industry achieve this as it will flag up areas that need to be addressed.

She illustrated the need for industry to work together and with third parties to achieve significant reductions in product and packaging waste. And that industry will need to bring consumers along with them, as sustainability is an issue that is close to many consumers’ hearts and minds.
 

IGD’s Senior Consumer Analyst, Tim Maton, followed MARS and gave a consumer perspective on how attitudes to packaging and recycling influence purchasing decisions, from research carried out by IGD this year.

There were some startling findings about what influences consumers purchasing behaviour. With over four in ten (44%) shoppers claiming they would change where they shop if they thought another retailer used more recyclable packaging and bags. Consumers also said they would favour brands that used less packaging, around two thirds claim they would change brand if they thought that an alternative had more sustainable packaging.

The rest of the day continued highlighting the key themes of carbon measurement for products and goods along with weight, how to communicate to consumers that packaging is necessary and the need to better educate shoppers about packaging and product use and storage.

Through innovation, collaboration and educating, the industry can reduce the cost and environmental impact of products and packaging waste. It is necessary to remember that this is a continually evolving journey that industry must embrace and move with as tougher targets around carbon dioxide and the increasing cost of landfill will impact the food and grocery sector.

More information:

Subscribers to Supply Chain Analysis, IGD's in-depth guide to the FMCG supply chain, can read a full synopsis of the conference here.

Visit IGD's Sustainability resource, featuring factsheets, news and industry case studies here.