Sustainable packaging design and innovation have ramped up in recent years as more brands and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies commit to using more environmentally friendly products. According to Recycling Today, goals like reducing the use of virgin plastic, improving recyclability and incorporating more recycled content have prompted the introduction of new packaging types–some that have worked, and some that haven’t.
During the annual Paper and Plastics Recycling Conference (PPRC) in Chicago in October, a session moderated by Bill Moore of Moore & Associates featured Cory Connors of Atlantic Packaging, Susan Cornish of Insight + Action, and Michael Hodges of Huhtamaki. The group discussed trends, recent packaging innovations and why meaningful progress doesn’t always mean achieving lofty goals.
“What we’re doing can have a major impact on the world,” Connors said. “Any way we can help companies improve their packaging, we’ll look into it, and we’ve been able to do very good business that way by focusing on that. … We’re investing in the future of this industry.”
Susan Cornish stated that one major factor for innovation was around 2015 when photos of sea turtles with straws in their noses became a primary image surrounding plastic pollution. “Within a few years, all the major CPG companies began publishing goals to make their packaging more sustainable as well as other ESG [environmental, social and governance] goals,” she said.
Cornish presented data from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation comparing the five largest CPG companies’ packaging goals set in 2018 for 2025 and their actual progress as of 2023. The data revealed that most companies likely will not be able to reach their original targets, though some progress has been made.
“It was turning out to be a bit more difficult than they expected to make these big changes,” Cornish said, noting that changing packaging substrates “isn’t as straightforward as you might think.” She explained that a switch to paper is challenging, as replacing 10 percent of plastic beverage cups with paper would require a 20 percent increase in global cup stock against a typical planned annual increase of 3 or 4 percent.
Michael Hodges said packaging must have a good beginning-of-life story and a good end-of-life story, with circularity in mind. “At the beginning, we want to make sure [packaging] is made with certified and renewable materials. At the end of life, we want to make sure it’s designed to be compostable and reusable or recyclable,” he said. “That’s our purpose.”
Hodges emphasized recognizing the progress that has been made, even if aggressive corporate goals are not met by the 2025 deadline. “Some of the big brand companies had some pretty aggressive goals and, perhaps, they recognize they were more assertive than they could get to,” he said. “What I would say is we’ve come a long way, baby, and I think we have to make sure we understand that, even though we may not be making that 100 percent goal by 2025 or 2030, we are making progress today.”
He also listed challenges brands face, including extended producer responsibility fees, eco-modulation and the general “cost of sustainability.” “But what’s the option? Doing nothing? I don’t think so,” Hodges said. “That’s not an option. We have to figure out what we’re going to do and how we do it next.”
Cory Connors presented several packaging alternatives, including switching from poly mailers to paper mailers, from bubble wrap and foam to fiber-based cushioning, from plastic cable ties to fiber straps and from plastic blister packaging to paper blister packaging. He shared an example where a customer saved about 25 percent by using less material with paper void fill.
“It’s not going to stop,” Hodges added. “We’re going to have to continue to figure out how we live within this new environmental legislation place we’re in today. We have to figure out how to do it bigger and better. … We continue to look for ways we can challenge ourselves … and help [customers] meet some of the other sustainability goals they may have.”
