Pack Expo 2008: Fighting waste with packaging
Leaders call on Companies to step up and change perceptions about the packaging industry's contribution to sustainability initiatives.
By Allison Manning, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 12/1/2008
More than 20 global industry groups and 1,700 companies focused on the overarching theme of "Change, Innovation and Sustainability" at Pack Expo 2008 (my.packexpo.com) in Chicago last month. The battle against wasteful packaging was high on the agenda.
Packaging still faces negative pressure, meaning the industry has to step up and move toward actively changing perceptions, said Glenn Wright, North American commercial vice president for basic plastics at the Dow Chemical Company.
Wright stressed the critical needs packaging serves—protecting and promoting the product and helping achieve sustainability goals. Rather than creating waste, packaging reduces it by keeping food fresh and protecting it from damage, leading to less wasted food. By not wrapping pallet applications properly for distribution, the industry could lose $388 million, Wright said.
For companies, sustainability isn't just about doing the right thing, Trevor Cusworth, director of Deloitte Consulting, said in his presentation. It's about ensuring long-term viability. He said there are three reasons for pursuing sustainability
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Reason 1: economic pressures from shareholders and the government,
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Reason 2: environmental concerns, including emissions and energy, and
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Reason 3: social considerations, such as fair trade and working conditions.
According to Cusworth, the top three drivers for increased emphasis on sustainability were non-financial factors, including reputation, customer demand and industry trends. Only the fourth ranked driver, cost savings, was financially motivated.
The current economic uncertainty has had an effect on sustainability, putting a higher premium on cost reduction without capital investment. This can inhibit sustainability gains from plant improvements. Placing a priority on inventory reduction without decreasing service levels can lead to more frequent, smaller and less-emissions-efficient deliveries, Cusworth said.
Keynote speaker Amy Zettlemoyer-Lazar, packaging director at Sam's Club, detailed Wal-Mart's sustainability initiatives, which include reducing packaging on all products by 5% over the next five years.
Zettlemoyer-Lazar showed examples of how Wal-Mart has helped work with customers to achieve shared goals, including saving more than 800,000 pounds of foil material by changing the blister cards on Prilosec medicine and creating a more space efficient, stackable milk bottle.
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