Packaging Sustainability Metrics

Packaging accounts for 140M+ tons of waste each year. Here are actionable strategies my team has explored with clients to optimize packaging and save costs: First, we start with a Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) to identify the environmental hotspots and the most relevant actions to take. That analysis may lead us to many of the actions below. 1. Reduce Material Usage • Lightweight Materials: Use thinner and lighter materials that still provide adequate protection. • Minimal Packaging: Evaluate packaging design to eliminate unnecessary layers and excess space. 2. Use Sustainable Materials • Recycled Content: Opt for materials that are made from post-consumer or post-industrial recycled content. • Compostable/Biodegradable Options: Use materials like paper, cornstarch, or bioplastics that decompose naturally. • Renewable Resources: Incorporate plant-based materials like bamboo or hemp. 3. Design for Reuse and Recycling • Single-Material Packaging: Avoid mixing materials (e.g., plastic and metal) to make recycling easier. • Clear Labels: Mark packaging with recycling symbols and instructions to guide consumers. 4. Adopt Circular Economy Principles • Take-Back Programs: Offer incentives for customers to return used packaging for reuse or recycling. • Closed-Loop Systems: Work with suppliers to reclaim and reuse packaging. 5. Choose Responsible Suppliers • Source materials from suppliers that practice sustainable harvesting and manufacturing processes. • Ask suppliers to supply carbon and waste data associated with the packaging they provide. 6. Monitor and Adapt • Conduct Audits: Regularly analyze the environmental impact of your packaging. • Gather Feedback: Engage customers for suggestions on improving packaging. • Stay Updated: Keep abreast of advancements in sustainable packaging materials and technologies. https://lnkd.in/gTbkH_HM

Carbon Or Circular? Choose Your Fighter. Lightweight plastic pouch with low transport emissions or heavier glass that can be refilled and recycled? This is where sustainability gets messy. Depending on which metric you champion, the "better" pack flips. Carbon-focused teams will tell you to get shot of glass. Too heavy. Too energy intensive. Doesn't stack up in a lifecycle analysis unless it's reused dozens of times. Circularity purists will push back. Plastic might win on emissions, but it loses the moment it leaves the system. Glass. Steel. Aluminium. Built for loops. Designed to come back. But energy-hungry to produce and end of life. And in the middle of this a real-world that packaging's often not designed for. Plastics that can't be sorted. Glass that never gets returned. Caps that are forgotten in every footprint debate. Paperboard that gets soggy the moment it touches food. Tension that's not just academic but hard-baked into almost every decision. The numbers make it even murkier. CarbonCloud's data lays it bare. A 1L plastic water bottle has a footprint of 0.31 kg CO₂e/kg. But the cap = 8.08 kg CO₂e/kg. So while we celebrate lightweight plastic, the details matter. Every component counts. Glass tells another story. A 0.5L bottle carries over three times the footprint of a plastic one. That weight adds up fast, especially if the reuse system isn't airtight. And while some European countries hit over 90 percent recycling rates, the global average for glass is still below 35 percent. Stainless steel looks circular but comes in at 6.15 kg CO₂e/kg. Paperboard stays light at 1.56 kg CO₂e/kg, but only survives a handful of recycling loops. Recycled aluminium tells a better story. Just 0.66 kg CO₂e/kg, with 98 percent of it getting recycled into something new. But not every pack can be a can. Each material has a strength. Each one has a catch. Meanwhile, the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is tightening the screws. The landscape is shifting. And while brands prepare for what's coming, every decision shapes how they get there. Carbon. Circularity. Consumers. Compliance. Some are doubling down on carbon reduction. Others are designing for reuse and recovery. The risk is picking a favourite metric and ignoring the rest. It's no longer enough to lean on carbon calculators or circularity claims in isolation. The real challenge is designing packaging that works on both fronts. Not just technically, but systemically. In real markets, with real people, and real infrastructure. And that means rethinking our approach. Because if we keep picking sides, we're not solving the problem, we're just changing its shape. Carbon or circular. Pick a fighter or fix the fight?

SUSTAINABILITY QUIZ Which one is actually sustainable? Different design, different experience, same purpose: protect your skin from the sun. ➡️Twist: we can't simply answer this question, because we don't know what "sustainable" looks like. But we know carbon footprint, water footprint, recyclability rates, material circularity and end-of-life impact. 🟡Option A Carbon footprint: 145g CO₂e per unit Water footprint: 2.8L per unit Recyclability rate: 12% (mixed materials) Material circularity: Low (difficult to separate) End-of-life: Typically landfilled Material composition: PP plastic + aluminum 🟣Option B Carbon footprint: 98g CO₂e per unit Water footprint: 4.2L per unit Recyclability rate: 67% (aluminum body) Material circularity: Medium (requires cap separation) End-of-life: Recyclable in most facilities Material composition: Aluminum + plastic cap 🟠Option C Carbon footprint: 189g CO₂e per unit Water footprint: 3.1L per unit Recyclability rate: 45% (PET bottle) Material circularity: Medium (spray mechanism not recyclable) End-of-life: Partial recycling where facilities exist Material composition: PET + PP spray mechanism Can we answer the question now? ❌No, because we're ignoring critical business metrics: production costs, scalability, supply chain complexity, manufacturing lead times, consumer acceptance rates and market viability. Without integrating environmental and business metrics, we can't decide what "sustainable" actually means in practice. So here's the real question: How do we balance environmental impact with business reality to create packaging that's both responsible and viable? 💡What's your take, which metrics should we prioritize? #packaging