The first step in developing a multi-dimensional packaging solution is admitting that you have a multi-dimensional packaging problem. Too often, sustainable packaging remedies fixate on the environmental benefits but neglect the other demands of a package. Going forward, brand owners must address all three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, economical and social.

            Increasingly, brands opt for eco-friendly packaging to reduce their carbon footprint. Environmental responsibility begins with material selection, and highly recyclable materials like metal and glass are good options. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicates steel cans have the highest recycling rate of any material, followed by paper, paperboard, and aluminum cans. Additionally, more companies are choosing materials such as biopolymers that are produced from renewable feedstocks.

            Material reduction and lightweighting are other measures that brands take to improve the environmental dimension of packaging sustainability. Packages are re-designed to offer the same performance with less material. Excess packaging is also eliminated, simplifying the form to offer sufficient protection but with fewer bells and whistles.

            While the environmental benefits of responsible material selection and lightweighting are important, achieving packaging sustainability also requires economic success by supporting sales through self-differentiation and value-added features in a cost-effective format. Packaging should provide space-filling and stackable designs to maximize the amount of product hauled or stored and minimize costs. On the shelf, value-added features like resealability and portability attract consumers with the packaging convenience they crave.

            An economically sound package also preserves the product, preventing expiration on-shelf and costly product waste. A longer shelf life gives the product more time to land in a consumer’s cart, generating a higher return on investment for the manufacturer. Several options for maximizing shelf life exist. PET bottles may feature an oxygen scavenger to slow product degradation. Materials such as metal and colored glass block light and oxygen to keep products fresher for longer. Some packaging accomplishes the same goal with a multilayer structure that embeds a thin layer of metal foil between layers of paperboard or polymer film.

            Optimizing the product-to-package ratio using multi-serve formats is another way to add economic value to a package. If a container can hold a third more product with only a 15 percent increase in material, that package offers the benefits of both eco-friendly design and cost-efficient production.

            Finally, a package is only as good as its performance. Whether packaging is recyclable, renewable, or made with reduced material content, it must satisfy the social needs of consumers. For example, packaging that can be easily opened by elderly consumers or a wallet pack of tablets that indicates the last time a dosage was taken support the well-being of the users. Similarly, single-serve packages that allow consumers to travel with healthier snacks reinforce a healthier life style.

            Faced with multiple challenges, a manufacturer’s best bet to achieve sustainability-related goals is to adopt multi-tasking packaging that addresses environmental, economic, and social needs. Packaging that does more for your business, the environment, and the consumer is always a sustainable solution.

Daniel Abramowicz is President of CROWN Packaging Technology

(Link to www.crowncork.com)