The 5 Sustainability Metrics To Consider For Packaging
With the sustainability trend across various industries, many businesses are questioning what they should be evaluating when making that sustainable switch when it comes to packaging.
Some key concerns you should consider as a business are whether a product is compostable, biodegradable, or recyclable, as well as intended end-of-life design and carbon emissions.
In this article, we will break down five sustainability metrics that you need to consider. Our goal here is not to sell or promote any particular type of packaging or material but to provide you with the fundamentals to make more informed decisions.
Metric #1: Fossil fuel reliance (Breaking up with gas and oil)
Ninety-nine per cent of plastics globally are created from fossil fuels, primarily natural gases and oil. Furthermore, there are GHG emissions, such as nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane, associated with every stage of the manufacturing process.
One of the most critical decisions a business can make is to transition away from the reliance on fossil fuels and move toward a circular system that utilises recycled or renewable materials. You could find yourself reducing your fossil fuel reliance significantly by at least 30 per cent.
Metric #2: Material usage (Designing for efficiency where less is more)
July 28, 2022, is marked as Earth Overshoot Day, the day when mankind has used its allowance of natural resources, such as clean air, soil, and water, faster than the Earth can regenerate. In fact, every year, Earth Overshoot Day gets earlier and earlier, moving up more than four months since 1971.
Designing for efficiency where less is more is the fundamental and most crucial step in preventing the overuse of Earth’s resources and achieving whatever green goals your business has come up with.
At this point, many waste management systems are linear, meaning you take natural resources to make packaging, of which it is used and thrown away. This one-time-use system leads to a significant amount of waste being generated.
When designing your packaging product, one key consideration is to minimise the amount of material being used. Not only will it lower waste and environmental impact, but it will also allow your business to reduce manufacturing costs and boost profitability. Reducing material usage will also have peripheral effects, such as a lower carbon footprint due to lower transportation emissions and more efficient shipping.
Metric #3: End-of-life scenario (Beyond recyclability and compostability)
When it comes to evaluating your sustainable packaging options, end-of-life should be an element to consider, whether the product is recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable. Businesses need to go above and beyond, understanding the subtle differences between different waste management systems.
Only when you understand the difference between biodegradable and compostable will you be able to design the best-suited packaging for your needs.
Metric #4: Carbon Dioxide (Un-choking our planet)
You need to take into account every emission associated with the manufacturing process to understand thoroughly what carbon footprint is all about. In broad terms, the manufacturing process can be broken down into the following stages:
Raw material extraction and processes
Manufacturing
Logistics and distribution, both from raw material to manufacturing and manufacturing to your customers’ hands
Disposal
In professional terms, these four stages are called a life cycle assessment. Understanding the carbon footprint of varying supply chains and materials is vital for any sustainable packaging strategy.
Metric #5: MCI (Closing the loop and designing for circularity)
One of the least understood metrics is the concept of ‘circularity’. The idea of a circular system is one that requires us to take into consideration our products’ and resources’ entire lifecycle, with the priority to reduce as much waste as possible by utilising technologies and materials that allow the extension of the product’s lifespan and maximise potential reuse value.
A circular system is, in fact, the most critical element in terms of sustainable packaging as it takes into consideration every key area, from raw material and manufacturing to product usage and end-of-life.
This is where MCI, also known as Material Circularity Indicator, comes in. Designed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it is a calculation that takes into account three vital factors: the amount of recycled or renewable content included in manufacturing, whether the product is single-use or multi-use, and the intended end-of-life destination. The MCI has a scale of zero to 100, with zero being completely linear and 100 being completely circular.
Conclusion
With the world’s resources being used faster and faster, businesses need to make that active decision to be more sustainable. And if your business is looking to make that sustainable switch, these are the five metrics to help you get started. Better still, why not let us help you with that switch?
Here at SKP, we offer sustainable food packaging options as well as biodegradable utensils under our revolutionary line of 100% biodegradable and sustainable product line, EcoVue. Using the latest green technology, BioTransformation, every EcoVue product will break down completely into organic elements, such as water, biomass, and natural gases, which are absorbed back into the environment.
Furthermore, every of our manufacturing plant is powered by solar energy, adding to the sustainability of our products. We also offer customisable printing design services should you be looking to brand your products. So, what are you waiting for? Contact us today to get started on your sustainable switch!