Reliable, self-serving enterprise product packaging increasingly “going green”

The use of eco-friendly packaging materials can protect the environment, while the product can also bring many benefits: beyond the traditional packaging methods and materials, companies can cut their carbon footprint, as well as the corresponding transportation expenses and storage costs. What kind of benefits can green packaging bring to businesses?

Whether it's called eco-friendly, sustainable, biodegradable, or natural, companies are looking for ways to "go green." By using eco-friendly packaging materials, the environment can be protected, and the product can also bring many benefits: beyond the traditional packaging methods and materials, companies can cut their carbon footprint, as well as the corresponding transportation expenses and storage costs.

What kind of benefits can green packaging bring to businesses?

· Cost savings: Cutting too much packaging material will make the transport of goods lighter and smaller, resulting in lower transportation costs. More goods can be placed on container boards, warehouses and retail shelves.

· Maintain business development: Use green materials to help meet and exceed customer needs.

· Attract customers: More and more consumers will choose environmentally friendly products instead of ordinary packaging.

Dr. Susan Selke, executive director of the School of Packaging at Michigan State University in the United States, once said: “Although eco-friendly packaging has recently emerged, it has become a fast-growing trend. Reducing material use on packaging has always been a matter of cutting costs. One of the ways. Until recently, some companies have begun to take measures to enhance their own sustainable development." For example, electrical appliances manufacturers are cutting or even eliminating the use of corrugated corrugated board, replaced by a bubble. Lighter foam packaging can cut transportation costs and reduce various damage. However, the disadvantage is that the foam is not recycled.

The Sustainable Packaging Alliance (SPC) in Furgenia, USA, is an industry group that focuses on creating a health and environmental philosophy for the packaging industry. Its director believes that for companies using eco-friendly materials, cutting transportation costs has special Significance. "Transportation and energy use are closely linked. When you better manage logistics, you can also better control costs." For SPC member companies, designing packaging to optimize transportation is the main goal. It involves the use of packaging materials and shape design to minimize waste and increase the efficiency of the package. Packaging experts are exploring new ways to reuse materials. The proximity of retail stores of different sizes to one another provides greater opportunities. A single store may not have a large amount of discarded material. However, many shops add up, there will be a lot of waste materials, and more frequent transportation is needed. In such a situation, the economy of renewable materials will be more efficient. The company designed packaging that optimizes material and energy consumption while maximizing the use of renewable and recyclable materials. A survey conducted by SPC and Packaging Digest magazine in 2007 showed that 73% of respondents believe that their companies are paying more attention to the sustainable development of packaging.

When it comes to eco-friendly packaging, the only thing we can't miss is Wal-Mart. In September 2006, the company announced that it had begun encouraging more than 60,000 suppliers to reduce packaging materials. The goal is to reduce material use by 5% by 2013, while reducing 667,000 tons of CO2 emissions. According to the company, this measure aims to save 11 billion U.S. dollars for all companies, of which Wal-Mart can also save 3.4 billion U.S. dollars. In November 1006, Wal-Mart introduced the "Sustainable Packaging Scoreboard" system, which implements a scoring system for 2,000 brand suppliers. In February 2007, it was promoted to all suppliers. In 2007, a total of 9700 products from 6371 suppliers entered the scoring system. The company rates suppliers' green efforts based on the following criteria: 15% for greenhouse gas emissions; 15% for material value; 15% for product/package; 15% for volume; 10% for transport; 10 for recycling %; Recycling value is 10%; Renewable energy is 5%; Innovation is 5%. From February 2008, the company began formal evaluation and measurement of various environmental protection measures of suppliers. This also allows suppliers to find ways to implement a variety of green packaging.

This article will introduce how several globally renowned companies are making packaging “green” and hope that Chinese companies can learn from and reference them.

Unilever: Cutting Waste

Unilever, a consumer goods manufacturer that is also an SPC member, looks at packaging from the perspective of the product life cycle. From the company's point of view: I hope to reduce the packaging and make it more sustainable. So far, the company has made great progress in reducing materials. In 2007, the company was nominated by Wal-Mart as "the best annual supplier for sustainable development." This award was also established by Wal-Mart to recognize companies that use eco-friendly packaging.

For example, liquid laundry detergent is an item that can be further concentrated. The company has specifically reformulated the liquid composition so that consumers can wash the same amount of clothes using the first one-third of the amount - while the company reduced the packaging from 100 ounces to 32. Oz - Cuts the plastic usage by 55%. At the same time, the use of container boards has also dropped by 45%, allowing more goods to be loaded on pallets. This also means that retailers do not need to frequently update the shelves as they did before.

The company's products are sold in more than 150 countries, thus realizing that it requires consistent advanced packaging strategies. Which must take into account environmental protection, social and economic factors. Therefore, in 2007, the company established the “Responsible Packaging Guidance Group”. This team mainly focuses on the following 5R principles:

1. Remove: Remove any unnecessary packaging layers as much as possible, such as the outer carton and shrink-wrap. For example, by changing the shipping box of Wishbone salad dressing, the company can save 2,100 tons of corrugated paper annually.

2.Reduce: Reduce the packaging to the best size and weight. The company redesigned the Suare shampoo and conditioner bottle, which is 16% lighter than before, and the amount of resin used in the United States dropped by 670 tons per year.

3. Reuse: Reuse recycled materials. For example, some bottle cap suppliers transport products through reusable totes, and when Unilever completes the work, the tote is returned to the supplier for recycling.

4. Renew: Maximize the use of renewable resources and explore the technical feasibility of using degradable and compostable waste materials.

5. Recycle: Improve the recycling of packaging materials for easy inspection and recycling.

Another example is that the company has redesigned vases of Vaseline hand cream and reduced the weight by 4%-15% according to different specifications. This is equivalent to saving 45 tons of plastic per year. The company reduced the width of Lipton's product packaging and its use of materials decreased by 16%.

In a word, Unilever has established a responsible corporate citizenship image on the one hand, and can reduce costs on the other hand. This is what every company wants to see.