The current climate of the professional packaging industry is one of confusion: the economy is in the pits and the environment has taken center stage. Companies that have demonstrated expertise in their fields for decades are now questioning the impacts that their products have on the environment. While there has been a gradual "greening" movement in the business sector since the introduction of Earth Day in the early 1990s, never before have so many along the supply chain challenged their understanding of their product and it's repercussions on the environment.

In many cases, however, such confusion results in the assertion of unsubstantiated or misinformed claims, which draw on the legitimacy of science. As professionals with a commitment to a code of ethics, it is in our interest and our responsibility to do our due diligence: we must research, investigate and question; we must contextualize and collaborate; and, most importantly, we must innovate.

Such innovation, however, will never come to fruition unless we attack the current climate of confusion with The Facts. By understanding packaging and sustainability from a scientific, economic, and social framework, we will be invested with the knowledge necessary to facilitate the continued success of our industry. Science will win; you must know The Facts.

Two issues seem to generate most of the confusion about packaging and sustainability: Fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Sometimes blanketed under the phrase "carbon footprint," these two metrics attempt to convey the burden that a given product has on the environment. However, many other metrics and indicators need to be considered, like water consumption, aquatic toxicity, eutrophication,¹ and biotic and mineral consumption.² By understanding that concern for our environment does not rest solely on fears of global warming and the depleting ozone but takes into account the value inherent in natural resources for human and economic sustainment, we can begin to access the impact that our products have on the environment and the global community.

Download The Facts about fossil fuel consumption and packaging.

Download The Facts about greenhouse gas emissions and packaging.

¹The process by which a lake, pond, or stream becomes eutrophic, typically as a result of mineral and organic runoff from the surrounding land. The increased growth of plants and algae that accompanies eutrophication depletes the dissolved oxygen content of the water and often causes a die-off of other organisms. Definition found at www.sciencedictionary.com.

²These are the environmental metrics covered by COMPASS, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition's comparative life cycle assessment software. More information available at: https://www.design-compass.org/.

August 1, 2010:
How Green Products can win the Battle on the Retail Shelf


Soon, we will live in a world where Walmart lists a product's environmental "score" next to its price on the shelf ... where consumers will scan bar codes with their smart phones and learn exactly how green a product - and the company that makes it - really is.Until then, it's up to manufacturers to tell their environmental story, and the best place to do that is right on the product label....