Sustainability in packaging: The evolution from “nice to have” to “must have”

We sat down with packaging industry sustainability expert Sandeep Kulkarni, founder of KoolEarth Solutions, a consulting company focusing on developing sustainable packaging solutions, to talk about the challenges packaging companies are facing today and what they can expect in the future.

Buckman: What role does sustainability play in packaging design today? How did it change through the years you were teaching students in the packaging segment?

Sandeep: When I first started to work in the paper-based packaging industry 15 years ago, sustainability had just begun to gain more importance. It was not yet top of mind for the corporations. It was a “nice to have” feature. When you were developing the packaging, the primary requirement was performance and making sure it looked good. Whether or not it was recyclable or compostable was not necessarily high on the priorities list.

Now, for many consumer products companies sustainability is included in the very first design steps when developing packaging. It’s evolved into a “must have.” There’s a lot of pressure on large multinationals to ensure packaging materials are completely recyclable. Over the past two years, I’ve seen activities happening, organizations coming together, and alliances being formed that are working toward making that a reality.

Change will come on a product-by-product case.

Buckman: Which materials do you personally identify as the most sustainable and adjustable for today’s market’s needs? Which ones do you suggest for brands?

Sandeep: There is no single material that will be the answer to everything to solve the issues of sustainability. There is a lot of push right now to get rid of plastics, but there are areas where plastics are needed and play an important role, particularly to reduce food waste.

I think the key would be to not generate waste and not litter, regardless of whether it’s paper, plastic or aluminum. We have to keep it all in a circular flow as long as possible. There are, of course, some materials that are preferable in comparison to the others in specific situations. Flexible packaging for snacks, chocolate and candies, for example is an area where there is a strong interest to migrate to paper-based packaging, while maintaining the performance of the package. There is a lot of work being done in that area. I see lot of innovation occurring in that space in the coming years.

I do see movements in the market, but I don’t think we will substitute everything at once. It will be product-by-product cases. Performance will play a big role. You can have the most sustainable packaging that doesn’t protect the product inside, which also leads to waste, so we have to evaluate that aspect, too.

Buckman: With so many new restrictions coming into place, what are the biggest challenges you see in the packaging market today?

Sandeep: Some materials will be a bigger focus for regulations/restrictions more than others. To-go paper cups, for example. There is a big push to use reusable cups. But in many places in the world, even in the U.S., the logistic systems for reusable materials are still underdeveloped. I don’t think we can completely migrate from single-use packaging to reusable materials yet. But the reuse-and-refill concept is becoming more prominent. I think they are connected in their purpose, and the bigger cities are better positioned to implement this model.

Some companies, like Buckman, are looking into substituting more sustainable layers that could provide the same level of protection with more sustainable materials.

Buckman: Packaging for frozen food and food that needs barrier protection is high on the list for packaging companies. What tendencies do you see in the market today? How efficiently can paper-based packaging be substituted for other materials that offer a natural-barrier protection?

Sandeep: There is a lot of work being done with packaging lamination for coating purposes. The additional layers that are added can be very hard to recycle, depending on the materials and the numbers of layers inside. The same with the water-resistant layers. Some companies, like Buckman, are looking into substituting more sustainable layers that could provide the same level of protection with more sustainable materials. I see a lot of innovation happening in this area. In the case of frozen foods, I do see some movement from plastics to molded-fiber materials. I expect that this field will be growing.

Circularity becomes the key goal for packaging companies—to make paper-based materials in the market as recyclable as possible.

Buckman: The new cycle of sustainability suggests reduce-reuse-recycle as the preferred form for packaging consumption. How do you think paper-based packaging companies could apply it, when paper is difficult to reuse?

Sandeep: For paper-based packaging companies, the main focus will be recyclability, since reusability is not something realistic for longer terms, given the fact that it doesn’t have the right amount of strength. Paper products can be reused a couple of times before they lose their integrity.

Circularity becomes the key goal for these companies—to make paper-based materials in the market as recyclable as possible. This type of packaging already has a very high recyclability rate. The challenge for materials such as paper cups or other single-use items is that traditionally, they are being collected and recycled to a very limited extent. I see many opportunities there, and I am involved with an initiative called NextGen Cup Challenge, which aims to develop more recyclable cups and also to create a system to collect more of those materials, so we would get reusable fiber from them.

Buckman: What are the main challenges brands are facing today when choosing sustainable packaging for their brand?

Sandeep: Probably the biggest challenge for large multinationals is the plastic pollution issue and how to stop the waste that plastic generates. Consumers see pictures of plastics in the ocean, litter on the ground and naturally get an impression that paper is more sustainable. That’s led to a big push from consumers against single-use plastics.

It’s a challenge for everyone. It forces us to rethink packaging and to both create more innovative packaging solutions, as well as find other ways to collect, recycle or reuse wasted packaging.

We have to look at it from different angles. How do we handle the material waste that is already in the landfills? How do we minimize waste by collecting it? How do we insure it gets collected and recycled? How do you redesign packaging so it’s more recyclable and generates less waste in the future? I see many companies starting to collaborate on this global issue, addressing it by working together instead of doing it on their own.

Packaging companies need to work together both with customers and among themselves to solve these challenges.

Buckman: The world is rapidly changing. We see governments and consumers requesting more sustainable materials and, in some cases, getting rid of packaging materials entirely. How can packaging companies adapt to changes and innovate to stay up to date? How can paper-based packaging companies contribute to a more sustainable world?

Sandeep: No company will be able to solve these challenges on its own. It will need to be done on a collaborative level. There are emerging alliances of companies coming together. I believe consumer products companies as well as packaging companies need to work together both with customers and among themselves. There will need to be a lot of collaboration and information sharing between them.

We all want the same thing—to minimize the impact on the environment by reducing pollution. The more collaborative this work is, the better and more beneficial it will be for everyone. Also circularity will gain more impact, thinking not only about how to prevent pollution from happening, but also how can we add more value to the system.

Buckman is engaged and committed to partnering with organizations to find solutions to the sustainability challenges discussed in this post. For more information on Buckman’s sustainability strategy, visit our website.

 

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