TERESA MADALENO When some company executives consider lowering carbon footprint, their thoughts turn to issues such as reducing heating and air–conditioning costs or lighting expenses, as well as addressing a myriad of other operational energy inefficiencies. While these are all important considerations if an organization is going to save money and lower dependence on carbon based fuel, equal thought needs to go to how product is packaged and sent out.
More companies are starting to realize that they have to look seriously at reusable, recyclable, and compostable packaging. In fact, a number of large global brands are trying to make their pledge to responsible packaging known to the world. Some may say that they are trying to shame others to follow their lead. Here’s what we’re talking about…
Coca-Cola is working on building a more sustainable packaging plan; a system that ensures packaging from their products makes it to the recycling stream as opposed to becoming litter in our lakes and rivers. According to Resource Recycling, Mars has been working on designing packaging to be 100 percent recyclable or recoverable, where the right infrastructure exists. Meanwhile, PepsiCo has been striving to create packaging that will be 100 percent recoverable or recyclable by 2025.
Some companies are now going a step further with their promises to be more environment-friendly. For instance, according to Resource Recycling, M&S (Marks and Spencer) previously pledged to go “widely recyclable” by 2022 and now the British brand has announced that they will introduce new products made with reclaimed plastics. Other brands are also committing to the use of recycled plastics and other recovered materials.
There are many other examples of companies moving in the direction of less packaging or recyclable packaging. Packaging experts insist this will one day become the “norm” simply because there are so many positive reasons for doing so. Companies that commit to reusable, recyclable and compostable packaging can run facilities that create an impressive reduction in landfill usage, environmental waste and pollution. They are also helping create more jobs as the waste recycling industry grows.