Manufacturing

The packaging market is under the influence of strong market and consumer-driven preferences. For example, the increasingly bad reputation of single-use plastics forces manufacturers to consider more recycled or bio-based alternatives. As our society slowly but steadily transitions towards a circular or closed-loop economy, the objective becomes to retain materials for as long as possible, reusing and recycling materials to minimize waste and reduce the need for additional resources.

When looking for the most environmentally friendly options for packaging it is very important to be aware of the environmental impact of the different types of materials, production processes and techniques, and especially the end-of-life impact. It is becoming more important to understand the life cycle impact of products and services in order to improve efficiencies and set impact reduction goals.

Companies are also increasingly making sustainability claims based on the plastic or alternative material packaging used for their products. Such claims need to be correctly grounded to ensure no liability, green washing or misleading the customers take place. Ecomatters supports companies in ensuring claims are valid and backed by quantitative data and calculations.

A carbon footprint calculation and life cycle assessment (LCA) are great tools for better understanding this environmental impact (CO2, water use, land use, energy use, toxicity etc.), and in identifying “hot spots” for efficient investments along a supply chain. For instance, materials that are particularly impactful to the environment, or use high amount of energy, can be clearly seen in the LCA results. This information is then used to select more efficient alternatives, resulting in direct or long-term cost savings.