Plastics & Packaging
At Ecomatters, we have a wealth of experience in supporting the packaging industry in setting sustainability strategies, calculating product carbon emissions, and determining the most carbon-friendly packaging options for plastics, bio-based and other materials.
We support our clients with:
- Performing quantitative analyses evaluating environmental, economic, and social aspects of services and products;
- Execute certified LCA studies and LCA screening studies according to ISO14040/44 of various packaging products;
- Advise on and complete REACH compliance documentation and related activities.
- Allocation of recycling processes in footprint calculations and LCA;
- Support companies in determining which sustainability claims can correctly be made on their packaging products;
- Identify and advise on food contact, packaging regulations, and current compliance policy.
- Advise on SVHC screening and SCIP database information requirements.
Related services
The package industry
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, greenwashing, 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 amounts 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.
LCA is a critical part of any sustainability strategy and supports a variety of calculations including:
Some of our clients in plastics & packaging
