Sustainability Survey (CONT’D FROM PAGE 37)
many to choose the cheapest option instead. “Everyone wants to be green until they see that being green is usually more expensive,” one respondent stated. “While cost has been highlighted as a barrier to em- bracing sustainable packaging design,” said Robert Tay- lor, sustainability director at UPM and member of the Pen- tawards jury, “it’s important to take a moment to consider what is the true cost of not doing so. We need a holistic approach that considers the value creation potential in a market that is growing twice as fast for sustainable prod- ucts. This is especially key as the impact of new regulation and green finance kicks in, with carbon taxes, plastics tax- es and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees just a few examples. Reducing packaging is one of the most effective ways to reduce impact and cost. Using less raw material, water and energy, and generating less waste or having a more effective supply chains brings savings and reduces the environmental footprint. “As an industry,” he continued, “we need to under- stand the true cost of sustainable packaging design and embrace innovations that will help us meet the ambitious environmental targets set. We are faced with more cli- mate, biodiversity and water crises across the globe ev- ery day but with only 15 percent of the Sustainable Devel- opment Goals (SDGs) on track to meet their target levels by 2030, not taking action towards improving sustainable packaging is simply not an option. We need to move for- ward faster.”
dents believe they always or often have the opportunity to impact the material choice of a product. However, 20 percent say they seldom do, and 17 percent almost never, which suggests some clients may not have yet realized the value of exploring alternative and more sustainable packaging solutions.
Despite many packaging designers striving to develop more sustainable packaging, price was highlighted as a key challenge by the majority of those surveyed. Although many of the designers acknowledged the importance of using sustainable materials for innovative packaging solu- tions, the cost frequently deterred their clients, leading
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July 29, 2024
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