The world is facing several urgent environmental challenges, including natural resource scarcity, climate change, extreme weather, and air and water pollution. Consumer goods packaging is a major contributor to these issues, at all stages of its lifecycle. For a start, extracting fossil-based raw materials for plastic packaging can be very resource-intensive.

Next, printing processes can use toxic chemicals that harm the health of those handling them, as well as the wider environment. And, at the end of its lifetime, packaging is often sent to landfill or incinerated, releasing further greenhouse gas emissions or contributing to a growing waste crisis.

To protect our planet, the packaging industry has a responsibility to find solutions to these challenges. This need is compounded by a host of potential upcoming legislation changes, such as carbon taxes and stricter EcoLabel requirements, which will further increase the need for brands and manufacturers to adopt sustainable packaging. Growing consumer demand for more sustainable solutions will only accelerate this transition.

In particular, six key trends are driving demand for sustainable packaging: environmental concerns, food safety and preservation, e-commerce, digitization, consumer convenience, and printing technology developments. Environmental concerns, of course, drive demand for circular, recyclable, and bio-based solutions, but smaller, lighter packaging also leverages growing demand for consumer convenience and e-commerce. As such, moving to more sustainable packaging could bring significant advantages for brands, as well as for people and the planet.

However, to be truly impactful, packaging can’t only be sustainable – it also needs to remain functionally effective to fulfill its primary goal of protecting the product inside it. In fact, packaging’s effectiveness is often closely linked to its sustainability value. For instance, high-performance food packaging can help prevent food waste by keeping food fresh for longer.

To create effective packaging, coatings formulators and packaging manufacturers have to prevent materials from migrating in food packaging. They also need to ensure adhesion and cohesion in multi-layer laminate systems. And, to remain competitive, they increasingly face the challenge of creating original sensory brand experiences. Finding solutions that achieve all this responsibly and sustainably – without adding matting agents and toxic compounds – can be a challenge.

                                                                                                                            Published by packagingeurope.com