Sustainable Packaging - Q3 2020

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Q3 / 2020

“By embedding circular economy strategies into economic recovery plans, businesses can build supply chains that are resilient in the long term”

“Current innovations in sustainability certification can help build more resilient supply chains”

“Pellet pollution is solely attributable to the plastic industry”

Sonja Wegge Programme Manager, Plastics Pact, New Plastics Economy, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Ruth Rennie Director of Standards and Assurance, Rainforest Alliance

Hazel Akester Marine Plastics Programme Officer, Fauna & Flora International

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©A LE X E Y B LO G O O D F

Sustainable Packaging

Full campaign on www.businessandindustry.co.uk

COLLABORATION IN ACTION: Tetra Pak discusses why the low carbon circular economy demands industry partnerships – turn to page 3

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IN THIS ISSUE

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Creating resilient supply chains after COVID-19 with circular economy The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of the global supply chains at the heart of our economy.

“Minimising the use of all resources” Libby Peake Head of Resource Policy, Green Alliance

“Under cover of coronavirus, single-use plastic is making a sly comeback” Jo Royle Managing Director, Common Seas

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“Plastic packaging tax starting in April 2022” Emily Antcliffe Director, Indirect Tax, HM Revenue & Customs

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Please recycle

WRITTEN BY

Sonja Wegge Programme Manager, Plastics Pact, New Plastics Economy, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

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usinesses have faced unprecedented disruption to demand and delivery patterns, including shortages of materials, oversupply and inventory difficulties, and price fluctuations, as well as manufacturing and transportation delays.

The brittleness of prevailing linear business models – which rely on taking finite resources to make short-lived products that are destined to become waste – and the economic, social, and environmental risks associated with maintaining those models are clear.

By embedding circular economy strategies into economic recovery plans, businesses can build supply chains that are resilient in the long term.

We must rethink the way we design products and supply chains In most supply chains, raw material suppliers, manufacturing locations, and end consumer markets are spread over many countries.

Long transport distances, lack of reverse logistics, incentives that favour the use of virgin materials, and products not being designed for reuse or disassembly results in products and materials being discarded as waste.

Rethinking supply chains so products and materials are designed and collected for reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling, can make products cheaper and reduce cost of materials for businesses, while keeping these valuable materials out of landfill or the environment and in the economy. This is a circular economy solution with built-in resilience.

Take plastics, for example. Using plastic that already exists, in the locations where it is needed, offers a significant opportunity for the industry, starting at the product and system design stage. For plastic packaging, for example, replacing just 20% of singleuse plastic packaging with reusable alternatives offers an opportunity worth at least USD 10 billion to the industry.

Designing for and investing in reuse models can help secure material supply, particularly in cases where the business maintains ownership of the packaging, while also delivering further user and business benefits, such as customised design and brand loyalty.

Safety and hygiene concerns of reuse during the pandemic have largely been put to rest by public health professionals – with the evidence in favour of reuse systems provided basic hygiene is employed – and, in some cases, reuse models have enabled businesses to continue operating and even expand operations.

For example, in Santiago, Chile, tricycles containing Unilever cleaning products have been delivered by reusable packaging business, Algramo, during the pandemic. The Algramo team disinfects the refill chamber in the tricycle as well as the containers, both before and after the refill is carried out.

Sales from this service increased by 356% between April and June, despite the city of Santiago being in lockdown.

These strategies can enable the creation of a low-carbon economy that is resilient not only in a pandemic, but also in the future. Building back better is crucial in order to usher in the next wave of prosperity.

Rethinking supply chains so products and materials are designed and collected for reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling, can make products cheaper.

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The importance of working with industry experts across the entire value chain

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he effects of global warming are becoming harder to ignore, with rising sea levels, biodiversity loss and extreme weather increasingly becoming a reality for our planet. As put by UN SecretaryGeneral António Guterres: “We face a direct existential threat… Our fate is in our hands.”

Such warning signs indicate that traditional business models are unsustainable. Thankfully, in recent years, this has become more widely accepted. Sustainability is now a truly mainstream issue and we are seeing rising numbers of governments and corporations across the globe commit to circular models and net zero GHG emission targets, the UK Government having committed to achieving the latter by 2050.

While this is undoubtedly ambitious, we need to play our part in reversing the ecological damage our planet has suffered and are determined to achieve this goal. However, we are under no illusions that we can single-handedly drive profound change, and it is for this reason that we have also set the ambition to achieve net zero GHG emissions for our entire value chain by 2050.

We are seeing rising numbers of governments and corporations across the globe commit to circular models and net zero GHG emission targets.

We’re committing to net zero emissions by 2030 For our part, Tetra Pak has, in recent years, adapted our innovation plans and organisation to a low-carbon, circular economy to truly commit to the principles of the Paris Agreement.

Our efforts have translated into tangible results.

In 2019, 51 billion of our cartons were recycled, with more than 170 plants worldwide recycling Tetra Pak packages. Currently, 69% of our operations run on renewable energy and last year we were the first carton packaging company to launch paper straws in Europe.

Nevertheless, we need to go much further, which is why we recently announced that we have joined the European Alliance for a Green Recovery and have committed to reach net zero emissions in our operations by 2030.

WRITTEN BY

Erik Lindroth Sustainability Director, Tetra Pak Europe & Central Asia

Industry-wide, sustainable commitments are needed across the packaging sector While we all must individually play our part, real change cannot be delivered by working in siloes. Transformation must be driven across the entire sector.

Taking the issue seriously requires that we, as producers, account for the full lifecycle of a product.

This starts at the sourcing of raw materials, enforcing energy efficient operations, processes and logistics, through to actively engaging in collection and recycling.

It is by partnering with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders across the entire value chain that we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

©SMILEUS

In June 2020, the Arctic Circle hit its highest temperature on record,1 a chilling reminder of the consequences of failure to act on climate change.

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We’re increasing the amount of plantbased, raw materials in our packaging Tetra Pak’s individual customer partnerships allow us to move away from a fossil dependency, increase the use of plant-based raw materials, increase efficiency in operations and scale up collection and recycling collaboration.

Of equal importance is our participation in global industry alliances, such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF)’s New Plastics Economy initiative and the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment, as well as local alliances to increase recycling through concrete market activities.

In an example of such collaboration in action, Tetra Pak recently worked with the Carbon Trust to certify our Tetra Rex® Plant-based packages as carbon neutral in accordance with the internationally-recognised PAS 2060 standard. In doing so, we became the first packaging company to offer a package that carries a carbon neutral label in line with this standard.

The COVID-19 crisis has magnified the fragility of our societies. If there is a silver lining, we hope that it is a renewed global effort to protect what is precious, to build more resilient societies, systems and products.

Corporations can no longer see themselves as operating in isolation.

The collective transition to a low- carbon circular economy is vital for our future and will only be accomplished by organisations coming together to align on environmental goals and expert insights around sustainable practices.

Paid for by Tetra Pak

References 1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53140069

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Building more sustainable, resilient supply chains can help the world emerge healthier from COVID-19 The jury is still out on how severe and lasting the economic damage will be from COVID 19, or whether the pandemic will spur urgently needed action on climate change, rising inequality and sustainable development. But clearly ‘normal’ will look different going forward.

T WRITTEN BY

Ruth Rennie Director of Standards and Assurance, Rainforest Alliance

he pandemic has focused attention on the interdependence of all parts of the world for products we use every day. As businesses look to reinvigorate their operations after the crisis, current innovations in sustainability certification can help build more resilient supply chains through a stronger focus on continuous improvement, transparency and shared responsibility.

The clock is ticking: the time for ethical supply chains is now In recent years, hundreds of companies have committed to cleaning up their supply chains by eliminating deforestation and human rights abuses associated with the products that we all consume.

But progress toward these commitments remains slow. And, as highlighted in a recent report from the Economist Intelligence Unit1, many companies are failing to address fundamental environmental and social issues such as climate change

or child labour, and are even reducing their investment in supply chain responsibility.

Be transparent and accountable: what you see is what you get COVID-19-related disruptions to global supply chains have focused the attention of consumers and businesses on where their products come from.

Traceability systems are being strengthened to show where products originate and how they move through the supply chain so that sustainability risks can be continuously identified and investments made to address them.

Stronger accountability systems: more resilient supply chains The Rainforest Alliance 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard2 is raising the bar for sustainability certification, moving from a passfail approach to focus on continuous improvements to address changing sustainability risks, and leveraging new technologies to better monitor risks and performance.

Many companies are failing to address fundamental environmental and social issues such as climate change or child labour At a broader level the Accountability Framework3 provides a clear roadmap to achieve ethical supply chains that protect ecosystems and respect human rights. It helps to align existing tools including certification and guide action so companies can follow a single, harmonised approach to manage and report their progress.

It’s time to act and make ethical supply chains the new normal.

References 1. http://growthcrossings.economist.com/report/ no-more-excuses/ 2. https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/business/ tag/2020-certification-program/ 3. https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/business/responsible-sourcing/the-accountability-framework-a-roadmap-for-driving-ethical-supply-chain-practices/

Packaging for environmental – and consumer – benefit

WRITTEN BY

Jim Borg President, PakTech

Paid for by PakTech

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benches and much more. They are also fit to be processed by the UK’s current waste management and treatment infrastructure with 92% of UK councils collecting HDPE bottles for recycling.

Biodegradable options aren’t always as environmentally friendly as they seem While the consumer demand for sustainable solutions have made alternative packaging solutions more attractive, not everyone is aware of the environmental impacts of each material they perceive to be more sustainable.

Take packaging made of biodegradable or compostable plastic for example. Contrary to popular belief, such material does not break down in your home compost pile, rubbish dumps or landfills. In order to break them down, they must be treated at industrial facilities at very high heat and, in the UK, most of them end up being processed as general waste.

HDPE is our material of choice because it is one of the most easily and widely recycled plastic. Once recycled, PakTech handles take on a new life and can be turned into pipes, flowerpots,

Environmental responsibility are on par with practical needs PakTech handles have durable, lightweight, water-resistant, hygienic and low volume properties. Perhaps the most important for brands and supermarkets is that our handles help prevent slippage (meaning loss of inventory due to products becoming loose), by keeping each unit secure.

PakTech handles are made of 100% recycled HDPE, greatly reducing environmental impacts compared to using virgin plastic – it uses 90% less energy and 100% less petroleum, reducing the need extract additional raw materials.

By using recycled HDPE sourced primarily from used milk jugs, we have kept over a half billion milk jugs out of landfills, equivalent to over 27 million kgs of plastic waste. Furthermore, we are proud to say that as of Q2 of 2020, PakTech has kept a total of 31,334,295kg of plastic in weight out of our lands and oceans.

We have worked hard to achieve these results and know that both our customers and UK consumers can choose our simple, sustainable and smart secondary packaging with confidence.

rom the product to its packaging, UK consumers’ purchasing decisions are increasingly influenced by the sustainability performance and environmental footprint of the goods they buy.

Made from 100% recycled HDPE, reusable and infinitely recyclable, PakTech handles help businesses to meet consumers’ sustainability expectations without having to compromise on the practical benefits of plastic.

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From 2027, demand for virgin plastic is set to decrease dramatically, with up to 80% of consumers demanding radical action to slash plastic usage.

The real stats don’t lie; big plastic is on the run BIG plastic would have you think its best days are ahead of it. And they’re prepared to provide you with a deluge of figures to prove it.

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he industry boasts it has invested more than £150 billion in petrochemical plastic capacity over the past decade in the US alone. The British Plastics Federation presents the material as an environmentally viable material that is central to a greener future. BPF executives somehow manage to keep a straight face when they claim plastic is the silver bullet when it comes to slashing carbon, safeguarding human health and protecting our most precious flora and fauna.

The world’s biggest polluters are on borrowed time But when you look beyond the corporate sustainability strategies, and drill down into the real figures, a very different picture emerges. The world’s biggest polluters are on borrowed time.

According to a report published this month by Carbon Tracker, petrochemical firms are set to bet some £300 billion on an increased demand for plastic that will never materialise.

Indeed, from 2027, demand for virgin plastic is set to decrease dramatically, with up to 80% of consumers demanding radical action to slash plastic usage.

Current legislation lacks real teeth and impact But the rate of decline is nowhere near quick enough for a world choked

WRITTEN BY

Sian Sutherland Co-Founder, A Plastic Planet

by a seemingly never-ending supply of single-use detritus. In the UK, Whitehall has made all the right noises on a plastic clamp down but, currently, legislation lacks real teeth and impact.

In August, DEFRA announced the carrier bag charge is to double from five pence to ten pence, crowing about bag reduction numbers while omitting to mention the massive growth in the use of thick, unrecyclable plastic bags for life.

The Government’s Environment Bill should be urgently strengthened, for the first time taking radical action to work towards the total eradication of plastic bags from UK shops. It too must legislate for a ban on the plastic sachets that taint our world. They are the ultimate symbol of our grab and go, addicted-to-convenience lifestyle.

Uncollectible, unrecyclable, and valueless, they pollute our planet at a pernicious rate.

Big plastic can make up the numbers all it wants. As consumers, we now know what’s really going on. Despite the industry lobbyists’ desperate attempts to squeeze every last drop of profit out of a dinosaur industry, at the final count, the numbers will not lie.

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Spotlight: Challenges facing women waste pickers in Ghana

These essential workers are slipping through the cracks

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n Accra, Ghana, women fill the least secure roles in solid waste management and, like elsewhere in the world, they are first to be left behind as the sector formalises.

The NGO WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) works with Accra’s waste pickers through the Kpone Landfill Waste Pickers Association, which advocates for a more inclusive waste management system in the region.

There are over 300 waste pickers at the landfill with women making up one third of these. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, waste pickers learned that the government is closing the Kpone landfill and they will not be allowed to return.

The waste pickers are now working to find alternative livelihoods outside of the landfill. They are scoping coastal communities that need better waste management, and have staged a pilot for doorstep waste collection.

They hope this will help convince the government to give them contracts to be formally included in the sector.

Waste pickers are among society’s most essential workers. They’re also some of the most marginalised. Here’s how you and I can help them through this crisis.

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rom Jakarta to Brooklyn, from Dakar to Rio de Janeiro, waste pickers have laboured tirelessly for decades to keep our streets clean and liveable – all without guaranteed pay, workplace protections, or a social safety net.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the fallout was catastrophic.

An estimated 20 million people1 around the world work as waste pickers, collecting plastics, aluminium and other valuable materials that have been discarded in our streets and dumpsites and selling them to recycling facilities.

In South Africa,2 for instance, waste pickers contribute up to 90% of the post-consumer packaging and paper that are recycled. And in Indonesia,3 700,000 tonnes of plastic waste collected by informal workers are recycled every year.

Working with little societal or personal protection, informal sector waste pickers were already highly susceptible4 to health risks and occupational hazards. The COVID-19 crisis brought unprecedented new challenges: lockdowns, shuttered recycling plants, lack of personal protective equipment and inadequate government support, which have put millions around the world out of work and in harm’s way.

As Pris Polly, chairman of Indonesia’s 3.7-million strong waste pickers union, told us: “If waste pickers don’t work, then they won’t be able to survive.”5

WRITTEN BY

Kristin Hughes Director, Global Plastic Action Partnership; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum

©Dean Saffron for WIEGO

~ Dorcas Ansah Accra Focal City Coordinator, WIEGO

How we can help address this challenge To weather this historic crisis, waste pickers urgently need short-term support: food, water, money for medications and other essentials, and protective supplies like masks and handwashing stations.

The NGO, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), which has long supported informal workers through research and advocacy, is tracking a global list of fundraisers created by local unions and organisations. Visit wiego.org/support-informal-workerscampaigns to contribute.

Our partner, Dow, has also co-launched a crowdsource fund at globalgiving.org/projects/wastecollector-fund in support of waste picker communities worldwide. And

In South Africa,2 for instance, waste pickers contribute up to 90% of the post-consumer packaging and paper that are recycled. through its pilot partnership in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest waste producer, Dow is bringing training, resources, and equitable pay to hundreds of waste pickers and their families.

Waste pickers and informal sector workers need government support But to protect their livelihoods in the long term, we must also advocate for governments and businesses to support informal sector workers in entering the formal workforce – where they can continue carrying out essential work with dignity, security, and the reassurance that there is a safety net to fall back on during times of hardship.

This autumn, we will partner with SAP to launch a software solution to connect thousands of waste pickers with potential buyers and recyclers in Ghana and Indonesia. Our goal is to visualise and quantify the tremendous impact that waste pickers have in keeping cities clean – yielding concrete data that can be used to help waste pickers gain government recognition and formalisation.

The road back to “normal” will be difficult, particularly for the most vulnerable amongst us. Nevertheless, we hope that the pandemic and the subsequent recovery will shine a muchneeded spotlight on this issue, serving as a catalyst for propelling millions of workers and their families out of the shadows.

References 1. https://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/previoussessions/102/reports/reports-submitted/WCMS_207370/ lang--en/index.htm 2. https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/waste-pickerscollect-up-to-90-of-recyclables-saving-municipalitiesmillions-20873584 3. https://globalplasticaction.org/wp-content/uploads/ NPAP-Indonesia-Multistakeholder-Action-Plan_ April-2020.pdf 4. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/ articles/10.1186/s12889-019-6879-x 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byNK80o9NtA

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©ilyaliren

“Carbon dieting” – why we need renewable feedstock With the threat of climate change and global warming now ever-present, the onus is on all of us to take action

T INTERVIEW WITH

Maria Ciliberti Vice President of Marketing, Borealis

Written by: Meredith Jones Russell

emperatures on earth are rising. Although the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has calculated that a 1.5-degree rise should be the maximum allowed, we are currently facing a two-degree rise. This is something 197 countries committed to take action against as part of the COP21 Paris Agreement five years ago.

“Two degrees doesn’t seem a lot, but you can compare it to the temperature rise in your body when having a fever,” says Maria Ciliberti of chemical company Borealis. “With a two-degree higher body temperature, you feel miserable, exhausted and have no energy. Our earth is in a state of fever.”

The temperature rise is due to the greenhouse effect caused by too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, created by our consumption of fossil resources, like coal, oil and gas.

Carbon dieting to reduce fossil fuel consumption To keep the temperature down, Ciliberti says, we need to go on a “carbon-diet” to use as little as a third of our existing coal, oil and gas reserves.

Rather than limiting our dependency on plastic, we can reduce dependency on fossil feedstocks like fuel or petrochemicals and use carbon captured from our atmosphere, thereby reducing its levels and using it in materials.

Maintaining a neutral carbon budget “Carbon is used as a building block to produce plastics. Instead of using carbon from fossil feedstock,

we can make use of carbon from renewable feedstock, which is based on carbon absorbed by plants through photosynthesis. In turn this fossil-free carbon is kept in the loop through efficient mechanical or chemical recycling. And if it becomes carbon dioxide again, for example, through incineration, it has been subtracted from the same atmosphere some years before, so will not be an addition to our carbon budget like fossil feedstocks are,” she explained. “The budget stays neutral, because the carbon was captured from the atmosphere in the first place. Keeping carbon ‘in the loop’ for as long as possible secures that carbon capture.”

Dealing with plastic The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) enables companies to produce materials that can be traced from the beginning of the supply chain all the way through to finished products, certifying the sustainability of carbon being used in plastics.

“Plastic waste is at the top of everyone’s minds at the moment in terms of sustainability,” Ciliberti says.

“Waste can be solved by dealing with littering and finding the right endof-life solutions, and the packaging industry can play its part by ensuring its plastic is designed for recycling, is collected properly and recycled efficiently back into new materials.

Plastic can actually be a good material when it comes to sustainability in comparison to many others, like glass, paper or metal.”

“With a two-degree higher body temperature, you feel miserable, exhausted and have no energy. Our earth is in a state of fever.”

Environmentally-friendly packaging adds to a brand’s value Thanks to policies on sustainability such as the European Green Deal and carbon taxes, companies are increasingly seeking to make their packaging more environmentally-friendly as this adds to their brand value.

Ciliberti says: “Some companies have already done a lot for sustainability with their internal processes, such as looking at their factories or energy use, but the next step is to look at the supply chain and see what they can source differently.

“Now, they need to look at their packaging. If they want to make a big jump in reaching their carbon reduction targets, they can do so very quickly by addressing packaging.”

She adds: “We all need to be willing to contribute and take action across all countries and industries in order to take on this great task.”

Read more at borealisgroup.com

Borealis is a producer of polyolefins, value-add plastics raw materials. It aims to take a leading role in the transition towards a circular economy for plastics. The Bornewables™ portfolio of circular polyolefin products, manufactured with renewable feedstock, provides a sustainable solution across a variety of industries.

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in this topic, it is starkly clear that much more needs to be done across the supply chain to stop this avoidable plastic pollution.

Setting the standard for pellet loss prevention This is why FFI is participating in the development of the first global pellet handling and management standard, which will be available for use in mid-2021 by any company along the plastic supply chain. This standard is being developed by

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ext time you’re on a beach, scanning the sand for seashells, take a look at the tideline. You’ll likely find a different kind of colourful debris peppered among the seaweed: plastic pellets.

Pellets are lentil-sized pieces of plastic and the raw material for virtually all plastic products. From water bottles to swimsuits to piping, most plastic products in our daily lives start out as pellets.

Billions of these plastic pellets are spilled by companies every year in the making of plastic products. While individual spills may be very small, together, they amount to an estimated 230,000 tonnes of pellets pouring into the ocean every year. That’s equivalent to 10 billion single use plastic water bottles.

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Once in the ocean, pellets are eaten by seabirds and other sea creatures, with potential to cause severe harm.

Pellet pollution is solely attributable to the plastic industry, making it a problem that the industry is responsible for fixing.

Persistent pollution since the 1970s Pellets were found polluting the ocean in the 1970s, and have since been recorded on every European coastline that volunteers have searched. The plastic industry has a voluntary initiative called Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) designed to address this problem but, as we approach its 30th birthday, pellet pollution remains a global problem.

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) has been working with other NGOs and the plastics industry to tackle pellet pollution since 2012. While there has been some increased interest

Hazel Akester Marine Plastics Programme Officer, Fauna & Flora International

©MARIO DE MOYA F

Eliminating dangerous plastic pellet pollution

While individual spills may be very small, together they amount to an estimated 230,000 tonnes of pellets pouring into the ocean every year. That’s equivalent to 10 billion single use plastic water bottles.

British Standards Institution with sponsorship from Marine Scotland, British Plastics Federation and nine investor companies coordinated by the Investor Forum, who are being represented by FFI during the standard development process.

We join companies, policymakers, investors, other NGO experts and scientists in creating this standard, which will build on the groundwork laid by OCS, and lay the foundation for certification schemes that can verify company compliance against specified pellet loss prevention measures.

Driving uptake along the whole supply chain has been historically difficult Integral to the success of this standard – and future certification schemes – in addressing the pellet pollution problem is uptake of measures along the full plastic supply chain, which has been a notable weakness of OCS. Every step in the supply chain, including producers of pellets, transporters, logistics and storage companies, converters, manufacturers of plastic products and retailers, need to ensure that the pellet loss prevention measures outlined in the standard are implemented throughout their supply chain, in order to make a tangible difference in the sheer volume of pellets entering the ocean.

FFI will be working to encourage retailers, investors and all companies that form part of the plastic supply chain, beyond the leaders taking part in the standard’s development, to use this upcoming standard to eliminate a fully preventable source of plastic pollution.

In doing so, they can help to ensure that millions of pellets don’t find their way to the tideline or stomachs of vulnerable marine life.

¼Pellets

were found polluting the ocean in the 1970s, and have since been recorded on every European coastline that volunteers have searched. ¼Globally,

230,000 tonnes of pellets enter the ocean year; that is equivalent to 10 billion 600ml plastic bottles.

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Sustainable packaging: why measuring environmental footprint is the only way to secure a greener future In the UK, up to 50% of consumers say they are willing to pay a slightly higher price for more sustainable packaging.

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owever, Head of Sustainability and Marketing at packaging company, Wipak, Hery Henry, warned the consumer’s best intentions are not always well informed.

“People are worried about the oceans and the turtles,” he said. “They want to help, but the result is a movement against all plastics, when there are so many cases in which any other option is worse for the environment.

“What will keep people from making a change is not knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt which packaging is actually good for the environment. They would rather avoid plastic completely, without really understanding there is huge nuance.”

Measuring sustainability In order to understand which packaging is truly better for the environment, it is necessary to do a life cycle assessment of a package over its entire lifecycle, or even better induce a full life-cycle assessment to consider different environmental factors additional to carbon emissions to get the full picture.

“It is ridiculous to say paper, aluminium or glass is better,” Henry explained. “You don’t know until you have measured each particular case.

Only then can the consumer make an informed choice around what is good, or comparatively better, for the environment. For instance, glass bottles are well recycled, but they weigh about 10 times more than plastic, so there are questions around the energy costs and logistics of recycling them.”

In some cases, the energy cost of producing a supposedly environmentally-friendly packaging alternative is so high that it outweighs any subsequent benefit.

The environmental impact of packaging might be affected by the sourcing and the production process, the machinery used, how far it has to be transported, and how it is stored.

“We can only improve what we can measure, so we must measure the environmental footprint of our packaging throughout its lifecycle.”

©IMAGE PROVIDED BY WIPAK

We can only improve what we can measure, so we must measure the environmental footprint of our packaging throughout its lifecycle.”

INTERVIEW WITH

Obstacles to sustainability Another problem is the variation in packaging. While so many different materials, or combinations of materials, are used, it is difficult for recycling infrastructure to keep up. Sorting, collection and recycling facilities are not always in place for certain types of materials, or small volumes of them.

For the consumer, it can be difficult to keep track of what constitutes sustainable packaging, with confusing labelling and mixed messages on what is recyclable.

However, Henry explained, “What we can say, with some certainty is that everybody in the value chain, and consumers likewise, have to take responsibility to make a change. We are introducing efficient solutions, reduced

material consumption, recyclable solutions, mono-materials, bio-based materials and paper composites – choosing the best solutions at a time.

“But the best packaging depends entirely on its application, on what is inside. You should package as leanly and as cleanly as you possibly can; enough to protect the product adequately, but never more than that.”

He acknowledged there are no simple answers. “It is about going product by product, one by one, changing one little thing at a time. I see more and more people wanting to contribute, and it’s fun to be part of that journey.”

Written by: Meredith Jones Russell

Hery Henry Head of Sustainability and Marketing, Wipak

Wipak, a supplier of efficient and sustainable packaging solutions and services, has developed a browser-based tool for its customers to measure the environmental impact of their packaging, and find an alternative with a lower environmental footprint.

In addition to a number of highly innovative new raw materials, Wipak has the possibility to cover packaging with an invisible Digimarc® barcode, which greatly facilitates scanning in store and sorting for recycling. wipak.com/sustainability

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Reframing sustainability while unlocking brand love

A circular economy for all resources The meteoric rise in our use of plastic, from just 1.7 million tonnes in 1950 to more than 350 million tonnes a year today, enabled a wholehearted embrace of throwaway living.

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OVID-19 has created a unique point in time for business; those that take real action will emerge as winners.

Never before have we seen such a spotlight on business – alongside a global wake-up moment for climate and the interconnectivity of planetary, human and societal health. It’s a Wizard of Oz, draw-the-curtain-back moment for how businesses operate and prioritise issues as environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and sustainability are scrutinised more than ever.

Kathleen Enright, Managing Director of global sustainability consultancy, Salterbaxter, says now is the time for businesses to back their sustainability ambitions and communications with tangible proof of action, not the extremes of technical detail or vague slogans.

Sustainability commitments present an opportunity as a new form of corporate communications currency – because people want proof, not promises “We have seen inside people’s homes! We are now seeing a backlash against polished corporate messages. This has brought sustainability commitments to the fore as a storytelling asset for consumers – yet very few are written to engage a mainstream audience.”

Relaying sustainability issues through creative storytelling is a much-needed strategy “Businesses need to be able to communicate their impact and the actions they are taking to be a force for good in a mainstream way.

That requires a really robust understanding of the issues, alongside creative storytelling.”

T WRITTEN BY

Libby Peake Head of Resource Policy, Green Alliance

his ‘on the go’, single use way of life is now firmly embedded in our society and, in some ways, has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But we have at least begun to realise the short sightedness of this approach.

We know that material that is not valued is too often discarded after brief use, and the impacts of mismanaged plastics have become all too apparent with the devastating images we’ve all now seen of animals killed or trapped by plastic waste. This heightened public awareness means businesses and governments have promised (if not yet delivered) ambitious action to address plastic pollution.

Environmental consequences But plastic is not the only material that has environmental consequences or that currently enables throwaway living. There is a risk that, in the rush to eliminate plastic, we ignore the avoidable consequences from equally unnecessary alternatives. Simply removing it from a dysfunctional system and replacing it with other materials that perform the same functions does not deliver sustainability.

Already, single use items like straws, cutlery and single use carrier bags are being replaced by equally unnecessary disposable paper or

wooden alternatives, when the move should really be towards reusables.

We’ve seen aluminium, glass and carton alternatives entering the bottled water market, even though single use bottles can be avoided altogether: the UK has some of the best quality tap water in the world. Tap water has a fraction of the carbon impact, incurs a fraction of the cost and is increasingly easy for people to access on the go.

Many small businesses have opted to switch to compostable or plantbased plastics before the necessary infrastructure is in place to deal with them so they really are able to be more environmentally beneficial.

Minimising the use of all resources What is needed instead is an approach that minimises the use of all resources and their impacts, rather than considering plastic alone. A more circular economy, where materials are kept circulating through reuse, remanufacturing and recycling, would make this possible, and would reduce the other environmental and social impacts associated with raw material extraction.

We should urgently tackle the scourge of plastic pollution, but in so doing we should be using the moment to re-evaluate and end our throwaway culture for good.

Read more at businessandindustry. co.uk/

To win, businesses need to embrace the connectivity of sustainability issues Many businesses’ sustainability commitments and strategies are ambitious and high-profile, but often primarily focused on product- or reputation-specific issues, which do not take in the whole picture.

What’s needed now is a more joined-up view of how environmental, social and societal issues are connected.

Systemic change requires a collaborative response from business, Enright adds.

“The type of leader emerging from the pandemic is absolutely collaborative across industries,” she says. “We’re not going to see real change until there is a lot more collaboration, sharing and transparency, so we can solve this together.”

So what’s the opportunity?

• Be open and honest about ambitions and progress on sustainability issues; • Use your sustainability commitments as a powerful engagement tool in the face of ESG and brand scrutiny; • Unlock growth and innovation from sustainability through an ecosystems approach; • Collaborative leadership will be the driver for industry leadership and recognition.

INTERVIEW WITH

Kathleen Enright Managing Director Salterbaxter Written by: Meredith Jones Russell

The impacts of mismanaged plastics have become all too apparent with the devastating images we’ve all now seen of animals killed or trapped by plastic waste. ©tsvibrav

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Recycling the unrecyclable – how advanced recycling is the answer to eliminating environmental plastic pollution

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espite growing rates of plastic consumption and the challenge of identifying a truly effective recycling process, according to Dr Steve Mahon, Chief Executive Officer of Mura Technology Ltd, plastic is not “the enemy.”

He explains: “Plastic is a flexible and hard-working product, and should be treated with value. The problem doesn’t lie with this functional and practical material, it lies with poor management and insufficient levels of recycling. It is the current system that is failing.

“Plastic has brought about many advances in food and medical preservation and protection, so instead of being discarded after a short, single use, it should be valued.”

Advanced recycling is the process of converting waste plastic back into the oils and chemicals from which it was made for use in the manufacture of new plastic. This helps to increase the scope of plastic types that can be recycled, significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions when compared to incineration and vitally, diverts waste plastic waste away from the environment and into recycling.

Mechanical and advanced recycling as a complementary approach With the implementation of the imminent plastic packaging tax and increased extended producer responsibility (EPR), the onus is on brands and retailers to address their use of plastic by adopting these more viable methods of recycling.

“Where plastic can be mechanically recycled, it should be,” said Mahon.

“For example, plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) can be mechanically recycled.

“We see our advanced recycling solution as a complementary technology to sit alongside mechanical recycling, not to replace it. It sits hand in hand with mechanical recycling and a reduction in unnecessary plastics.”

©cgdeaw

With the UK’s recycling rate at just 45%1, the majority of plastic packaging is sent to incineration or landfill, resulting in environmental plastic pollution and increasing CO2 emissions. With the goal of recycling 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually by 2025, Mura Technology present Cat-HTR™ - the future of plastic recycling.

Many plastic products are considered unrecyclable and are instead sent to landfill or incineration after a short, “singleuse” lifespan. The Cat-HTR™ technology is a shovel-ready solution to recycling waste plastic, with the first site in development in Teesside, North East England.

However, as the population and its plastic consumption grows, huge quantities of post-consumer products and packaging are being disposed of via landfill or incineration, or exported to developing countries.

“They are taking in huge plastic imports from developed countries but do not have the infrastructure to support them,” Mahon said.

Traditional, mechanical recycling has limitations Many post-consumer, flexible plastic products such as films, pots, tubs and trays are made up of many different types of plastics and so due to the limitations of traditional mechanical recycling, are considered unrecyclable.

Instead, these valuable materials are sent to landfill or incineration after a short, “single use” lifespan.

An answer, however, is coming.

Paid for by Mura Technology Ltd

INTERVIEW WITH

Dr Steve Mahon CEO, Mura Technology Ltd.

WRITTEN BY: Meredith Jones Russell

Recycling the unrecyclable In response to the rising levels of plastic waste, Mura Technology has developed Cat-HTR™ (Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor), a form of advanced recycling that uses supercritical water to rearrange the chemical structure of plastic waste, to recycle it into new products.

This enables waste plastic, previously considered “unrecyclable”, to be converted back into the chemicals and oils from which it was made, for use in the petrochemical industry in the production of new plastic and other materials.

“This helps create a circular economy for plastic, benefitting the environment and allowing for the sustainable management of plastic,” Mahon said.

References 1. WRAP Plastics Market Situation Report 2019

Read more at muratechnology.com enquiries@mura technology.com

Mura Technology are developing the Cat-HTR™ plastic recycling process, able to recycle all plastic types, including food-contaminated, mixed-plastic streams, without need for separation. New materials made from Mura’s recycled feedstock products are suitable for use in food-contact packaging material, and the technology can also be used for medical packaging – vital, in the current climate.

Mura Technology are developing a global plan for roll-out of this exciting technology with a goal of recycling 500,000 tonnes annually across sites in the USA, Germany and Japan. The first commercial-scale site, ReNew ELP (www.renewelp.co.uk) is currently in development in the North East of England, with building schedule to commence Q1 2021.

This site alone will recycle 80,000 tonnes of waste plastic annually on completion.

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Period products; the simple task of redesigning everything I hate paper straws. Not just because they ruin G&Ts, but because they represent the biggest fallacy of tackling the plastics crisis: that we just need to swap out bad materials for good ones.

Recycling should be the last resort New ideas have sporadically graced the menstruation market and challenged the status quo, but none have been able to make a significant dent. This proves that we need to not only redesign things, but redesign things better.

For obvious reasons, disposable period products are not recyclable. Even if they were, recycling should always be a last resort when designing sustainable products. Reducing, reusing and reimagining should all come before recycling in the designer’s mind.

At DAME, the company I co-founded, those first three ‘R’s have become our mantra. For example, when looking for recycled packaging to ship our products in, we realised we could do one better, and just reuse another company’s unwanted packaging. That’s why our packaging is not ours, it’s someone else’s. Or at least it used to be.

Reusable period products can be cool The great joy of a product that gets used again and again, is that you can invest more in superior quality and design.

Design means desirability. Desirability means ownership.

Ownership means keepability. When Emma Watson (name drop) pulled her DAME reusable applicator out in an interview with Vogue, it was validation that we may have even made a period product cool.

There is absolutely no technical barrier to replacing most single-use products. Incumbents who refuse to reimagine how they meet customers’ needs are wilfully polluting the world for profit . The challenge for innovators is to use humanity’s only limitless resource, our imagination, to meet those needs in a way that makes the old model redundant.

©Helin Loik-Tomson

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he truth is, no material is good or bad, it’s how we use them that matters. Ironically, paper straws are so ineffective that most bars have gone back to using no straws at all. Which begs the question: why did we all get carried away with straws in the first place?

The problem with the status quo is that, if it’s all you’ve ever known, you can ascribe a sort of permanence to it.

You start to believe it has to be that way. The period industry, for example, has gone unchecked for decades.

By design, between 1.5 to 2 billion (predominantly plastic) period products are flushed down Britain’s toilets every year.

Period products are essential, but millions of tonnes of plastic ending up in the ocean is not.

Coronavirus: a disaster for the war on single-use plastic Coronavirus is nothing short of a disaster for the war on single-use plastic; and vital progress in raising awareness of the plastic pollution crisis has been lost.

A WRITTEN BY

Jo Royle Managing Director, Common Seas

Reducing, reusing and reimagining should all come before recycling in the designer’s mind.

WRITTEN BY

Alec Mills Co-founder, DAME

Jo Royle (@Jo_Royle) is Managing Director of Common Seas (@CommonSeas), a not-for-profit enterprise that researches, designs and implements practical project-based solutions to our global plastic pollution crisis.

s consumers and businesses focus on combating COVID-19, efforts to protect the environment by embracing sustainable, reusable alternatives have been side-lined. Vital progress in raising awareness of the plastic pollution crisis has been lost.

Wholesale regression to single-use plastic The significance of the emergency is matched only by the scale of its impact. The hospitality sector’s shift to single-use plastics has been extensive.

Coffee shops rejecting reusable mugs is an all-too familiar sight. Drinks once served, hygienically, in glass are now being served in plastic. We now eat on plastic rather than china, using plastic cutlery – throwing it all away in a plastic bag.

Some authorities have taken regressive measures; South West Australia has weakened its ban on single-use straws and cutlery; the UK has paused a charge on plastic bags for online deliveries; Scotland’s depositreturn scheme has been delayed.

Environmental disaster, health hazard The rise of single-use PPE during the pandemic is only adding to the problem. The irony is that plastic pollution also represents a long-term health emergency. It is toxic not only to the ocean, but also to our health, and that of global ecosystems, not to mention threatening local economies and livelihoods.

The crisis is not going away soon.

As holidaymakers try to make the most of the summer, many hospitality businesses have turned to disposable containers to help stay afloat during the pandemic.

In Greece, the Maldives and Indonesia, we have seen the damage

plastic pollution already does to local ecosystems and economies are unable to cope. In a normal summer, the Greek island of Paros already sees a 350% increase in waste. We are committed to helping Paros become the first single-use plastic-waste-free island in the Mediterranean. We cannot risk COVID-19 undermining the vital progress Paros, and other islands, have made.

Safe approaches to reusables With basic hygiene, reusables are perfectly safe; 125 scientists from 19 countries agree. However, fear and misinformation are widespread and this is a confusing and uncertain time for businesses. They urgently need clear advice and support on single-use plastic.

That is why we have created a guide, ‘COVID-19 and Reusables’, which helps local hospitality businesses navigate new regulations, and offers practical recommendations to help them avoid resorting to single-use plastics during the pandemic. Our guide proves that, with the right measures, hotels and restaurants can employ reusables safely, and that accepting them does not need to be complicated.

A crucial time for decision-making More positively, we can take advantage of this time as an opportunity to develop new, sustainable systems, based on contactless transactions, for example. We could even take the chance to drop single-use plastic – such as disposable straws – altogether.

Under cover of coronavirus, singleuse plastic is making a sly comeback.

Even in a pandemic, we must continue to kick our addiction.

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Plastic packaging tax starting in April 2022

A flexible approach to tackling plastic pollution One of the biggest challenges we face in tackling plastic pollution is soft, flexible plastics, like bags and wrapping. These plastics are lightweight and water-tight and an efficient packaging solution for many products. But the biggest challenge lies in recycling them.

Plastic waste is a pressing issue both here and abroad. Often, it does not decompose and can last centuries in landfill, or else ends up littering the streets or polluting the natural environment. Every year over 2 million tonnes of plastic packaging are used in the UK alone.1

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lexible plastics constitute a quarter of all UK consumer plastic packaging by weight, but less than 5% is recycled. The issues are complex but can be overcome.

Few local authorities collect it and, while this will change over time, supermarkets are increasingly accepting these plastics for recycling.

Co-op recently announced it is rolling out collection points for all types of bags and wrapping across its stores in the southeast.

But there is no point in collecting this plastic if it is not recycled – manufacturing it into a new item is the whole point of recycling. That is why we are working with businesses through The UK Plastics Pact on a target for recycled content, and a new tax will be applied to plastic packaging that does not have at least 30% recycled content.

We are also working with businesses to redesign packaging using plastics which are more easily recycled.

WRAP’s starting point will always be to identify where unnecessary plastic packaging can be removed – take plastic shrink wrap around food cans, for example. Earlier this year we saw Tesco take the bold step in removing it. If they can do it, others should follow.

But we have long known that it does not make sense for the environment to remove all plastic packaging. Where it serves an important purpose, such as preserving food, it is imperative that we retain it.

Food waste is one of the biggest environmental challenges we face – causing climate change, biodiversity loss and hunger. Switching to another material is no silver bullet either.

All packaging has an environmental impact. We need to use as little as possible but as much as necessary.

We all have a responsibility to put a stop to plastic polluting our environment. All of us can do more – remembering to take our reusable bags shopping, and recycling flexible plastics in supermarkets.

WRITTEN BY

Emily Antcliffe Director, Indirect Tax, HM Revenue & Customs

Visit recyclenow.com for more on where you can recycle these plastics – and look out for Recycle Week later this month.

Marcus Gover CEO, WRAP

©solarseven

WRITTEN BY

he vast majority of plastic packaging originates from new plastic as it’s often cheaper to use than recycled plastic.

To combat this pressing issue, a new plastic packaging tax is being introduced in the UK. This will increase the demand for recycled plastic, stimulate increased levels of recycling and collection of plastic waste, thus diverting plastic waste from landfill. The tax will complement other government initiatives aimed at revolutionising the way the UK deals with its waste.

The tax will come into force in April 2022 and apply to businesses that manufacture or import plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled plastic, charged at £200/tonne of such packaging. This will provide a clear economic incentive to use recycled plastic in the production of plastic packaging.

Following representations from interested parties, the government announced at the Budget in March that plastic packaging, which has been filled before being imported into the UK (i.e. bottles which are filled with liquid), will be within the scope of the tax.

This will further incentivise

a wide range of industries to consider the materials they use to make their packaging, including retail, construction and manufacturing.

An annual threshold for businesses handling less than 10 tonnes of plastic packaging will also prevent small businesses from facing excessive administrative burdens.

Earlier this year, HMRC consulted on the detailed design and implementation of the tax. The consultation included questions on potential exemptions, the persons liable, and the evidential requirements to prove the recycled plastic content. We will use the information gathered through the consultation to refine the design of the tax and continue working with industry and interested groups ahead of the launch in April 2022.

The Plastic Packaging Tax will not only transform the way that the UK deals with waste, but also generate carbon savings. The government estimates it will increase the use of recycled plastic in packaging by 40% – equal to carbon savings of nearly 200,000 tonnes.

References 1. ‘The UK Plastics Industry: A Strategic Vision for Growth,’ British Plastics Federation, 2016

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Sustainability in the luxury sector: is it important?

Paid for by Wrapology

Wrapology design and manufacture packaging for the fragrance and beauty, jewellery, and tech sector. The company has embraced sustainable packaging as a fundamental when developing products. The founders, brother and sister duo, Annika, based in London, and Tom, based in China, answered some questions around sustainability within the luxury sector.

How important is sustainable packaging for brands in 2020?

Tom: It’s the main reason brands come to us now. They want to create the most sustainable packaging possible using the best possible material and manufacturing processes and rely on our expertise.

WRITTEN BY

Tom Bosanquet Co-Founder, Wrapology

WRITTEN BY

Annika: Producing responsibly and communicating reduce, renew, recycle throughout the supply chain has always been a consideration but we noticed a change in urgency when Blue Planet II was released in 2017. That propelled brands to make sustainability a priority.

Annika Bosanquet Co-Founder, Wrapology

How has Wrapology responded to this shift in urgency?

Tom: We had to define what we mean when we say sustainable packaging. We developed our 6 Pillars of Sustainability and it addresses the whole supply chain while providing a simple framework for decision making.

We researched and developed product offerings around those six pillars and took them to the brands. In particular, they loved the moulded fibre technology that is a great alternative to plastic and the fact that it’s made from the waste product of sugarcane makes a great story.

Redefining Sustainable Packaging Wrapology works with brands and their supply chains to develop and deliver packaging using certified sustainable materials combined with the latest innovation in manufacturing.

From moulded fibre packaging to mono material ranges for brands and products, we are redefining plastic free packaging for the 21st century.

LONDON

HONG KONG

SHENZHEN

Annika: We also invested heavily into our prototyping studio in Shenzhen, China, so we could source sustainably certified materials and transform them into finished products quickly.

Packaging is a tactile experience and there is nothing like holding the final product in your hand to make a decision.

What’s been the reaction by the brands?

Tom: Regardless of sector, the medium or niche brands need to be really creative in order to gain market share and attract new customers.

They usually embrace the innovative materials and concepts first and rely on us to get it right. It’s always rewarding seeing their brand or product do well because of that relationship.

Annika: The bigger brands will typically invest more time in doing their due diligence. Third party audits and certifications are a big part of what we do and providing certifications showing, for example, a paper that was recycled without chlorine, in a mill powered by green energy using wastepaper sourced from a managed forest, is really important to them. They have to be legitimate in their claims.

We noticed a change in urgency when Blue Planet II was released in 2017. That propelled brands to make sustainability a priority.

How do you see the trends developing?

Annika: We have to produce products that can be easily recycled and/or degrade easily without giving off toxins if they end up where they shouldn’t.

Understanding the full supply chain from cradle to grave is key.

Tom: We make a lot of mono material products where we only use one material such as paper. We’ve swapped plastic rope handles to knitted paper rope handles. To the untrained eye there is little difference and it means the bag can be recycled with paper and won’t contaminate the supply chain.

Many consumers are taking a much greater interest in how their product is made and what happens to it afterwards. As an industry we have to be more thoughtful about how and what we produce and the ramifications for future generations and our planet.

Find out more about the 6 pillars of sustainable packaging at wrapology.co.uk

Sequent has developed a power unit that converts clean kinetic energy into infinite electrical power to give its devices infinite power autonomy.

The packaging is moulded using fibres derived from the waste product of sugarcane.

To find out more visit.

WRAPOLOGY.COM

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Yaa Torsu is a waste picker in Accra, Ghana.

She and other waste pickers at Kpone Landfill remove almost 800 tonnes of recyclable material from the landfill annually. In 2019, this work prevented the emission of an estimated 24,371 tonnes of eCO2. Despite their environmental contributions, the workers’ livelihoods are under threat. In 2020, the government started the process of decommissioning the landfill without having ensured viable livelihood alternatives or compensation for the waste pickers as they face displacement from the site.

ŠYaa Torsu, Dean Saffron for WIEGO