Sustainable packaging is becoming a number one priority for consumers. Now, they are more aware of the social and environmental impact of packaging. We’re already seeing governments take this into account. For example, South Australia became the first state to ban single-use plastic. Furthermore, in 2018, the Turnbull government set a sustainable packaging target for 2025. The aim is to make 100% of Australian packaging either recyclable or reusable by 2025.
What does Sustainable Packaging mean?
Each country has their own meaning of sustainable packaging, and what it includes. In Australia, we have the Australian Packaging Covenant. This is an agreement between the government, businesses and communities. The 2017 Covenant lists the legal criteria for sustainable packaging. It must be:
Safe for communities
Companies have a responsibility to make sure that their products do not have a negative effect on the communities they are providing for. Non-biodegradable plastic harms the environment as it pollutes waterways and creates landfill. By using clean materials, communities can create ‘closed-loops’ where materials can be used again. As a result, this keeps material costs low and communities clean.
Be economically efficient
In essence, as the number of consumers increase, industries should grow in a sustainable way. The true cost of non-sustainable materials are actually much higher than one would think. This true cost includes tax and adhering to strict compliance rules in each country. With the ‘closed-loop’ approach, sustainable packaging would allow for the cheap and repeated use of materials within a community.
Be sourced from renewable energy
The use of fossil fuels have dire effects on the environment. In contrast, renewable energy sources offer a clean production process. Using these sources to produce reusable packaging would help reach the 2025 target. However, the APC has admitted that this would be extremely difficult. This is as the process includes switching fossil fuels with clean energy sources. In fact, fossil fuels actually dominate the Australian energy market. Thus, it would be very hard to swap over without a long time and a lot of money.
Manufactured using clean energy and practices
Clean production reduces harm to the environment and community. Because usual industry processes use large amounts of water, energy and products, clean production tries to use less.
Can be Recycled
Lastly, the ‘closed-loop’ process is using sustainable packaging, recycling it and then using it again. This is a crucial aspect of clean packaging, and keeps materials within the community. It also encourages waste reduction, and thus, minimises landfill.
The legal side of Sustainable Packaging
You will need an environmental certification to label your packaging as sustainable. For the purpose of legitimate certification, it needs to come from an independent third party. Without this, it is deceptive conduct, and is banned by the government. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to compare your packaging against the criteria listed by the APC by yourself.
With this in mind, it is important to understand what sustainable packaging means. A good start would be to contact an independent third party, or read the full 2017 APC covenant. If you have any further questions, you can contact a business lawyer.
