Towards the Circular Economy: opportunities for the consumer goods sector

Towards the Circular Economy Vol.2: opportunities for the consumer goods sector, a new report, featuring analysis from McKinsey, which builds on last year’s report and makes the case for a faster adoption, quantifies the economic benefits of circular business models, and lays out pathways for action.

The report focuses on fast-moving consumer goods, which currently account for about 60 per cent of total consumer spending, 35 per cent of material inputs into the economy, and 75 per cent of municipal waste. Importantly, the consumer goods sector absorbs more than 90 per cent of our agricultural output – possibly our most embattled resource in the future.

Key Findings

Analysis shows that the adoption of the circular economy could be worth as much as USD 700 billion in consumer goods material savings alone, and also highlights added benefits in terms of land productivity and potential job creation. The report features specific examples in product categories that represent 80% of the total consumer goods market by value, namely food, beverages, textiles, and packaging. Of the many tangible examples across these sectors, highlights include:

·         Household food waste: An income stream of $1.5 billion could be generated annually in the UK alone for municipalities and investors by collecting household food waste and processing it to generate biogas and return nutrients to agricultural soils

·         Textiles: Revenue of USD 1,975 per tonne of clothing could be generated in the UK if [collected, remade, and] sold at current prices, comfortably outweighing the cost of USD 680 required to collect and sort each tonne

·         Packaging: A cost reduction of 20 per cent per hectolitre of beer sold to consumers would be possible across all markets by shifting from disposable to reusable glass bottles, which would lower the cost of packaging, processing, and distribution

Download full report here

Five Packaging Trends That Will Shape 2014: Smart, Social, Flexible, Convenient and Sustainable

Here is my list of 5 packaging trends to watch closely in 2014:

      1) Food waste, Smart Packaging a part of the Solution

In a world of 7 billion people, set to grow to 9 billion by 2050, wasting food makes no sense Economically, Ethically and Environmentally.

Food safety and Food waste is a bigger environmental problem than packaging waste. Packaging has a vital role to play in containing and protecting food as it moves through the supply chain from farm to fork. Shelf-life extension is the Holy Grail for the food industry.

                                                   

Smart packaging (active and intelligent) has been focused on retailer-benefits, namely: food safety and security, spoilage reduction and extending shelf-life. In the future expect it to be more consumers focused: delivering enhanced freshness and better information to elevate product quality for consumers.

According to Freedonia Group (2012), US Demand for smart packaging is forecast to climb 8% annually to $2.3 billion in 2015, significantly outpacing overall packaging demand. Advances will be driven by the availability of products with more reasonable price points and those offering enhanced shelf life and/or improved quality. 

      2) Stand-Up Pouches are growing rapidly - Standing for protection, communication, convenience, and sustainability

Consumers’ nomadic life-styles and the growing number of single and senior households favor a trend toward single and small-portion packs. Flexible packaging, especially stand-up pouches constitute the ideal solution.

The top three packaging characteristics cited by packagers as reasons for choosing stand-up Pouches are cost savings per individual package, improvements in shelf appeal and better barrier performance. The top three manufacturing performance justifications for the choice of flexible packaging are decreased operating costs, increased output, and greater flexibility in manufacturing change-over.

According to PCI Films Consulting (2013), US demand for stand-up pouches is forecast to grow by 42% over the next five years to reach almost 24 billion units in 2018. Beverages and pet food are the largest end use categories, closely followed by human food applications with around 30% share. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increase in demand for convenience in packaging.

      3) Bio-based packaging materials will grow, but not necessarily biodegradable

Recyclable PET made from renewable resource (Sugarcane) is projected to offer significant growth potential over the longer term, particularly as large corporations, especially those in the soft drink industry, are investing heavily in the development of this material.

According to European Bioplastics (2013), the production capacity of biobased PET today is around 600,000 tonnes a year.  This volume is reported to grow to roughly 5 million tonnes by 2016. Regarding rigid applications, PET is mainly used to make beverage bottles, other transparent bottles or rigid trays and films.

      4) Inbound Marketing - Social media and social selling

Social selling has rapidly gained influence as a powerful B2B strategy for building customer relationships, as well as generating sales opportunities. People want to buy from a company they can trust as being honest and transparent. Your positive and social interactions in social media networks will go a long way in establishing the credibility of your brand. The more people feel they can trust you, the more people they will tell about you.

It is clear that marketing is changing on a fundamental level as the internet continues to revolutionize how we find, buy, sell, and interact with brands and their products or services. The days of annoying consumers with intrusive advertising and marketing tactics are fading. Traditional Marketing was about pushing messages out. Today it’s about pulling people in. Inbound marketing is a marketing focused on getting found by customers. The new age of marketing is about providing value and earning customer loyalty instead of simply pounding a message into consumers heads and hoping it will stick.

From a recent Canadean report “Global Packaging Industry CEO Business Outlook Survey 2012-2013”, advertising budgets, “email and newsletters,” “social media and networking sites” and “public relations” are expected to register the highest investment, identified by 47%, 44%, and 36%, respectively. Conversely, “television,” “outdoor,” “radio” and “newspaper” advertising is expected to decline.

      5) e-Commerce – a sales channel for growth

It’s no secret that online retailers are gaining serious market share. Consumers spent a total of $5.3 billion online over Thanksgiving weekend, an increase of 22% over last year, when shoppers spent $4.3 billion online. Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year, broke yet another record this year as shoppers spent $1.74 billion online, marking a record for the most dollars spent online in a single day. By 2017, eMarketer estimates that e-commerce spending will reach $440 billion

The growth in e-commerce presents an opportunity to assess the whole supply chain, to consider new types of packaging. As e-commerce grows, it may be possible to use simpler retail packs, make them smaller, leave them unprinted or perhaps remove them entirely.

The continuing popularity of online shopping will propel healthy gains for corrugated boxes used in the fulfillment of Internet sales (Corrugated & Paperboard Boxes, Freedonia 2012).

Best wishes for a healthy, wealthy, sustainable and innovative New Year 2014!

Eco-Friendly Packaging: Designing Better with Less

Short-lived, sometimes bulky, packaging has been an integral part of our daily lives for many years now. And it hasn’t stopped changing! The agri-food industry, the largest user of packaging, is also the primary vector for innovation in the sector.

Packaging is not useless!

Often criticized and accused of being a source of contamination and pollution, we often forget that packaging serves many purposes. The main function of packaging is to preserve and protect the product as it moves down the chain, from producer to consumer by way of transportation and intermediate storage. It helps to prevent spoilage and damage, which would result in economic and ecological loss! Good packaging also helps to guarantee the health and safety of consumers. Packaging serves several other purposes, such as displaying information, marketing, and diversifying and presenting products in various portions.

Packaging and over packaging: the confusion

When we think of the environment and packaging, we inevitably think of waste. The problem often arises from over packaging, rather than the packaging itself. This problem is costly for manufacturers and is very annoying for consumers. In Québec, the adoption of new environmental standards, which come at the same time as regulations 102 and 130, may well bring on a new era in packaging design. That’s good news!

Eco-design: reconciling the environment with packaging

For all businesses in the agri-food sector, “producing better with less” is becoming an urgent matter. The solution may lie in eco-design, an innovative approach that focuses on prevention as a means of minimizing the impact of packaging on the environment throughout its life cycle. It involves reducing at the source, reusing and recycling, and promoting the use of renewable materials in the designing process. This approach is often advantageous for companies since, in most cases, it helps to increase profits, through increased sales and a reduction in production costs. It reinforces the brand image, demonstrating a true commitment to environmental responsibility, which is also an excellent way to set yourself apart from the competition.

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Green Packaging in the BIG EASY: Pilot Conducted in New Orleans Fish House

New Orleans seafood is going green. Global Green USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR) joined forces this past week with the New Orleans Fish House to test recyclable coated corrugated boxes as methods of transporting locally caught seafood. These innovative boxes, made by CoRR members Cascades Industrial Packaging and Interstate Container, are designed to be recyclable, unlike the paraffin-coated packaging typically used, and also withstand the icy seafood packing process.

“It may seem unusual to get this excited about cardboard boxes, but we are thrilled to highlight these recyclable products,” said Global Green USA’s Lily Kelly, interim director of CoRR. “If we were to replace all the unrecyclable packaging used across the country for seafood, produce, poultry and meats, it would be the equivalent of shutting down an entire coal-fired power plant with no loss of energy, and a tremendous gain in savings and revenue for grocers and restaurants.”

“From a business perspective, it makes perfect sense,” said Eddie Gonzales, Sales Representative at the New Orleans Fish House. “Our customers don’t want to bear the costs of landfilling boxes, so recyclable packaging is an added value that we can offer. It’s the next step in our evolution.”

The pilot began at the New Orleans Fish House, where seafood and ice were placed in the recyclable boxes, palletized, and loaded onto their delivery truck. Representatives from Global Green USA and the packaging companies followed the truck as it made deliveries in the Baton Rouge area, observing the unloading of the seafood at an event venue, a large hotel, and a restaurant. At each location, the recipients of the boxes confirmed that the boxes were performing well, and expressed excitement that they were recyclable. “It will save us time and keep costs and waste down. I love them,” said one recipient.

This pilot marks a step toward more sustainable food systems: greens, vegetables, seafood, and meats are often transported in paraffin-coated cardboard, generating 1.45 million tons of solid waste that must be sent to landfills or burned. If these boxes are designed for recycling, and recovered, retailers and restaurants could realize a net benefit of combined cost savings and revenue of $200 million nationwide.

The boxes, which were donated for testing by Cascades and Interstate Container, are recyclable in accordance with the Fibre Box Association’s recyclability and repulpability protocol for wax-alternative coatings. “The Cascades Polar box, which we tested for this pilot, stood up to the process quite well,” said Islem Yezza, Technical and Business Development Director at Cascades. “We are proud to be able to provide a variety of more sustainable alternatives to unrecoverable polystyrene foam and wax-coated boxes.”

Jeff Cormier, National Sales and Marketing Manager at Interstate Container, was likewise pleased with the results of the pilot. “We make Greencoat recyclable boxes for a variety of uses, and have seen a lot of success with poultry and produce,” he said. “We are very encouraged by the outcome of this pilot, and look forward to bringing recyclable seafood boxes to New Orleans and beyond.” 

Foodservice packaging: The End of a Persistent Environmental Myth

The most persistent environmental myth about foodservice packaging concerns their role in the solid waste stream, and particularly that which ends up in landfills. Year after year, data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that paper and plastic foodservice packaging products make up a tiny portion – under two percent! – of the municipal solid waste discards in landfills in the United States. Compare that to other items that end up in landfills:

Source: FPI

Source: U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency. Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2011 Facts andFigures

My comments:

• Food waste is the environmental sleeping giant
• In the near future the role of packaging will change; we will see packaging as a resource rather than a resource waster.
• Packaging is part of the solution, not the problem: preventing food waste and saving resources and assuring the safety and security of the food supply
• A bright future for Smart Packaging (active and intelligent): Increasing health and environmental awareness, rising food prices and food safety concerns and improved purchasing power will drive growth in the smart packaging market.

The role of packaging in minimizing food waste in the supply chain of the future

Australian-first research by RMIT University has shown the vital role of packaging in minimising food waste.

There are significant opportunities to reduce food waste in the supply chain through improvements and innovation in packaging and by communicating these benefits and opportunities to industry stakeholders.

Food is lost and wasted for many reasons, including damage in the field from severe weather events and disposal of inedible components during food preparation. While this loss/waste is largely unavoidable, other waste occurs due to inefficiencies or poor handling in the supply chain. This is where packaging can play an important role, for example by reducing damage in transit and handling or by extending shelf life. A number of packaging opportunities to reduce waste have been identified in this report, based on an extensive literature review and interviews with stakeholders. They are:

1) Distribution packaging that provides better protection and shelf life for fresh produce as it moves from the farm to the processor, wholesaler or retailer. This may require the development of tailored solutions for individual products.

2) Distribution packaging that supports recovery of surplus and unsaleable fresh produce from farms and redirects it to food rescue organisations.

3) Improved design of secondary packaging to ensure that it is fit-for-purpose, i.e. that it adequately protects food products as they move through the supply chain. Packaging developers need to understand the distribution process and where and why waste occurs.

4) A continuing shift to pre-packed and processed foods to extend the shelf life of food products and reduce waste in distribution and at the point of consumption (the home or food services provider). The packaging itself also needs to be recoverable to minimise overall environmental impacts.

5) Adoption of new packaging materials and technologies, such as modified atmosphere packaging and oxygen scavengers, to extend the shelf life of foods.

6) Education of manufacturers, retailers and consumers about the meaning of use-by and best-before date marks on primary packaging to ensure that these are used appropriately. Confusion about date marking results in food being thrown away when it is still safe to eat.

7) Product and packaging development to cater for changing consumption patterns and smaller households. Single and smaller serve products will reduce waste by meeting the needs of single and two person households.

8) Collaboration between manufacturers and retailers to improve the industry’s understanding of food waste in the supply chain. Greater attention to be given to where and why this occurs, tracking over time, will reduce the costs and environmental impacts of waste.

9) More synchronised supply chains that use intelligent packaging and data sharing to reduce excess or out-of-date stock.

10) Increased use of retail ready packaging to reduce double handling and damage and improve stock turnover, while ensuring that it is designed for effective product protection and recoverability (reuse or recycling) at end of life.

The implementation of these initiatives could be supported through further research and communication activities to highlight the critical links and trade-offs between packaging consumption, protection and containment of food, and food waste.

Read the full report

CoRR Paper Foodservice Packaging Conference: Wrap-up and videos

Thanks to Scott Seydel for recording and sharing our last Food Packaging CoRR Conference, held in Washington few weeks ago. 

Discussion Panel

Lily Kelly, Director of Global Green's Coalition for Resource Recycling organized a panel of experts on recyclable wholesale fresh food packaging at the CoRR's member meeting in the nation's Capitol on April 4, 2013. The panel included box manufacturers Islem Yezza of Cascades and Jeremy Bower of Interstate Resources, along with recyclable moisture barrier coating company representatives Dave Grillo from the Chemol Company and Stefan Richwine from Spectra-Kote. Clips of comments from the assembled members are included by Clark Seydel of the Seydel Companies, and Chuck Klass of Klass Associates. Earlier speakers included Sara Hartwell of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Edmund Miller of the U.S. Department of Defense, Chris Weiss of the DC Environmental Network, Mary Lynn Wilhere of the DC Department of the Environment and Taste of Washington, and Hiroki Nanko of Taizen. 

Click Here to watch the Discussion Panel Video (Duration 7:45 min)  

You find below my talk entitled: "Recyclable coated paper for Food service Packaging":

 

Recyclable Coated Paper for Food Service Packaging from Islem Yezza

Chuck Klass of Klass Associates Inc, shared with us latest trends in OCC supply and demand: 1) Prices will continue to escalate; 2) Recyclable barrier coatings replacing waxing can increase supply but are not a long term answer to the shortage 3) Recycling mills may need to utilize alternative sources of recycled fiber 4) Installing a parallel system to process the “side stream” can make economic sense. 

Click Here to watch Chuck Klass Presentation (Duration 27:30 min) 

Hiroki Nanko of Georgia describes machinery, equipment, and processing used in an exciting new processing line that separates plastic laminated films from carton and cup stock fibers such that they can be recycled in conventional recycled paper and linerboard mills. 

Click Here to watch Hiroki Nanko Presentation (Duration 8:20 min) 

Convenience Food Packaging Changed Our Lives

Recloseable packaging and microwaveable plastic trays were named top packaging breakthroughs that most impacted peoples’ lives over the last 25 years in an on-line survey hosted by DuPont. Together the two categories of invention captured 48 percent of the votes. The online survey was available to industry professionals from April 9 through May 10, 2013.

Reclosable packaging, which includes food-storage zipper locks and stand-up pouches, earned 27 percent of the votes. Microwaveable meals, enabled by “oven-able” packaging materials, captured 21 percent of the votes. Recycled content in consumer, industrial and community programs that support social goals earned 18 percent of the votes.

“Over the 25 years, the DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation has attracted a wide variety of truly innovative packaging developments, making this anniversary event the perfect time to honor those past achievements,” said Shanna Moore, leader/of the DuPont Packaging Awards program. “In reflecting back on these breakthroughs, it’s hard to imagine what everyday life would be like today without them.”

DuPont created the voting project after reviewing hundreds of past winners and identifying six breakthrough groups that impacted our lives. Descriptions of those breakthroughs – which range from packaging that has enabled our current “on-the-go” lifestyle to centralized processing and packaging of meat that reduced waste and kept meat fresh longer – can be found on line here.

DuPont announced the breakthroughs that most transformed our lives during the company’s celebration of the winners of the 25th DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation in Wilmington, Del. Nearly 300 people voted on the breakthrough choices.

Read more…

Recyclable Coated Paper for Food Service Packaging

You find enclosed my talk entitled: "Recyclable coated paper for Food service Packaging" given at the Food Packaging CoRR Conference, April 4, 2013, Washington, DC, USA.

 

Recyclable Coated Paper for Food Service Packaging from Islem Yezza

Recyclable coated paper for Food service Packaging

I will be presenting at the upcoming FoodPackaging CoRR Conference, scheduled for April 4, 2013 in Washington, DC.

My talk entitled: "Recyclable coated paper for Food service Packaging" will be focused on the application of recyclable barriers on paper for Food service Packaging Applications.

Agenda

1.     Paper-based Packaging : Trends and Market

2.     Enhancing barrier properties: Why Wax is on the Wane?

3.     Extrusion coating/lamination:

1.     Conventional resin

2.     Compostable resin (PLA)

3.     Film lamination

4.     Water-based coating: A bright future

5.     Eco-friendly and Innovative Paper-based Packaging

6.     Take home…

Greening Fast Food Packaging

Dogwood Alliance’s report “Greening Fast Food Packaging: A Roadmap to Best Practices,” outlines eight key attributes of environmentally friendly fast food packaging, and provides guidance on how to assess environmental impacts in the supply chain. The report highlights leaders in the fast food industry. It also includes a survey to help assess a company’s current packaging.

1. Embrace Corporate Leadership on Sustainability
2. Use Full Life Cycle and Supply Chain Approach
3. Reduce Overall Packaging and Increase Efficiency
4. Increase the Use of Recycled Fiber
5. Eliminate Paper Originating from Controversial Forestry Practices
6. Increase In-Store Recycling and Recovery
7. Eliminate Toxic Inks, Coatings and Labels
8. Reduce Carbon Footprint

The full report is available at DogwoodAlliance

Cascades – Industrial Packaging, to exhibit at the 2013 International Boston Seafood Show

The International BostonSeafood Show is North America’s largest seafood trade show, which is taking place on March 10-12, 2013 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

Visit Cascades-IndustrialPackaging Booth #1180 to meet our friendly staff and learn more about our eco-friendly and innovative packaging solutions for the transport of fresh and frozen fish and seafood products.

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Smart Packaging: Food Safety Enhancement, Shelf-life Extension and Food Waste Reduction

I will be presenting at the upcoming SIALCanada 2013, scheduled for April 30 to May 2, 2013 in Toronto, Canada.  

My talk entitled: " Smart Packaging: Food Safety Enhancement, Shelf-life Extension and Food Waste Reduction " will be focused on the applications of smart packaging in food industry.

Abstract

There is a growing need to address the most pressing issues facing food supply, namely food safety, food waste and food access. Innovative packaging solutions could play a key role.

The focus of smart (active and intelligent) packaging has moved from specific retailer and manufacturer driven benefits like shelf-life extension, traceability and food waste reduction, to include more consumer focused benefits such as food quality and safety, freshness and information. Active and intelligent packaging is the results of “thinking outside the box.” They are based on a deliberate interaction of the packaging with the food and/or its direct environment.

Outline

1. Food supply hot issues: Food Safety, Food Waste and Food Access
2. Packaging’s vital role
3. Active and intelligent Packaging: Concept, Applications & Innovations
4. Take home

PaperNuts: eco-friendly loose fill void packaging materials

Results of Recyclable Produce Box Pilots

For the pilots, Global Green USA teamed up with members of their Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR) to test alternatives to paraffin-coated produce boxes, which cannot be recycled and are a contaminant within bales of uncoated cardboard. Boxes were tested with a variety of wet cooling processes in California and New Jersey and the results show that many box products with recyclable coatings are robust enough to withstand vacuum cooling, hydro-vac, and hydro-cooling processes.

 

 "The move to recyclable-coated boxes will divert waste from landfills and save money for the foodservice and retail industry," says Lily Kelly, interim director of CoRR and coordinator of the pilots. "It is an exciting time." 

Greens, vegetables, seafood, and meats are often transported in paraffin-coated cardboard, generating 1.45 million tons of solid waste that must be sent to landfills or burned. If these cases were designed for recycling and were recycled, CoRR believes retailers and restaurants could realize a net benefit of combined cost savings and revenue generation of $200 million nationwide. CoRR has worked since 2008 to accelerate the industry adoption of alternative recyclable-coated packaging and recycling it, which could reduce America's annual carbon emissions by 4.5 million mtCO2e—the equivalent of eliminating an entire coal-fired power plant with no loss of energy. (The Fibre Box Association estimates that 5% of OCC is wax-coated. EPA’s 2010 Solid Waste Facts and Figures, WARM Tool, and Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator were used to calculate potential greenhouse gas savings. Savings assumes 100% of the boxes and packaging generated is recycled. National restaurateur and grocers’ savings are based on a national average tipping fee of $44.09, based on the 2010 data in BioCycle’s State of Garbage report. A spot market price of $100/ton of OCC was assumed.) 

Food producers report finding recyclable boxes easier to use than paraffin-coated boxes, and have benefited from being able to recycle them on the farm. “This is good news for farmers and our customers," says Vince Consalo of Consalo and Sons, a produce distributor in Vineland, NJ, who helped to test the recyclable boxes in September. “Recyclability is a big selling point." Other participants in the pilot program also expressed satisfaction with the results, including Lakeside Organic Gardens in Watsonville, CA. 

The results are advantageous for grocers, who may soon be receiving more recyclable-coated boxes that they can bundle with their regular cardboard instead of paying to send them out with the trash. "Selling cardboard is a revenue stream for us, and it helps contribute to our Zero Waste Goals of 2020," says Dom D'Agostino of Ahold Intl., which operates several grocery store chains, including Stop and Shop and Giant. "If we could recycle coated cardboard, it would significantly help us meet these goals." 

Global Green USA's pilot series is slated to continue in 2013. "As a third party, our job is to document these tests and spread the word about what is recyclable and what works,” says Kelly. "Our next steps are to document increasingly tough use of the boxes—wetter cooling and longer distance traveled. We’re confident that these boxes can handle it, and we’re excited to document next year's story in video as well." 

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