Design Methodology: How to gain progress towards more sustainable packaging
Making packaging more sustainable is a continuous process of setting goals, identifying challenges, seeking innovations and assessing progress. This design methodology explains that step-by-step process and organizes a procedure with which meaningful improvements to packaging may be achieved.
This design methodology is intended to align with the system of measurement outlined by the Global Protocol for Packaging Sustainability (GPPS). The GPPS should be used to understand how to measure attributes and indicators, while this design strategies should be used to gain improvements to the measurements of those attributes and indicators. The GPPS may be accessed here.
Innovate using the design strategies
The three design strategies are intended to facilitate design innovations that improve certain packaging attributes. To ensure that a holistic improvement has been made to the sustainability of a packaging system over its entire life cycle, it is important to follow these rules:
Use all the design strategies together
To avoid unintended trade-offs from one life cycle phase to another, use every design strategy as part of an overall optimization process.
Apply them to the entire packaging system
To avoid unintended trade-offs among packages in the packaging system, apply each design strategy to every package in the packaging system.
Maintain an understanding of the prioritized benefits and unwanted impacts
To avoid introducing unintended trade-offs from one impact category to another, as well as compromising the benefits of the packaging system, keep track of how different design modifications affect each benefit and impact of the packaging system.
Engage the entire team
Because different aspects of packaging systems are often managed by different decision-makers, it is important to identify roles of each member of the design team and engage them when exploring design changes. Specialists in R&D, procurement, marketing, and management may each have an important role in designing more sustainable packaging.
Example
Prioritize:
Benefits to maximize
- product protection
- tamper-evidence
- brand reinforcement
- facilitation of handling
- product shelf life
Impacts to minimize
- resource depletion
- water consumption
- acidifcation potential
- solid waste generation
- greenhouse gas emissions
Benchmark
design improvements
Design using responsibly sourced materials:
- amount of PCR in bottles increased
- corrugated supplier in closer proximity chosen
Design for efficient material usage:
- slimmer profile closure chosen
- cube efficiency of bottle design increased
Design for recovery:
- opaque bottle label removed to facilitate optical sorting
- more preferable ink used on corrugated cartons