Packaging Life-Cycle Assessments Tips
In this article, we will discuss pro tips to help conduct a life cycle assessment for packaging.
Sustainable packaging decisions, which are based on science and facts, can help a company acquire a firm and justifiable position in the market. One of the tools used to clarify decision-making for sustainable packaging is the life-cycle assessment.
Here are a few things you may want to know about LCAs.
Reducing packaging materials to increase ROI
The main goal of every packaging engineer should be to go with the fewest possible packaging materials, which continue to protect the product and deliver the brand message effectively. Eliminating some of the packaging components can help achieve this reduction. Examples of components that you can consider eliminating include instruction booklets, poly bags, and some printed labels.
On the other hand, you can consider adding lightweight packaging components to the product packaging. For this purpose, you can gauge down films and papers.
Another way to save on packaging costs is to shrink the package size. Not only you will be able to cut the costs of packaging materials but also reduce shipping costs. Some companies even end up reducing packaging materials up to 40%-50%. However, the key is to make sure that the damage rate doesn’t go up.
Avoiding the preconceived idea that certain materials are bad
Performing an LCA and comparing that to other sustainable materials can put forward some surprising results. Packaging components made from different materials will have different weights.
Sometimes, choosing a material that has been preconceived as bad can turn out to the best packaging decision you have ever made. It’s all about looking at how a particular packaging component will perform after your shipment is ready. You may have to look at it when it is being stacked in the shipment truck or a pallet.
Another thing to consider is the use of plastics in such a way that they remain recyclable. For this purpose, you can avoid using colorants, dyes, and other additives that make the plastic hard to recycle.
Narrow goals and LCA
In almost every case, looking at one package instead of focusing on the entire system of primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging can show some misleading results. Moreover, looking at only one LCA indicator (e.g. greenhouse gas (GHG) measurements) can also turn out to be misleading.
Different LCA indicators can show opposite behaviors. For instance, you may achieve GHG reductions but end up increasing water consumption and aquatic toxicity.
Shifting from rigid to flexible packaging
There are a lot of benefits of shifting from rigid to flexible packaging structures. These benefits include both environmental and financial. The use of fewer packaging materials will help packers save on packaging costs. It will also allow for more packages to be adjusted in fewer shipments, resulting in less fuel consumption. A decrease in packaging materials demand will also help reduce emissions from manufacturing units.
When it comes to conducting LCAs, it is always best to involve all of your company’s departments to make sure that any decision driven by an LCA result doesn’t end up affecting any of your company’s departments.
