What it takes to deliver the vision
In an ideal world, the future of flexible plastic packaging will have the following characteristics:
- Sustainable packaging materials will cost less than incumbent materials, preserve the quality of the product and catch the eye of the consumer.
- Disposal will ultimately result in an output with an economic value – either by being recycled in a closed loop system or having the capability for composting or biodegrading into organic matter that is not harmful or a pollutant.
- The chemicals and materials required will be available in sufficient quantities and their production will not impact the environment or society.
- The technology will be tried and tested, with the right investment choices made in the complex machinery and equipment required to make it work.
- New players will be working with established ones, forging new ecosystems.
- The process will be scaled identically across all geographies as part of a consistent global regulatory landscape and infrastructure.
- Recycling and composting will be entrenched in consumer behavior with collection mechanisms in place.
Consumer product companies are at the beginning of their journey to reach this utopia and cannot work through the problem alone or in isolation. They can take the following steps to advance long-term value for their organization, the consumer, and society:
1. Align the internal experts
Whether it’s replacing the current resin film with a biodegradable material or developing a closed-loop recycling system for flexible plastic, the organization needs a wide range of internal subject-matter experts who are aligned on the path forward. Product management, supply chain, R&D, purchasing, strategy and, of course, sustainability teams need to work together to determine the best transition plan. Each option involves emerging technologies, so internal alignment to a direction and testing plan is critical.
2. Revisit the product and your consumers
Take the opportunity to revisit the fundamentals, determine the optimal packaging requirements and consider more innovative alternatives and solutions. Understanding exact product requirements, as well as consumer usage and preferences, will guide companies to develop strategies that reduce the flexible plastic used in packaging.
3. Stay ahead of regulation
Navigating the myriad of rules, incentives, taxes and legislation to stay on the right side of government actions will require constant monitoring. Ideally, investment in sustainable packaging initiatives will be in advance of legislation, such as bans on single-use plastics, plastic packaging taxes and carbon border adjustments, and take advantage of regulatory incentives for sustainable materials and processes. In addition, brands have a positive role to play in advising and lobbying governments to drive change at scale.
4. Partner to create sound ecosystems
Companies must identify the right ecosystem business model and determine which ecosystems they should orchestrate and in which they should simply be a participant. Working with peers and competitors will help create scale, and competitive concerns can be managed by agreeing to clear rules of risk and reward sharing. Partnerships with non-profits, governmental organizations, universities and research institutions can be leveraged to share the efforts and initial cost burden of plastic reduction as well as establish standards for recyclability, composting, and labeling. Consumer product companies can also partner across the value chain to make investments with chemical recyclers or biodegradable plastic manufacturers to establish cost-effective materials and secure future supply.
5. Engage your consumers to make them part of the solution
Consumer product companies are adept at influencing consumer behavior, which will be an important skill to employ at the right time as consumers and communities must play their part. They’ll need to encourage, engage and educate consumers to adopt new behaviors and routines. For example, chemical recycling of flexible plastics requires consumers to remember to recycle flexible plastic material and to recycle it correctly. It also requires single stream curbside recycling by municipalities and a sorting system that gets the material to a chemical recycler. Biodegradable packaging may need consumers to engage in home composting, otherwise the material would simply be buried in a landfill like any other plastic. In any scenario, brands will be a necessary part of the solution by applying their skills to encourage good habits and informative labeling to facilitate accurate recycling.
The status quo is no longer an option, but given the nascent stage of sustainable packaging technologies, initiatives may not prove economically viable for years. In the early development phase, investing in several technologies to determine the technical viability and cost-effectiveness of a lead technology is likely to be the most prudent approach. Once established, focused investment will be needed to rapidly scale the technology and secure the necessary material supply.
Collaboration with peers and across the value chain will enable companies to manage risks and costs, especially in procurement, as well as drive greater demand to achieve scale.
Thanks to the following for their contribution: Mark Weick, Matt Handford, Minhaj Baqai, Morgan Cole and Melissa Harari of Ernst & Young LLP.