Responsible Packaging

We believe in responsible packaging. As the world’s largest packaging company, we have the opportunity to leverage our scale, scope and expertise in responsible packaging to create sustainable value for our customers and contribute to a better world for today and tomorrow.

Packaging waste is highly visible and is perceived as a problem by many in society. However, packaging actually plays a vital role in reducing waste across the supply chain and throughout the packaged product’s life cycle. Responsible packaging preserves the many resources invested in the product and ensures that it reaches its destination fit for its intended purpose.

Since packaging usually represents only a small proportion of the total life cycle environmental impact of the packaged product, focusing only on reducing the amount of packaging can have unintended consequences. Significant waste occurs when a product is spoilt, ruined or lost, wasting far more resources than are contained in the packaging alone. Responsible packaging therefore uses the optimal amount of packaging; it does not over package or under package.

The role of packaging

Responsible packaging delivers beyond basic functionality by protecting, informing and performing.

Responsible packaging protects by keeping products clean, fresh, safe and secure. It reduces waste by protecting products and extending their shelf-life.

Responsible packaging informs by sharing information with consumers about how a product is sourced, and how to reduce its impact.

Responsible packaging performs beyond its basic function to provide additional benefits, by reinventing the way products can be used, picked up, stored, frozen, carried, handled, opened, heated or perceived.

Packaging sustainability – a total life cycle approach

At Amcor, we have the expertise and tools to systematically evaluate packaging sustainability from a total life cycle perspective, in order to recommend the optimal packaging solution for any given purpose. Our life cycle assessment (LCA) and sustainability tool, ASSET, has been deployed across Amcor and we are working with our customers to ensure that they understand all the considerations and have the data to make informed decisions about packaging sustainability.

Identifying the most sustainable packaging option is not as simple as using recyclable or renewable materials or choosing the option that weighs the least. Each type of packaging has to be evaluated across its entire life cycle – from sourcing the raw materials and the manufacturing processes, through transportation and use, and finally recycling, recovery or disposal.

Life cycle assessment must be considered within the context of specific customer requirements and the markets in which the packaged product is sold. These commercial considerations include: the cost to our customers; product security and protection; food safety or medical standards; the role of the packaging in marketing the product; and how the packaging enhances the product functionality.

Working within this context, our comprehensive life cycle assessments provide a rigorous, unbiased and data-based approach to developing more sustainable packaging. This approach considers a range of sustainability factors, as shown in the diagram below.