Sustainability and Distribution Testing
Sustainability (in packaging and distribution) is highly complex, with far reaching implications. There are many sustainability initiatives around the world, at an organizational level, at industry level and driven by national government, including for example The Wal-Mart score card, the UK Courtauld Commitment and Courtauld II, the M&S Plan A, the EU Directive of Packaging and Packaging Waste and ISO TC 122/S C04 "Packaging and Environment".
What is clear is that there is no one solution to delivering on sustainability, but there is a real need to make progress, and to continue to reduce environmental impact and reduce carbon footprint. Smithers Pira is contributing towards this endeavor by supporting clients with damage reduction and light weighting projects, as well as validation projects that confirm the suitability of alternative lower impact packaging solutions and materials. Smithers Pira's knowledge and package testing facilities enable effective decision making on achieving optimisation of pack design, weight and specification.
In simple terms we believe:
- Excessive product damage during distribution represents a significant step backwards in the context of sustainability.
- Research suggests that for most products, the impact of producing the product is far greater than the impact of the packaging for that product; thus it is considered unsustainable for products to be manufactured and become damaged during supply, such that they are not able to reach point of use in suitable condition.
- Neither is it sustainable to over-package products in order to guarantee zero damage.
Smithers Pira leverages industry standard protocols, customizes standard protocols and develops new and specific protocols to help our clients balance the risk of shipment damage against material usage.
Smithers Pira's services can accurately demonstrate where and when a packaged product might fail during shipment and handling, so our clients can make informed decisions on using packaging effectively and responsibly. Our lab and field based work can identify where there is scope to use less packaging and deliver both cost and environmental savings. These informed decisions are key to meeting the requirements of sustainability.
"Allowing products to be damaged during shipment is not sustainable, but neither is using packaging where it is not needed. I regularly see packaging used as a safety net to guarantee damage free shipments. My passion is supporting our clients and giving them as much information as possible to properly balance the risk when evaluating packaging material usage."
Michael Kuebler - Technical Director; US Distribution Testing
Smithers Pira undertakes specific projects examining opportunity for light weighting and specification reduction, using intelligent testing and tailored protocols to support critical decisions on material and pack grades, materials substitution and cubic efficiency during storage and transit.
Often making a change to one aspect of a packaged product system can impact on another part of the supply chain, with its own impact on the environment. Smithers Pira's breadth of knowledge supports clients in technical testing projects, but also in identifying where changes might impact in unforeseen areas and enure that change delivers a positive impact overall.