The Future of Sustainability: It’s Time to Think About Your Packaging
Many savvy business owners have come to a single conclusion: what’s good for the planet can also be good for their bottom line.
Accordingly, the category of “sustainable practice” is widening as industries look for new opportunities to create that positive impact. But when we’ve already implemented the “obvious” ways to reduce our carbon footprint, like adopting renewable energy sources such as solar power and supporting green initiatives, where do we look next?
The answer is in your trash.
How much trash does your business generate? Specifically, how much of that trash was once used to protect product during transport?
Businesses use a lot of packaging—and we mean a lot. In total, disposable packaging makes up 36% of municipal waste, and single-use packaging accounts for about 30% of total CO2 emissions.[1] In practice, this creates compounding problems. For instance, the bottled water industry sells about 50 billion units each year (and that’s just one industry),[2] many of which are only used for a few minutes before being thrown away and becoming part of an ocean-sized problem: plastics in marine environments will outnumber fish by the year 2050.[3]
There is a better way. Forward-thinking companies are turning to reusable packaging for its environmental and cost-saving benefits.
Disposable packaging makes up 36% of municipal waste and accounts for about 30% of total CO2 emissions.
Reusable Packaging
Reusable packaging is any type of shipping materials that can be used multiple times before they need to be disposed of or destroyed. Think returnable boxes, crates, totes, pallets, and other containers that traverse a circular route from their origin point and back again.
Environmental and Health Benefits
Many of the environmental benefits of reusable packaging seem obvious: less waste going into our oceans and landfills. But how much waste are we talking? Globally, we produce 380 million tons of plastic packaging per year—5 to 13 million tons of which will wind up in the oceans, with much of what’s left finding its way into landfills.[4]
Beyond keeping this waste out of seas and landfills, reusable packaging creates wider impacts.
The circular life of reusable packaging eliminates much of the need for recycling, production, and shipment of single-use products, reducing CO2 emissions by up to 60%.[5] Manufacturing reusable packaging also typically uses 64% less energy and 80% less water than the manufacture of single-use products.[6] Reducing single-use packaging also positively impacts human health. That ocean-sized problem we mentioned? Fish, fowl, and other wildlife consume plastic every day. Thanks to the food chain, we do too—about 40 pounds of it over our lifetimes.[7]
Reusable packaging eliminates much of the need for recycling, production, and transportation, reducing CO2 emissions by up to 60%.
Cost savings, ROI, and Customer Loyalty
Let’s talk business. Positive environmental impacts also lend themselves to one of the biggest advantages of reusable packaging: cost savings for those who use them. Businesses that spend less on single-use cardboard and bubble wrap in favor of durable crates and shipping pallets will see their long-term savings multiplied through reduced breakage and damage costs.[8],[9] The ROIs of reusable packaging extend further by reducing transport costs by 90%.[10] Additionally, reusable packaging offers opportunities for companies to build brand loyalty through improved customer experience and satisfaction.[11]
Final Thoughts
How much trash could reusable packaging keep out of your business’s dumpsters? How much money could you save? What kinds of ROIs could you present to stakeholders?
And, more importantly, how might your business contribute to a better environmental future for us all?
There’s no time like the present to find out.
[1] https://umaine.edu/mitchellcenter/wp-content/uploads/sites/293/2022/06/Reusable-Packaging-Literature-Review.pdf
[2] https://www.earthday.org/fact-sheet-single-use-plastics/
[3] https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
[4] https://umaine.edu/mitchellcenter/wp-content/uploads/sites/293/2022/06/Reusable-Packaging-Literature-Review.pdf
[5] https://www.reusables.org/reusable-packaging/environmental-impact/
[6] https://www.reusables.org/reusable-packaging/environmental-impact/
[7] https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
[8] https://www.reusables.org/reusable-packaging/environmental-impact/
[9] https://www.pvpallet.com/sustainability
[10] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/reusable-plastic-packaging/
[11] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/reusable-plastic-packaging/