We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Sustainability takes center stage at PackExpo

Sustainability takes center stage at PackExpo

Virtual trade show highlights trends in sustainable packaging, driven by growing consumer demand for green solutions in a post-Covid-19 world.

Sustainability a key topic at Pack Expo 2020
November 11, 2020
Victoria Kickham
No Comments

Demand for sustainable packaging solutions has grown steadily in recent years, and industry-watchers say the trend is accelerating in a post Covid-19 world as consumers reassess their values and demand even greener solutions from consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies.

The trend is everywhere at this week’s Pack Expo Connects, an online version of the annual Pack Expo trade show, which focuses on packaging innovations for a range of vertical markets. Highlighting the demand for sustainable packaging, the event featured for the first time a “sustainability track” of educational sessions designed to showcase some of the newest innovations in green packaging as well as companies leading the way in implementing them.

“There is now a broad recognition across the board that packaging of the future needs to be developed with the end in mind and contribute to a circular economy,” Fabio Peyer, sustainability director at Amcor Flexibles North America, said during a presentation about the company’s portfolio of recycle-ready solutions for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home, and personal care industries.

Others echoed those sentiments in the opening days of the event, which runs through this Friday, November 13. Some of the key trends and technologies discussed include recyclable packaging materials and demand for durable, returnable packaging solutions.

Packaging companies are increasingly trying to include more recycled content in their products—to reach their own sustainability goals and to meet customer demand, according to Alison Zitzke, a senior product manager for reusable packaging solutions company Orbis Corporation. Another key goal: Ensuring that packaging can be 100% recycled at the end of its life. Both goals can be difficult to achieve and expensive for many reasons, but companies are setting incremental goals to get there, and demand is growing, Zitke and others said. 

To address that demand, Orbis unveiled a plastic pallet during the show that is made of 100% recycled material and is also completely recyclable at the end of its life. The 40 x 48 Odyssey pallet includes optional steel reinforcements that can be removed for recycling at end-of-life and molded-in frictional elements that eliminate the tendency for plastic pallets to slip in certain applications. The heavy-duty, rackable pallet is designed for food and beverage industries, but can be used in a range of other applications as well, Zitke said.

Most importantly, it meets the accelerating demand for greener packaging throughout the supply chain.

“[We’re providing] even more recycled content in our products—with the Odyssey and with others,” she explained. “So we can tell our story, but so customers can tell theirs, too.”

Another emerging trend: durable, returnable packaging that hearkens back to the “milkman” model. Returnable packaging company Loop is working with CPGs to create customized, zero-waste solutions for household goods—primarily grocery and health/beauty items. Products are delivered to customers in reusable containers (stainless steel and other materials) that are then picked up when empty, washed, refilled, and restocked for delivery to other customers. Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of Loop’s parent company TerraCycle,  referred to the service as a “platform for re-use” during a presentation with CPG partner Seventh Generation, which is using the service with three of its products—two types of dish liquid and a laundry detergent.

“This is something that’s completely brand new for Seventh Generation,” said Kelly Murosky, senior packaging engineer at Seventh Generation, noting that the company’s three products are being delivered in stainless steel containers designed to seamlessly flow through its production lines, like a plastic bottle would.

Demand for such solutions will only grow in a post-pandemic landscape, according to Devorah Kaufman of research firm Euromonitor International.

“Surprisingly, sustainability is more important than ever,” Kaufman said during a round-up presentation on the sustainable packaging and processing landscape. “The [Covid-19] outbreak has affected consumer values, elevating interest in sustainability as well as broader social welfare issues. Consumers are re-assessing the things they value most, turning their back on excess consumerism, and demanding more from the companies they buy from and work for … A sense of purpose is now the key to connect with consumers.”

Order Fulfillment & Packing Cartons & Containers Green Logistics
KEYWORDS Pack Expo
  • Related Articles

    Greener by the day: A look at some recent supply chain sustainability initiatives

    The Logistics Matters podcast: The pandemic spawns new sustainability standards; risk mitigation gets a fresh look; supply chains brace for a vaccine rollout | Season 1 Episode 23

    Covid-19 will continue to dominate legislative agenda

Victoria kickham headshot
Victoria Kickham started her career as a newspaper reporter in the Boston area before moving into B2B journalism. She has covered manufacturing, distribution and supply chain issues for a variety of publications in the industrial and electronics sectors, and now writes about everything from forklift batteries to omnichannel business trends for DC Velocity.

Recent Articles by Victoria Kickham

Storms deliver another punch to challenged supply chains

Demand for drivers on the rise in foodservice industry

Tive, FourKites partner to improve shipment visibility

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Relaxed regulations for drone parcel delivery to take effect in March

  • IBM survey says digitalization trends will sweep trucking industry by 2030

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • Increasing Urgency for Vaccine Supplies Drives Launch of New Vaccine Manufacturing Resources on Thomasnet.com

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Ef7899d1 1c83 487b 9291 8af692931c96

myQ Dock Management

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Introducing myQ Dock Management. Connect your loading dock equipment and iDock Controls from Poweramp, McGuire, or DLM to the cloud and view your loading activity online with myQ Dock Management.Facilities with myQ can monitor the real-time status of their docks and be proactive in improving efficiency and safety. ...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

  • Shaping Up Last Mile Delivery to Surpass Customer Expectations

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing