Circular Economy - Q1 2024

Circular

Mark Lapping CEO, Aquapak

Packaging solution enables efficient recycling and circular economy practices

Following a 10-year R&D process, Aquapak launched Hydropol™ based on thermally processed polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), which has some key differences from conventional PVOH (the plastic currently used for dishwasher tablets, ingestible pill casings and soluble stitches).

Hydropol™ is a highly functional polymer, providing an alternative to traditional plastics and supporting the circular economy by offering the same versatility and functionality. It is scientifically proven to be soluble, non-toxic and marine-safe.

Biodegradable packaging solution

Products made with Hydropol™ are safe for existing recycling processes and fully biodegradable, leaving no trace or microplastic pollution should they enter the environment. It is used for extrusion coatings and laminates for paper and paperboard applications, including ecommerce envelopes, packaging for dried pet food, snacks and convenience foods. After use, consumers can simply put the packaging into their kerbside paper recycling collection bags or bins, mitigating the existing recycling confusion they face.

The Hydropol™ layer is formulated to ‘wash off’ and dissolve during the paper repulping process, facilitating the recovery of valuable recyclable materials that would otherwise go to landfill or incineration.

Evaluated fibre-based packaging

The effectiveness of Hydropol™ is supported by 4evergreen, the European body committed to

Paid for by Aquapak

perfecting the circularity and sustainability of fibre-based packaging. Its independent scientific assessment of Hydropol™ technology using its Recyclability Evaluation Protocol — the European gold standard for assessing paper recyclability — shows that not only does it confer barrier properties and functionality to paper, but it aids the recycling of paper with 100% recovery of fibres.

Efficiency and easy recycling

It can also be used in blown film products such as garment bags, which can be disposed of at home after use by immersing in hot water or by recycling. Organic waste bags made with Hydropol™ can be put in green waste collections or recycled and laundry bags for infection control can safely go into regulated hospital and healthcare disposal systems.

Global business Aquapak Polymers Ltd develops and manufactures a range of innovative polymer-based material technologies that deliver both performance and environmental responsibility at scale. Aquapak’s HQ and manufacturing centre is in Birmingham, UK, where its team of 100 scientists and packaging experts are based, serving its main geographical markets in the US, EU and Asia.

Setting realistic goals to help address climate adaptation needs

Henry Neufeldt Chief Scientific Editor, UNEP Adaptation Gap Report

The number of adaptation actions funded by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has not increased for about a decade despite projects getting bigger.

Underfunded. Underprepared. That is the title of the latest UNEP Adaptation Gap Report, which shows that progress in adaptation to climate change is slowing on all fronts: planning, implementation and finance.

Finance gap for climate adaptation efforts

The report provides an in-depth update — with new data — of developing countries’ adaptation finance needs, showing a steep increase compared to earlier assessments to a plausible central range of US$ 215–387 billion per year. Meanwhile, adaptation finance flows in the form of international public support to developing countries have declined by 15% from the previous year to US$ 21 billion.

The countries and people affected most are typically those least able to cope with the impacts.

Reaching realistic climate goals

The resulting gap between flows and needs suggests that the current adaptation finance meets just 5–10% of the needs. Doubling 2019 finance levels by 2025 to roughly US$ 40 billion, as urged in the Glasgow Climate Pact, would only narrow the gap by another 5–10%.

While losses and damages are mounting quickly and will be many times more costly than mitigation and adaptation, the countries and people affected most are typically those least able to cope with the impacts.

What can be done for climate action progress?

During the COP28 negotiations in Dubai, the international community has made important headways towards softening the impending climate catastrophe. The loss and damage fund was operationalised and the framework for the global goal of adaptation, the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, was agreed.

More progress needs to be made regarding adaptation finance during COP29 in Baku at the end of this year, which will negotiate the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance. Likewise, by strengthening adaptation finance and action, developing nations will be more able to deal with climate shocks.

While COP29 agreed on a statement to ‘transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science,’ a historical first, only strong mitigation action toward net zero will show whether this is more than lip service.

Asfaha Social & Web Editor: Henry Phillips Digital Content Editor: Carolina Galbraith Duarte | All images supplied by Gettyimages, unless otherwise specified

Scaling reusable and returnable packaging to tackle today’s plastics crisis

Brands and companies have the opportunity to embrace a reusable packaging revolution in order to tackle the ongoing plastics crisis.

Mark

Buckley Programme Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Packaging is an important part of our everyday lives. From drink bottles to food containers, it is everywhere. In the fight against plastic waste and pollution, championing packaging that can be returned and reused will be critical.

Urgent need to adopt reusable packaging

Today, the use of reusable packaging remains at a small scale, remaining flat at just 1–2% since 2018. Although voluntary efforts have shown some progress in combating plastic waste and pollution, a substantial transition towards reuse is necessary to effectively reduce worldwide virgin plastic usage.

Our current linear economy is depleting our natural resources and cannot work in the long term. By 2050, it is estimated that plastic production alone could swallow 15% of the carbon budget we have left to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius.

Benefits of transition to circular economy for packaging

potential to reduce the annual volume of plastics entering our oceans by 80%, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a quarter and create 700,000 net additional jobs.

Impact of returnable plastics model

‘Unlocking a reuse revolution: scaling returnable packaging’ (a recent study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation) has shown that returnable plastic packaging has the potential to offer significant environmental benefits and, if designed correctly, can economically compete with single-use plastics for some products.

Plastic production alone could swallow 15% of the carbon budget we have left to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius.

In contrast, a circular economy for plastics is one where we eliminate all problematic and unnecessary plastic items; innovate to ensure that the plastics we do need are reusable, recyclable or compostable; and circulate all the plastic items we use to keep them in the economy and out of the environment.

By 2040, a circular economy for plastics has the

Putting people and the planet at the heart of consumer health

With the health of people inextricably linked to the welfare of the planet, it’s a natural step for a consumer health company to adopt an ethos that embraces both.

Consumer health company

Haleon is identifying opportunities to evaluate and refine its processes to reduce its environmental impact.

For Sustainability Director Joseph Muscat, it’s an opportunity that aligns directly with the company’s overarching purpose. “We’re focused on delivering better everyday health with humanity,” he says. “The health of people and the health of the planet are connected. The more degraded the environment, the worse the outcomes on people’s health.”

Circularity for consumer health

In the most ambitious scenario, it could even lower greenhouse gas emissions and water use by up to 70% compared with single-use plastics.

To kickstart a reuse revolution, leaders from across the private, public and finance sectors must take a fresh, collaborative approach to build shared infrastructure, create packaging standards and reach higher return rates.

This cannot be achieved overnight. To make return models at scale a reality, we must see increased ambition from brands and retailers and supportive policies for emerging new reuse systems. We cannot delay. Now is the time for brands, policymakers and investors across the value chain to embrace the reuse revolution and champion a new approach to packaging.

Please read below for more information on the steps that Haleon, a Member of Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Network, are taking to reduce their environmental impact.

The group is working to move to a more circular model with the aim of making all packaging recyclable

or reusable by 2030, where quality, safety and regulations allow. The company set itself a target to make 1 billion recycle-ready toothpaste tubes by 2025.

According to Muscat, a deep understanding of materials was essential to working toward this milestone. “We aim to design products that work with existing or emerging infrastructure; we have to look carefully at the materials used and how they interact with the wider economy.”

Haleon has already rolled out more than 1.2 billion recycleready Sensodyne, Aquafresh and parodontax tubes, two years ahead of its target. However, making the tubes is only half the battle.

Working together Collaboration across the value chain with partners and suppliers has been crucial. “We recognise that to drive systemic change, we need to work with partners within and beyond our sector to improve market acceptance of recyclable packaging and create more effective recycling systems,” says Muscat.

The company has been working with peers like Colgate-Palmolive and a third-party partner to collect data showing compatibility of toothpaste tubes with the widely collected high-density polyethylene rigid recycling stream, with promising results on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, the tubes have been classified as being widely recyclable.

Responsible design for the future

Haleon’s longer-term ambition for packaging innovation explores bolder possibilities driven by responsible design principles. “Our R&D Future Horizons packaging team is co-developing high potential packaging formats and materials which offer an absolute reduction in plastic use and carbon footprint. One example being our upstream cellulose-based innovation program on bottles and blisters. We intend to play a role in creating a future for consumer health packaging which is more sustainable and more inclusively designed.”

WRITTEN BY Mark Nicholls

In July 2022, Haleon demerged from GlaxoSmithKline, becoming the UK’s first publicly listed pure-play consumer health company with a stable of globally market-leading brands, including Sensodyne toothpaste and Centrum multivitamins. Find out more at haleon.com

Joseph Muscat Sustainability Director, Haleon

Expanding sustainable flexible packaging globally with polypropylene film

Discover sustainable packaging solutions with recyclable polypropylene film. It’s lightweight, efficient and low-carbon plus accessible globally.

Consumers have increasingly been demanding more sustainable packaging. Flexible packaging (think pouches for coffee, nuts, pet food or grated cheese) represents the lowest carbon packaging option for a wide variety of products. It is lightweight, efficient and easily transported even over great distances.

Recyclable flexible packaging with polypropylene

The challenge for flexible packaging is to make it recyclable as it often is made from mixed material laminates that are hard to separate. One solution involves utilising mono-material packs crafted from polypropylene (PP). This material stands out for its exceptional functionality, affordability and minimal carbon footprint. It’s locally manufactured in the UK, with global production sites ensuring timely supply to international customers across industries including food and beverage, as well as home and personal care.

PP film: an eco-friendly, versatile option Recyclers have a lot of experience in recycling polypropylene material; think of yoghurt pots and ice cream tubs here in the UK. New recycling streams for PP film are now under development, which will allow waste film to be recycled back into film — closing the loop and supporting a circular economy for packaging.

Unrecyclable mixed polymer laminates can be replaced with all-PP recyclable versions in nearly all applications, including those with high technical demands, like retort pouches. Every product requires a tailormade packaging solution, accounting for the different ingredients and composition, to ensure product safety and shelf life for the consumer. The modern R&D laboratories that we have at our Wigton site, which are focused on materials science, are crucial to this.

Moreover, PP is increasingly produced from renewable, non-fossil sources, bolstering PP film as an eco-friendly packaging material — made in the UK.

Paid for by Innovia Films

Alasdair McEwen Business Unit Director Packaging EMEA, Innovia Films

Three things we need to do for low-carbon cities

MCities account for over 70% of global carbon emissions. How can they step up their efforts to get us back on track to meet our climate goals?

ore than 13,000 cities have made political commitments to cut emissions. Many have had some success: emissions per capita fell by more than 20% in metropolitan regions in OECD Europe, North America and Oceania over the last 20 years.

Yet, even in Europe, where per capita metropolitan emissions are the lowest, they will need to fall by more than a third by 2030 to reach net zero by 2050. The scale of the challenge requires new thinking and systems — ones that embed the climate priority across urban policies and programmes. There are three areas where cities can start.

Transforming urban planning and design

reduced cooling needs and carbon sequestration potential. More than half of OECD cities have undergone deforestation during the last two decades, which highlights the need for urgent action. Barcelona has set a goal to expand its green areas by 1.6 km2 by 2030. Cities such as Basel, Seoul and Toronto use regulation and tax incentives to promote green roofs.

Smarter urban design is not just about optimising the structure of individual buildings but proximity to urban services to minimise travel.

New digital models (including urban twins) can help optimise urban design to minimise energy consumption and carbon emissions. Smarter urban design is not just about optimising the structure of individual buildings but proximity to urban services to minimise travel — and deploying new technology such as district heating. For example, in Vancouver, the Regional Growth Strategy stimulates growth in transit corridors and promotes working and playing close to home, which can reduce vehicle kilometres travelled.

Promoting natural space

This can transform cities from ‘concrete jungles’ to more attractive and liveable spaces, with

Transitioning from a linear to circular economy

This can create new business opportunities and help reach carbon neutrality, through effective materials management policies, prevention of material consumption, eco-design and reuse (OECD, 2019). The business sector plays a key role in advancing a circular economy. In Lisbon, the Lisbon Commitment to a circular economy has been endorsed by more than 200 organisations. Together, these actions will pave the way to greener, cleaner cities — and maybe get us back on track in tackling the climate crisis.

Tadashi Matsumoto Head of Sustainable Urban Development Unit, OECD