Editorial | Victoria Hattersley

EDITORIAL |

IN this month’s edition we’re inviting you to consider the process of selecting the packaging material with the best overall impact on sustainability. We have always emphasized the complexity of the sustainability landscape and the need to approach it in a holistic manner – and over the page our cover feature by Mondi expands on this idea by looking at how the entire packaging supply chain must work together to mitigate its environmental impact.

But before that we’d like to actively involve you in a real-life sustainable packaging specification project. At Packaging Europe we’re committed to advancing the sustainability of packaged goods, and we recognize that this has to include thinking about the environmental footprint of this very magazine. As such, we’ve been exploring the available options for mailing the magazine to our readers all over Europe. We’ve considered feasibility and impacts on end-of-life outcomes, resource efficiency and cost. We’ve eliminated some products (such as oxo-degradable film) on the basis that they would provide a worse environmental outcome than the current LDPE wrapping, and we’ve settled on three available options, plus one alternative that would require some added innovation. These are: the current polyethylene film, compostable film, a paper envelope, or a packaging-free option.

Now we’d like your feedback. Please take a moment to click on our survey at packagingeurope.com/magwrap, or use the QR code on this page, read through our assessment of the implications of the respective options, and let us know which one you – from both a professional and consumer point of view – would like us to select. We’ll let you know the response we have and the next steps in this project. But now, more on this month’s edition which you will notice has something of an ‘e-commerce’ flavour. First, Elisabeth Skoda casts an eye over some of the most noteworthy recent developments in primary packaging geared towards e-commerce. Meanwhile Fin Slater interviews drone delivery company Wing about how drones are slowly but surely stealing a march on the home delivery landscape. And last, but arguably not least, I have been exploring the implications for the boom in online ordering when it comes to pharmaceutical supply chain security.

Other highlights include the next in an ongoing series of exclusive articles from CEFLEX – this time discussing the importance of more efficient collection systems to ensure a circular economy in flexibles. For our regular On Second Thoughts… column we welcome back Jocelyne Ehret of TheRightPackaging, who explains why reusable packaging is not always the most sustainable option.

Incidentally, this last topic was explored in more depth by Jocelyne and fellow panellists Tracy Sutton and Catherine Rouanet in a recent live discussion as part of our Sustainable Packaging Summit. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that you can sign up free to view this, or any of our other Summit broadcasts that pique your interest, at PackagingSummit.earth/join.

I hope you all enjoy what remains of the summer and we look forward to seeing at least some of you at FachPack in September. n

Victoria Hattersley

Victoria Hattersley

vh@packagingeurope.com @PackEuropeVicky