MANUFACTURING
Sustainable Packaging
Pharma to take care of the planet With the global sustainable packaging market estimated at US$220 billion in 2018 and projected to reach US$280 billion by 2025, sustainability has become an important part of the overall brand image story for many pharmaceutical companies. Maria Ferrante, Senior Director, Marketing and Communications, PMMI
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he top five drivers of this move to sustainability, according to the Packaging Sustainability: A Changing Landscape report from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, include brand perception, competitive pressure, environmental advocates, top-down company culture and good stewards of the planet. While a major focus for many, nearly two out of three brand owners participating in the PMMI report cited added cost as the top reason their sustainable packaging initiatives have slowed. While the package is a vital part of any sustainability strategy, how the prod-
uct gets into the package also warrants consideration. Solutions such as integrated monitoring and more flexible machinery can aid pharmaceutical manufacturers in improving the sustainability of their packaging operations through improvements in areas such as packaging material loss and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). With sustainability an important driver, Changes in materials and packaging formats to improve these efforts has an impact on machinery and operations. Technology advances are also driving efficiency, which, in turn, will assist with sustainability efforts. Industry 4.0 will
utilise automation, robotics and artificial intelligence to increase the efficiency of packaging operations. These advances will enable the identification of problems before they occur, reducing material waste and product loss. The PMMI report outlines five top functional machine improvements that have the greatest impact on manufacturing operations when moving to more sustainable packaging: • Reliability: Machines need to reliably handle a wide range of substrates, sizes and shapes. When making adjustments on any part of the machine, there should be an indicator that signals achievement of accurate parameters. • Flexibility: Equipment must account for material variances as the trend of lightweighting continues to grow. Machines need to be flexible enough to account for variations in material thickness and maintain throughput, pass inspection and minimise rejection rates. In general, new machines need to be easier to use, service and clean. • Automated changeover: There needs to be more precise settings for automatic changeover to achieve greater accuracy when moving from product to product, which could include material or size changes. Strive to standardise and simplify changeover procedures. • Cleanability: Cleanability is a top-of-mind concern for machine
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