Concern about sustainability hasn't died down

As the cost of living increases across Europe, consumers are more conscious of their spending habits and selective with their product choices. Even so, the topic of sustainabilty has never been as acute. It still ranks as one of the top priorities when choosing between brands, with over a third of customers basing their buying decisions on it.(1)

While consumers and companies alike are interested in making sustainability-focused choices, how to do so isn’t always clear. According to Mintel, half of consumers are unsure which sustainability commitments they can really trust: 49% of them say they do not have any information to verify the sustainability claims of products. On the brands' side, making a packaging sustainability claim can be complex. Even for something as common as a claim of "recyclable" packaging, there are not always clear guidelines to follow, and what meets the criteria to be recyclable can vary from one country to another.

So how do you go about making a good sustainability claim? Claims should be clearly stated, factual, simple, meaningful to consumers, and fit on limited pack space. Whew! The good news is there are systems that can help. On-pack recycling labels like OPRL in the UK aim to deliver a simple, consistent recycling message on packaging to help consumers recycle correctly, more often. By applying the OPRL label on their pack, some of our Home Care customers have empowered their customers through clear sorting instructions.

Sustainability-related packaging claims can touch on a variety of topics, such as responsible sourcing, reduced carbon footprint, reduced plastic use or recyclability.

Let's imagine you redesign your dishwasher tablet packaging from non-recyclable to now be recyclable. How do you make a claim that strengthens your brand's reputation by sharing this sustainability advantage?

The first step is to make sure that the new packaging is technically recyclable, and collect information on the infrastructure available to your consumers.

A legal and risk assessment for the regions where the claim will be made should be performed. We recommend an independent assessment to verify recyclability in the real world. The overall life cycle assessment environmental performance of the new packaging should show an improvement compared to the previous pack. Along with recyclability, your brand can communicate on the carbon footprint reduction.

We have conducted over 12 000 pacakaging Lifecycle Assesments for our customers over the past years and have supported them with designing and certifying their more sustainable packaging. For further guidance on how to make specific, accurate and transparent claims, get in touch with our experts.

Europe has put legislation in motion to reduce packaging waste

Along with consumer willingness to move toward more sustainable products, new sustainability regulations that directly affect FMCG packaging are being rolled out by legislators across Europe.

For example, the UK Plastics Pact, led by WRAP, sets targets for UK plastic packaging to be 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and 70% of plastic packaging to be recycled in practice, by 2025. Meeting these targets requires a step-change in product packaging, including designing packaging for optimal recyclability and increasing the use of recycled content.

Another change coming up is the revision of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD). The PPWD requires Member States to set up systems for collection of used packaging for reuse or recovery, including recycling, in order to meet the PPWD’s targets.The revision of the PPWD will establish the waste hierarchy, set a definition for “recycling” and introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in countries where it is not yet in place. The deadline for EPR implementation is set for 2024 in the European Union.

Now is the time to prepare for these changes and let consumers know about packaging sustainability improvements you make. We encourage Home Care brands to look for opportunities to use more sustainable packaging, design for recyclability and introduce recycled content when possible.

To get you started on this transition, you can take advantage of ASSET™, Amcor’s in-house life-cycle assessment tool certified by The Carbon Trust. ASSET™ gives you the data you need this understand the often invisible impacts of your pack. You can compare, for example, the performance of our recycle-ready films, against a non-recyclable solution.

Making the switch to a Home Care packaging solution that is recycle-ready will help you get ahead of upcoming legislation in most European countries, and pursue your sustainability goals.

Home Care packaging solutions to engage with consumers

Providing more sustainable choices for consumers is a priority, so how do you put sustainability at the core of your packaging strategy? We advise our customers to start with an assesment and focus on what will make a difference with their customers.

For example, transitioning away from heavy containers and bottles to lightweight pouches can be a first step. Flexible pouches can support refill products for rigid containers and offer up to 90% packaging weight reduction, with a 65% lower carbon footprint.

To help your brand meet both business and consumer demand for more sustainable and recyclable packaging for Home and Personal Care products, Amcor launched a recycle-ready portfolio, AmPrima®, in the US in 2020 and in Europe in March 2022. AmPrima® for Home and Personal Care meets all the same performance expectations of non-recyclable laminates, in a recycle-ready format. It enables a smooth transition, while maintaining production efficiency and enhancing brand appeal.

The Amcor AmPrima® range includes mono-PP and mono-PE pouches for dry and liquid fill applications, that will run on commercial filling equipment at speeds surpassing other mono-material options. __And to improve circularity, AmPrima® for Home and Personal Care has the option to include post-consumer recycled (PCR) content too. __

AmPrima® is recycle-ready today in most European countries and designed according to The Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging (CEFLEX) guidelines and certified by the Institute cyclos-HTP for recyclability in the real world. It is currently available in a range of full-PE and full-PP formats, targeting even the most demanding applications in terms of product protection, packaging convenience, and runnability on packaging lines.

Our packaging experts are here to help you meet the rising expectations of your consumers. Get in touch with us today to talk about ways to partner on your sustainability journey, or find out more here.

(1) Mintel :16 000 global online consumers aged 16/18+ April 2022