Sustainability in Packaging: A Glossary of Terms

Amcor is the first global packaging company to pledge that all of its packaging will be recyclable or reusable by 2025, directly addressing a major environmental issue with capability, scale and reach. Find out more about the Pledge and our commitment to sustainability.

ASSET is Amcor’s advanced sustainability stewardship evaluation tool, which is used to generate life-cycle data that enables our customers to compare different packaging options. ASSET compares the performance of a brand’s current packaging with the proposed packaging, looking at everything from non-renewable primary energy demand and carbon footprint to water consumption and weight.

Materials derived from renewable sources such as corn, sugar cane, or trees.

Recycling process where polymer chains are reduced to constituent components through chemical processes. These components can be reconstituted into plastics, or alternatively used in plastics-to-fuel processes. Chemical recycling is not common today, though there are several pilots and new technologies under development.

A circular economy is one that aims to move away from the consumption of finite resources by designing waste out of the system. Underpinned by a transition to renewable resources, it’s based on three key principles:
• Design out waste and pollution.
• Keep products and materials in use.
• Regenerate natural systems.

Closed-loop recycling indicates that a product can be recycled back into itself (as in bottle-to-bottle recycling), while open-loop recycling indicates that it is recycled into other types of products (e.g. bottle into fiber).

Materials that biodegrade in a commercially managed or home composting system according to the relevant industry standards.

This term refers to packaging that is recyclable and has proven to be recyclable in practice and at scale. Whether or not it’s able to be recycled in practice depends very much on the local recycling infrastructure. At Amcor, we believe the first step in is designing products for recycling. We go the next step too, working across the supply chain and with selected sustainability partners to implement waste management systems and drive up rates of recovery and recycling worldwide.

Recycling where the material is used for a different purpose, for example PET bottles recycled into clothing. Very often the new product cannot be easily recycled again, or the material cannot be recycled for its original purpose, or “upcycled”.

Using less of certain materials (e.g., moving to thinner films) to reduce a product’s lifecycle impact and minimize costs.

The EMF is a British non-profit that aims to rethink and redesign a positive future through the framework of a circular economy. It was founded in 2010 by yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur, with founding partners B&Q, BT, Cisco, National Grid and Renault.

Amcor is a sponsor of the EMF’s New Plastics Economy (NPE) initiative. The NPE is a three-year initiative to build momentum towards “a plastics system that works”. Applying the principles of the circular economy, it brings together key stakeholders to rethink and redesign the future of plastics, starting with packaging.

A facility designed to sequester waste while minimizing environmental impacts from leakage to the environment including blown debris, groundwater contamination, and methane release.

In October 2018, Amcor signed the Global Commitment, which unites businesses and governments around the world to create a plastic system that works. Represented among the hundreds of signatories are producers, brands, retailers, investors, recyclers, governments, nongovernmental organisations, and others. Read more

LCA is a technique used to assess the environmental impacts associated with every stage of a product's life, from raw material extraction through to materials processing, manufacturing, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling.

LCAs measure everything from water, energy and raw materials inputs to outputs into the air, land and water. Typally LCAs are used to compare two or more packaging choices to demonstrate benefits or potential trade-offs of design and material.

Taking a lifecycle view is essential to avoid making improvements in one area that are unknowingly detrimental to another.

Reducing packaging weight to promote environmental sustainability and minimize costs.

An example of lightweighting is Amcor’s work to develop the industry’s lightest heat set 500mL PET container for PepsiCo Latin America’s Lipton brand. It is 30% lighter, with greenhouse gas emissions down by 27%, energy use down by 28%, and water use down by 28%.

Packaging which has a lower life cycle carbon footprint than alternatives, e.g. due to material selection, design, or improved recycling performance.

Recycling process where the material polymer chains remain intact. Mechanical recycling typically includes sorting, cleaning, and melting the material. Mechanical recycling is currently the most common method to recycle plastics.

NIR is one type of optical sorting technology that enables plastic packaging to be separated by polymer type into different plastic recycling streams. It is already used in Germany, with other countries planning to introduce it soon.

Similar automated technologies for sorting plastics include Fourier-transform spectroscopy and optical color recognition systems.

Efficient separation remains a challenge due to different shapes and formats of plastic packaging, labels, coatings, and inks that can slow or impede analysis. One element of designing packaging to be recyclable is to facilitate better sorting of materials.

Ocean Conservancy is a non-profit environmental organization focused on marine health. It organizes the annual International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest ocean-related volunteer event. In 2016, over half a million volunteers removed more than 18 million pounds of rubbish from beaches and the water itself. The data collected by volunteers during the cleanup is valuable for better understanding the huge challenge of plastic in our oceans.

Amcor collaborate with Ocean Conservancy to improve the effectiveness of waste management and prevent plastics from entering the ocean. In 2016, Amcor colleagues from across the globe participated in the International Coastal Cleanup event.

Materials that have served their purpose (have been used by the consumer) and subsequently been recycled to produce a new product.

Packaging that meets accepted design standards for recyclability, i.e. packaging with the right attributes for successful collection, sorting, and recycling in the real world.*

*This claim is a general guidance and does not mean the packaging can be recycled currently everywhere in the world. Its ability to be recycled by consumers will depend on the specificities of the recycling programs that consumers have access to in each market/geography. As such, it doesn’t constitute a recyclability claim according ISO14021, the FTC Green Guides or any other local standard. Our packaging experts can provide further information about recyclability for specific markets/ geographies. Independent expert legal advice should be considered before making recyclability claims in specific markets / geographies

Recycling streams refer to the categories that materials are sorted into to prepare for sale into the market. In terms of packaging, common streams are aluminium, paper, Polyolefins (PO) for flexible plastics and PET for rigid plastics.

A resin identification code specifies what type of plastic a package or product is made from, such as PET or polypropylene (PP). It does not imply whether the package is recyclable or not.

Raw materials sourced from socially and environmentally responsible suppliers, as confirmed by certification schemes, such as ASI (Aluminium Stewardship Initiative) or FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council).

Packaging that is refilled or used again for its original purpose.

A system in which all materials to be recycled are collected in one mixed container, instead of being pre-sorted. It tends to encourage more items to be put out for recycling, but adds cost to the process and can negatively impact the quality of the recycled materials.

A focus on responsible sourcing practices and an approach to using and re-using materials more productively over their entire life cycles. Amcor’s strategy for minimizing its environmental footprint is to choose materials based on their ability to protect the product as well as their environmental footprint.

Ensuring that suppliers also source sustainable materials is a crucial part of this. Amcor requires major suppliers to undergo an EcoVadis assessment so that we can be sure of good practice in their environmental governance.