The UK packaging industry is calling for the phrase ‘sustainable packaging’ to be scrapped amid demands for the government to expand its understanding of the environmental impact of the full lifecycle of products, according to a new report released today (25 June) by tax advisory company, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The PwC report ‘Sustainable Packaging: Myth or Reality’ concluded that the phrase ‘sustainable packaging’ was used by the government as an umbrella term to cover many aspects of sustainability and is largely proving to be a ‘red herring’. The report went on to suggest that the government should be focusing on ensuring that packaging delivers maximum sustainability throughout the entire supply chain and is recoverable after use. Companies including the Packaging Federation, INCPEN, Diageo, Boots, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble (P&G) unanimously agreed that the phrase ‘sustainable packaging’ should be phased out.

“The consensus around what represents sustainable packaging has developed significantly in the past few years. The debates about lightweighting, recycled content or recyclability as the ultimate measures of how sustainable a package is, have been replaced by a more holistic debate around the product, the package and their use from inception to postconsumer use”, said Peter White, Director of Global Sustainability at consumer product company, P&G.

PwC’s report revisited four stakeholder groups: retailers, packaging producers, fast-moving consumer goods companies (FMCG) and government and trade bodies two years after asking what sustainable packaging meant to them, to see if the perceptions they held then were still valid now. It found that sustainability investment has increased rather than decreased during the economic downturn, and that packaging companies are increasingly communicating with their suppliers, retailers and customers to ensure that ‘the objectives for sustainable packaging are aligned’. The report also highlighted concerns over a national shortage of packaging technicians, scarcity of raw material supplies and the seeming lack of political interest in tackling the core issues.

PwC’s Global Sustainability Leader, Malcolm Preston, said: “The conclusions in the report show how fast-paced the industry is in developing new technologies and the use of exciting materials but we need to stop using the phrase sustainable packaging. The industry is working towards efficient products, efficient packaging, efficient transport and efficient end-of-life solutions.”

Preston went on to call on a closer partnership between parliament and the packaging industry: “It is time now for government and industry to engage in a cycle of collaboration to tackle the issues raised in our report.”

Jane Bickerstaffe, Chief Executive of INCPEN, an international packaging research organisation, said: “The industry is streets ahead of the government in the work it is doing but politicians are only interested in packaging once its lifecycle has ended. Government needs to understand it isn’t all about recycling. Packaging only makes up around five per cent of landfill waste and two per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and issues such as food waste should be much bigger concerns.”

Her views were echoed by Dick Searle, Chief Executive of the Packaging Federation, who said: “It is quite a brave step for the industry to admit that sustainable packaging doesn’t actually exist. It is no more than a red herring. The next step is for us to work to ensure we have a resource efficient economy and tackle the rise in consumption and appalling levels of food waste.”

The full report can be found on the PwC website.