Hello! I think I mentioned some time ago that I joined the Board of the Association of Visual Packaging Manufacturers? Anywho, every year during Pack Expo the AVPM holds an annual meeting for its membership, where speakers ranging from CPG representatives to industry thought leaders present on issues important to the industry.
A couple weeks ago one of our Sales guys asked me about changes to California’s Rigid Plastic Packaging Container (hereafter, RPPC) regulation, which to my knowledge, required those selling plastic containers that had “multiple closers” i.e. capable of being closed and re-closed with a lid, implement some type of environmental performance indicator into the package design; be it by adding recycled content, reducing the product-to-package ratio, etc. The legislative bit on “multiple closers” exempt the majority of retail packaging—like RF sealed clamshells and trapped blisters—from the regulation, insofar as the containers were designed to be opened only once by the consumer in an attempt to reduce pilferage.
In January 2013 the regulation changed how it defined “RPPC;” now, packages capable of one or more closures were included, as were those packages with non-plastic handles or hinges i.e. trapped blister packages. Yikes. How did I not know about this? I called my friend at CalRecycle—the governmental organization tasked with implementing the various EPR-ish regulations—asking what the environmental goal of the revision is. My friend told me he would do some digging, hopefully getting back to me with a contact I could reach out to in these regards…
So back to the AVPM. We were tossing around ideas for possible Pack Expo presenters when Victor Bell, President and CEO of Environmental Packaging International, popped up. I had—through the tip from my Sales guy—learned of these alleged CA RPPC revisions, though I was having a difficult time understanding how they might impact our business. Aware of Victor’s background in legislative-compliance issues for the international packaging community, I suggested to the Board that we reach out to him, requesting an update on the regulation in order to stay current in a rapidly evolving political terrain.
I was emailing with Victor, getting his bio, presentation abstract, etc., when he referenced “the integration of the GPPS metrics into GS1” as the second portion of his presentation. What the what? What is “GS1” I inquired; call me, he responded.
Holey Toledo again I am having my mind blown. Remember the Walmart Packaging Scorecard??? The thing that basically propelled me into the world of sustainable packaging, sending a jolt throughout the packaging supply chain that continues to reverberate today? Well, it’s gone, poof!
Turns out, the metrics of the Walmart Scorecard were sucked up by the Global Packaging Project’s “Protocol on Packaging and Sustainability,” which, as I have blogged about before, is a coalition of retailers, CPGs and their suppliers, who spent the last couple years developing a standardized approach to assessing and reporting the sustainability of packaging sold at retail. This multi-stakeholder endeavor also incorporates the ISO standards on Packaging and the Environment and the EU’s “Essential Requirements,” making it the ideal tool for communicating sustainability credentials throughout the supply chain.
Now, marry this GPPS tool for standardizing environmental performance, measuring, and reporting with the universal bar code system, where in addition to product weight one will soon be able to access packaging material type and recyclability, and you begin to see the FUTURE of sustainability and packaging.
Let's say J&J want to introduce a new shampoo bottle product at retail. In order to be issued a bar code to allow for sale at retail, one must “register” of sorts the new product, including providing information relating to the product’s weight, shelf life, cube utilization, etc. Now, in addition to providing this performance-related data, CPG suppliers will also have the opportunity to submit information corresponding to the GPPS standardized metrics for assessing packaging and sustainability. How cool is that?! Collaboration gives way to consistency and efficiency, I like it!
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