How to Create Sustainable Spirits Packaging
Designing and manufacturing sustainable spirits packaging requires a universal understanding of the actual bottle, the manufacturing process, transportation and energy requirements, and carbon footprint, explains Balaji Jayaseelan, Vice President of Sustainability at Berlin Packaging, in a podcast from Packaging Strategies magazine.
Jayaseelan discussed multiple avenues for optimizing the sustainability of spirits packaging and how market and consumer insights inspire design and innovation thinking.
Here are some highlights and takeaways from the podcast:
- The addition of post-consumer recycled or PCR content, the type of closure, and lightweighting can make the bottle and product more environmentally friendly. Packaging accounts for about 40% to 45% of the total carbon footprint of spirits products.
- Energy-efficient technologies, fuel choices, and renewable energy can reduce the environmental impact of the bottle manufacturing process. Building an efficient transportation network and pack-out scheme contributes to sustainability. Labeling is an effective way to communicate and educate consumers about these sustainable packaging elements.
- Consumers demand more product information today, such as knowing where the ingredients come from and how the bottle is made. From a design standpoint, these demands should guide and inform the creative process around substrate choice, recyclability, recycled content, carbon footprint, lightweighting, manufacturing efficiency, closure, labeling, and bottle decoration.
- Sustainability is becoming a value-creation and risk-management exercise. As companies embed sustainability into their journey, the best ones are looking at these sustainability elements in a holistic way along with operational efficiency to make a strong business case.