New packages coming on the market demonstrate that the move toward incorporating sustainability goals is accelerating. Kraft Foods is one company working to reduce the environmental impact of its packaging materials.

Roger Zellner, Director of Sustainability R&D at Kraft Foods, says the company focuses on four key areas to drive sustainability:

Leverage material and design lighter packages.
Incorporate tools and measures for sustainability.
Make progress toward incorporating renewable packaging materials.
Influence recycling and recovery.

Two packages that are successful in these areas, Zellner says, are the redesigned bottle for Kraft Regular and Light Salad Dressing. The new bottle reduces PET usage by three million pounds annually. Zellner credits a material substitution from paper and foil to film in the packaging of Milka chocolate bars for reducing material usage by 58%.

Decision-making on issues related to sustainability requires the ability to easily quantify and communicate benefits and risks, Zellner says. To do so, he adds, product manufacturers must use tools and measures that provide clear results. He urges brand owners as a whole to seek common industry metrics and data.

"The focus on packaging and sustainability has required the industry to view packaging through a different lens and evaluate how packaging adds value throughout the entire supply chain with an 'end-to-end' or 'cradle-to-cradle' perspective," Zellner explained at the 2007 Packaging Strategies Sustainable Packaging Forum in Pittsburgh, PA. "Anytime you bring a new perspective such as sustainability and challenge the status quo, you will get questions and, consequently, differing opinions and ideas. These are the foundation of every vibrant society, organization, or industry."

By Steve Sterling, Contributing Editor