The Understanding Packaging (UP) Scorecard, a free science-based online tool to help food companies select foodware and food packaging that is safe and environmentally sustainable, has released an updated version that improves its scoring system for chemicals of concern and allows users to save and score portfolios representing entire business units. These changes optimize the process for foodservice companies seeking the best choices for sustainable food packaging.

The scoring system update enhances the granularity and usefulness of the tool in assessing the health impacts of different packaging materials, because it considers the packaging material in the context of food temperature, fat content, acidity, and other categories. 

Some chemicals of concern migrate into food at higher temperatures or are attracted to fats, for example, which means the UP Scorecard would give a lower score to packaging containing those chemicals if it will be used to hold hot or high-fat foods. For example, a paper container lined with chemicals of concern intended to hold hot pizza would receive a lower score than if it was intended for a cold salad, because chemicals migrate more easily into food at higher temperatures.

“Environmental Defense Fund is a proud partner on this effort to help procurement professionals find win-wins to meet health and sustainability goals while also meeting consumers’ growing expectations for toxic-free food packaging,” said Cassie Huang, Project Manager, Safer Chemicals, EDF+Business. “This latest version with saveable user portfolios is a game-changer for foodservice teams looking for a streamlined process when making sustainable purchasing decisions.”

Etienne Cabane, Scientific Officer and UP Scorecard Lead at the Food Packaging Forum, said, “Health effects related to the toxicity of chemicals present in packaging materials are not yet included in operational life-cycle assessment (LCA) methods and hence not yet widely adopted in LCA studies. While we wait for the development of new quantitative indicators addressing such impacts, we need to rely on science-based qualitative indicators. With the further development of its chemicals of concerns metric, the new version of the UP Scorecard does exactly just this: providing easy access to important data necessary to consider the potential health impacts of a wide range of foodware and packaging options.” 

Johanna Anderson, Director of Learning and Member Engagement, Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, said, “Large institutional purchasers have the power to transform the marketplace. But determining which products are truly sustainable can be a challenge for busy procurement professionals with many priorities to balance. The UP Scorecard helps purchasers efficiently evaluate different foodware and packaging material types across six sustainability attributes, allowing each purchaser to select the material types that best align with their sustainability priorities – whether their focus is eliminating single-use plastic, reducing climate impact, or minimizing exposure to chemicals of concern.” 

Additional updates to this version enhance the user experience: Users can open accounts to manage tool preferences, save an infinite number of customized products and portfolios for continued work at a later stage, and share their projects with others. With the creation of user accounts, users now have the ability to create portfolios comprising multiple products to represent entire business units, such as restaurants or cafeterias, which are then scored as a whole. Furthermore, the tool now uses a benchmarking system that allows comparison between portfolios.