Sustainability named top purchase criteria for packaging
An independent research study commissioned by the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI, www.smdisteel.org), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI, www.steel.org), reveals 65% of decision makers at Fortune 500 consumer product companies view packaging sustainability as a high priority. The survey was conducted by MindClick (www.hspindex.com) in January and February and included packaging decision makers from major consumer packaged goods companies.
The challenge for consumer products firms, according to the research study, is the lack of meaningful information available to evaluate and compare the sustainability performance of competitive packaging materials. Packaging executives define sustainability as the way individual materials contribute to the environmental and social story of products and brands. Key contributors to determining sustainability include recycling and the energy required to transport, store, use and dispose of the packaging. Secondary considerations include the greater societal, environmental and community impacts related to the materials themselves.