The Sustainable Packaging Coalition Announces New Initiative to Recognize Leadership Achievements in Sustainability

October 8, 2013 /3BL Media/ - During their 2013 Fall Members Meeting, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), a project of environmental nonprofit, GreenBlue, unveiled their plan for a sustainable packaging recognition mark to be fully launched by early 2016, with a pilot program starting as early as January, 2015. The initiative, while still in the very early development phase, aims to recognize and reward efforts to push sustainability forward in the packaging industry. The recognition mark will be points-based, and criteria for recognition will be based on the SPC’s Definition of Sustainable Packaging.  Criteria for the recognition mark will be transparent and verified by a third party. 

At the meeting, GreenBlue’s Executive Director, Nina Goodrich, explained that the SPC saw a need for a trustworthy recognition mark that allows for consumers and businesses alike to better differentiate the sustainability claims made about a package.

“It’s often unclear to consumers and businesses what the many different sustainability claims on a package actually mean,” said Goodrich. “Our goal with the SPC recognition mark is to recognize those companies that are truly making a commitment to sustainability, and to help them continue to improve their processes in order to achieve the highest recognition standard, which will involve consideration of the entire packaging system. There are a multitude of emerging best practices throughout the lifecycle of a package. All packages are not created equal. The same type of package can have a very different journey. In one case it could be made with sustainably sourced materials using renewable energy in a zero waste to landfill facility and in another case none of these sustainable practices have been followed.”

Goodrich emphasized that GreenBlue and the SPC are working to change the conversation in the packaging industry away from a single material perspective to consideration of the entire packaging system and hope that this recognition mark will help reach that goal.

“We are uniquely positioned to lead the shift away from considering just a single material to considering the entire product/ package relationship. The mark isn’t about pitting one package against another, but instead is about encouraging each package to be the best it can be, and reward companies for their commitment to sustainability and life cycle thinking.”

Over the next few months, GreenBlue and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition will work with an SPC Member working group to finish the initial planning and scoping phase of the recognition mark. Beginning early in 2014,  the SPC will organize a number of member and stakeholder working groups to develop the recognition mark’s indicators and metrics definition as well as the framework for data verification and scoring.

About the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and GreenBlue
GreenBlue® is a nonprofit that shapes the business of sustainability. We arm the agents of change with the science and resources needed to make business more sustainable. The organization’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition® is a membership group that brings together business, educational institutions, and government agencies to collectively broaden the understanding of packaging sustainability and develop meaningful improvements for packaging solutions.