The Future of Packaging by Tom Szaky

Author:Tom Szaky
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 2019-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

Current Challenges and Trends of Business-Driven Action

Full disclosure: In 2008 Unilever’s factories sent 140,000 metric tons of nonhazardous waste to landfill—that’s the equivalent of 2 million waste bins, or 17 Eiffel Towers. Given what Uni-lever has since managed to achieve, it almost seems unreal that we have ever done things any other way. But as is the case for any company today, the first steps on the sustainability journey entailed coming to terms with the fact that the business-as-usual way of doing things was no longer working and needed to change. SEE 10.2

In addition to an ambitious target of using 100 percent reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by 2025,1 Unilever set the important, pivotal goal of achieving zero nonhazardous waste to landfill2 by 2020. Zero-waste-to-landfill (ZWTL) is a business concept in which solid waste produced at respective facilities is not landfilled but instead is reused, recycled, composted, or disposed of via some other outlet. Some companies regard ZWTL as a guiding ideal rather than a benchmark,3 and many seek certification4 for visibility.

At the core of these programs are continuous improvement and constant evaluation about material choices. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to reducing waste in factories, but a strong commitment to eliminating waste at the source is the preferred place to start. Optimizing manufacturing to prevent trimmings from production prevents the need for reverse logistics, the next preferred step for resource management.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.