Future of Packaging Report

Intense scrutiny of the retail packaging supply chain has led to calls from consumers, campaigners and government for better, more radical solutions for reducing waste, pollution, littering and energy consumption. Despite years of pro-environmental innovation in packaging, retailers and manufacturers are coming to terms with a new level of attention and expectation to change. This report presents the findings of a collaborative group of experts from the retail packaging supply chain that met six times over 12 months to share problems and identify strategic priorities for the future of packaging. While anti-plastic campaigners call for radical change such as a massive reduction in the use of plastics, people in the packaging industry feel frustrated that the media tends to ignore the environmental benefits of plastic, such as reducing food waste and the smaller carbon footprint of production and distribution compared with other materials. Solutions to the problems generated by packaging are likely to be multiple, context-dependent, complex and require actions by manufacturers, retailers, government, consumers and campaign groups.