Tompkins’ Supply Chain Consortium Sees Green Packaging Evolution
A Tompkins’ Supply Chain Consortium survey of top retail- and manufacturing-related companies reveals that more than 65% of companies have some type of sustainable packaging policy in place, while 28% are currently developing a policy.
“When projecting the evolution of sustainable packaging, the future appears to be bright,” says Bruce Tompkins, Executive Director of the Consortium and author of the Packaging Sustainability Report. “Sustainable packaging is a very important issue for all types of companies across all aspects of their supply chains, and it continues to be thought of as a long-term, higher-level strategic process that provides overall direction to the organization.”
For 79% of companies, packaging sustainability impacts their strategic direction in the area of energy and material costs, and 76% see an impact in environmental and economic concerns. At the same time, executives see less of an impact in the areas of increasing competitiveness and access to new markets, indicating that sustainable packaging may be more about “hard” savings rather than “soft” benefits.
To improve their use of packaging sustainability initiatives, respondents say that that they need:
• A better collection and recovery process;
• Higher end-user awareness;
• A better designed supply chain; and
• A life-cycle analysis process that identifies the cost effectiveness of sustainability initiatives.
A Tompkins’ Supply Chain Consortium survey of top retail- and manufacturing-related companies reveals that more than 65% of companies have some type of sustainable packaging policy in place, while 28% are currently developing a policy.
“When projecting the evolution of sustainable packaging, the future appears to be bright,” says Bruce Tompkins, Executive Director of the Consortium and author of the Packaging Sustainability Report. “Sustainable packaging is a very important issue for all types of companies across all aspects of their supply chains, and it continues to be thought of as a long-term, higher-level strategic process that provides overall direction to the organization.”
For 79% of companies, packaging sustainability impacts their strategic direction in the area of energy and material costs, and 76% see an impact in environmental and economic concerns. At the same time, executives see less of an impact in the areas of increasing competitiveness and access to new markets, indicating that sustainable packaging may be more about “hard” savings rather than “soft” benefits.
To improve their use of packaging sustainability initiatives, respondents say that that they need:
• A better collection and recovery process;
• Higher end-user awareness;
• A better designed supply chain; and
• A life-cycle analysis process that identifies the cost effectiveness of sustainability initiatives.
“Sustainable packaging projects are resting on the shoulders of transportation efficiency, improved package handling, and the percentage of recycled content in the packaging material,” adds Tompkins. “Initiatives that are ‘green’ (financially) and ‘green’ (environmentally) are needed.”
The Packaging Sustainability survey is the first of a four-part series being conducted by Tompkins’ Supply Chain Consortium. For additional information on sustainability, view the recent blog post by Jim Tompkins, President and CEO of Tompkins Associates, or read the full Packaging Sustainability Report. Topics for the upcoming sustainability reports include:
• Part II: Transportation Sustainability (December 2009)
• Part III: Greening Facilities (2010)
• Part IV: Waste and Recycling (2010)
• Part II: Transportation Sustainability (December 2009)
• Part III: Greening Facilities (2010)
• Part IV: Waste and Recycling (2010)
• To learn more about Tompkins’ Supply Chain Consortium, visit the website and choose the "new member" option. The Consortium also has a LinkedIn group for companies that are interested in staying current on the latest in supply chain benchmarking and best practices. .
Bruce Tompkins is Executive Director for the Supply Chain Consortium.
Chris Ferrell is the Associate Director Supply Chain Consortium.
With a comprehensive repository of over 17,000 benchmarks and best practices data points, the Consortium offers members data search capabilities, online analysis tools, analytical reports and peer networking. To learn more about Tompkins’ Supply Chain Consortium, visit the website and choose the "new member" option. The Consortium also has a LinkedIn group for companies that are interested in staying current on the latest in supply chain benchmarking and best practices.
Contact Information: Keri McManus, Tompkins Associates, 919-855-5516,kmcmanus@tompkinsinc.com
