SUSTAINABILITY
50
T he European Union recently voted to declare a climate emergency . This is a significant turning point , reflecting the rapid escalation of the climate crisis despite efforts to reduce damage to the environment . While there are many factors influencing climate change , plastic pollution has become the ubiquitous symbol of the degradation of our natural environment and has brought the need for sustainable packaging to the front of public consciousness .
Packaging serves many purposes : protecting content during transport and storage , promoting content to the customer , preserving content to lengthen lifespan and reduce waste . So , how do you decide what is more important in the climate crisis ? The need to minimise food waste , make fragile products such as medicines more accessible to people in remote places , or the need to reduce packaging to eliminate waste and CO2 emissions used when manufacturing packaging itself ?
To add another layer of complexity - there is no easy answer when it comes to deciding what the most
JANUARY 2020