Dick Searle, chief executive of the UK’s Packaging Federation, said the initiative was good thing, while strongly defending the environmental role that packaging already plays in conserving food products.
Think tank
Asda, the UK subsidiary of the American supermarket giant, said recently it had put together a think-tank of experts known as the Sustainable Value Network (SVN). This broad group, consisting of representatives from packaging firms, trade associations, academics, as well Asda staff, will draw up an appropriate version of the scorecard.
The aim of the scheme will be to cut packaging used by its suppliers and to boost recycling rates.
“The initiative will be based on the Wal-Mart scorecard and is due to be launched at the beginning of 2010,” an Asda spokeswoman told FoodProductionDaily.com. “We are currently taking through a testing process to see what changes might need to be made to adapt it to the UK.”
Searle said: “Anything that looks at packaging holistically must be good. A concept that has been shaped by contributions from as wide a group as possible, including the packing industry, is a positive. I think it's also fair to add that the packing industry has been carrying out optimisiation of packaging for many years.”
Environmental impact
He added that he believed the major environmental impact comes not from packaging but from product as he mounted a strong defence of packing sector.
“Packaging is only a delivery system for product,” he said. “Any long term solution must look at the product. I believe that quite quickly the focus will shift in this direction. If you look at the total carbon foot print for packaging, it comes to only 1-2 per cent. But its net carbon footprint is actually negative because the product waste it prevents more than offsets the energy used in its production.”
Wal-Mart unveiled its Sustainable Packaging Scorecard in 2006. The scheme went live in February 2008 when the firm gave the scorecard to each of its buyers to make “more informed purchasing decisions” and give them the scope to “show preference to those suppliers who have demonstrated a commitment to producing more sustainable packaging”.
Under the scheme, packaging is graded against sustainability criteria and suppliers are given advice about ways to make their product greener. Wal-Mart said it hopes to make a five per cent cut in the amount of packaging it uses by 2013.