Desjardin Blog - EN

Metal packaging has now been used for over a century as the most reliable way to preserve food over a long time period. It's been one of the most sustainable packaging materials all along, due to its sturdiness and durability. While various traditional materials are being debated as to their contribution toward a sustainable society, metal is here to stay. Here are five important trends shaping the future of packaging, according to a global McKinsey study.

This article explores the sustainability aspects of tinplate and aluminum in metal packaging. Learn how Desjardin aligns its offerings with eco-friendly goals and future trends.

The concept of sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the packaging industry for both environmental and economic reasons. The production and consumption process leads to excessive waste until it's turned into a circular pattern that includes recycling. Here's a look at scientific evidence on how consumers respond to sustainable design in food packaging.

When food producers overlook market holes, new players can enter the market to serve an under-served group. Consumers have a growing interest in healthy and safe foods, so now more than ever before many care about packaging. Multiple studies show a significant number of grocery shoppers have specific expectations about packaging when it comes to healthiness and safety.

Sustainable packaging materials, such as metal, are becoming important to broader supply chain sustainability. At the same time, every link in a supply chain should be focused on sustainable solutions that make logistics more economically efficient and eco-friendly. Paying attention to improving Service Parts Logistics (SPL), which involves ordering replacement parts, is a crucial key for supply chains to evolve toward sustainability.

Evidence is growing among market researchers there's a willingness for consumers to pay more for better packaging. In a recent survey among Lebanese consumers published by Emerald Insight, 73 percent of respondents said they were willing to pay more for higher-quality packaging. This survey reflected individuals from backgrounds in higher education and higher income.

Three key barriers exist that limit the development of sustainable packaging. Those barriers are cost/benefit ambiguity, additional costs, and trade-offs between package requirements. These barriers partly relate to company size. Here's a look at how a focus on environmental issues will help lead businesses toward sustainable packaging solutions.

Recycling is a process that is used in countless industries and is steadily being used more commonly in goods produced today. Recycling is the process of turning waste into usable material. In the packaging industry material is often reused and recycled, which can substantially cut down on the amount of new material and energy that needs to be used to produce more packaging. Three of the most common materials used in the packaging industry are plastic, tin, and aluminium. Studies have shown that recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than needed to produce new material and recycling plastic saves 76% of the energy [1,2]. This difference is caused by a variety of reasons, like the energy cost to transport, sort, and recycle each product.

Optimizing a supply chain for sustainability is an efficient way for companies to reduce their environmental footprint while increasing long term profits. By 2025 almost two billion people are expected to become global consumers, a 75 percent increase over 2010. This will require increased transport within supply chains, ultimately causing more greenhouse gas production. Sustainable supply chains focus on improving efficiency throughout the entire process, with a strong focus on reducing waste/CO2 production and improving communication. These waste products directly contribute to global warming, which is a worldwide issue leading to a host of further problems. In the metal packaging world a few key components that are focused to improve sustainability are overall production efficiency, location raw materials are sourced from, transportation, and sales. Companies that focus on sustainably optimizing these aspects of their supply chain can expect to see a host of effects relating to their company cost, product cost, and environmental impact.