How can packaging make products more sustainable?

Every day, people all around the world buy and use thousands of products, from fresh food, to grocery and garden items, beverages and pharmaceuticals, that are all protected by specialised packaging solutions.

Today, packaging plays a fundamental role in the value-chain of products, by providing essential features such as protection, safe and convenient handling and key product information, as well as enhancing the utility or enjoyment of a product through intelligent, sustainable design.

Packaging makes a valuable contribution to our world’s sustainability by protecting products to reduce waste. By preventing deterioration and damage, therefore preserving the resources invested in a product, packaging ensures it reaches its end user fit for its intended purpose.

At Orora we work to maximise the role of packaging as a protector, to mitigate against conditions that may have a negative impact on the performance and life of a product, but we also recognise the opportunity to go further – for packaging to work harder, to enhance and extend a product’s lifespan and performance. 

Our goal is to ensure that your product receives Optimum Packaging – packaging that protects the product throughout its entire existence to prevent harm, and is designed to use just the right amount of resources to minimise packaging waste.

Optimum Packaging means that we study the value chain and lifecycle of a product and its packaging, to inform design decisions that deliver improved sustainability outcomes without compromising consumer needs.

Our process carefully considers a range of aspects, from the raw materials used, to responsible and ethical sourcing. Sustainable packaging design principles are applied such as increasing recycled content and recyclability, manufacturing for filling and resource efficiency, including reducing energy, water and waste to minimise the manufacturing footprint. Packing efficiency, pallet design, storage and transportation environments, as well as optimal distribution routes can all reduce impacts, and the carbon emissions associated with fuel use. 

Optimum packaging maximises consumer information, ease of handling and use, product quality and ultimately end-of-life disposal and recovery – with a focus on recycling.

In balancing these and other custom product requirements, we reach Optimum Pack Design, using minimum materials for minimum environmental impact and optimising product and value chain performance.