BLOG 05.22.13

Sustainable Packaging, Resilience, Efficiency: PwC and Schawk Weigh In

Posted on 07.18.12

A recent publication by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) confirms important points made in the most recent Schawk Patterns report, “The New Sustainability.” The PwC report, “Sustainable Packaging: Myth or Reality,” argues that “sustainable packaging” is by now too imprecise a term to be helpful and that – more importantly – consumer-goods marketers need to view the matter from a full supply chain perspective. PwC calls this “efficient packaging.”

As PackagingNews.com put it, “Efficient packaging means taking into account efficiencies that can be made during the entire lifecycle of the product,” including the packaging phase.

This is a point that Schawk’s Patterns report makes forcefully in the article “Resilience Is the New Sustainability.” It points to a trend of viewing carbon-efficiency in the context of all the factors that influence a brand and its products, such as market shifts, government policies and even natural disasters.

In this context, there are many process improvements that brands can make to reduce the use of materials, energy and manpower – making the whole brand lifecycle more sustainable and more resilient in the face of outside factors.

These improvements include:

  • Global smart sourcing
  • Closed loop fulfillment
  • Premedia consolidation
  • Global brand help desks
  • Extended color gamut printing
  • 3D digital imaging
  • Graphics management software
  • Workflow management software
  • Digital asset management software
  • Online proofing software

And more. But it’s our position that the semantics are not the issue here. “Sustainability” isn’t inherently a bad word – it’s just that our concept of it is evolving to see a bigger picture, whether you call it “efficiency” to encompass the whole product lifecyle or “resilience” to encompass even more – the broad forces that affect product lifecycles as well.

The PwC report is an important read, and “Resilience Is the New Sustainability” offers excellent concrete examples of how brands can use less carbon, satisfy more customers and profit in the bargain.