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Indian beverage industry moving towards green packaging
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Wednesday, 15 February, 2023, 16 : 00 PM [IST]
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Sugreev Shinde, Dr R B Kshirsagar and Sangram Wandhekar
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Packaging plays a fundamental role in the food and beverage sector, with a far-reaching impact at every stage of the product life cycle. Sustainable packaging is absolutely crucial for brands, manufacturers and consumers to address the needs of the industry today.
Green packaging (also known as sustainable packaging) is the development and use of packaging, which results in improved sustainability. This involves increased use of life cycle inventory and life cycle assessment to help guide the use of packaging which reduces the environmental impact and ecological footprint.
Green packaging, also known as eco-friendly packaging or sustainable packaging, refers to packaging designs that have low impact on the environment. They accomplish this by reducing the packaging waste produced and using sustainable materials, such as recyclable or biodegradable packaging elements, along with the usage of renewable energy during production. Plant-based plastics, recycled paper, and reused polyethylene (PE) bags are some of the common materials used for producing green packaging.
The India green packaging market is expected to exhibit a growth rate (CAGR) of 7.24% during 2023-2028.
When it comes to the food and beverages industry, sustainable packaging is no longer just an option today, even if its importance was not already blaringly evident. Government rules and regulations, consumer preferences, and changing market standards frequently require enterprises to use sustainable packaging methods in order to lessen their impact on the environment.
For instance, starting from July 1, 2022, India no longer allows the production, import, storing, distribution, selling or use of any single-use plastic goods that have been classified as having a high potential for littering and low utility. Hence, the usage of ecologically friendly packaging options is required by many such environmental concerns and mandates, but fortunately for company owners, these solutions could potentially wind up even saving them money over time, when implemented effectively.
Incentives of Sustainable Packaging
The main objective of eco-friendly packaging options is the long-term preservation of the viability and quality of human existence through safeguarding global ecosystems. With the use of renewable energy sources and recycled or renewable materials, sustainable packaging results in significantly less resource waste. From manufacture to disposal, it makes use of resources in the most efficient manner possible, with little negative environmental effect.
There are several advantages to employing green packaging, and doing so does not really require massive or elaborate adjustments to business practices:
Responsible Consumer Engagement
Today's customers put a lot of thought into their influence on the environment. This links people to the goods they like to buy, and as a result, the brands to which they are more devoted. By adopting environmentally friendly packaging, a brand can significantly strengthen its corporate responsibility.
Improved Disposal
Organisations may use a variety of packing materials for their products, but they should all be recyclable. If their customer has a composting facility, they will be able to convert compostable packaging waste into compost.
Easy-to-Reuse or Recycle
Promoting the reuse or recycling of packaging increases its usefulness and decreases the need for brand-new materials, thus reducing its carbon impact. Used beverage cartons can be used as raw materials in the production of a wide range of utilitarian objects including furniture, corrugated cardboard, and more.
Implementation Model
1. Apart from framing the Packaging Regulations that provide guidelines for businesses looking to verify that the packaging materials and processes they are using are safe for food, FSSAI has recently taken an initiative towards reduction of plastic footprint in the F&B industry, wherein many of the food businesses have pledged to eliminate single-use plastic in coming years; develop environmental friendly substitutes and also an efficient plastic collection and recycling/disposal system in the F&B sector.
2. In alignment with the Swachhata Hi Seva Campaign, various awareness generation and collection drives were organised to free our houses, offices and workplaces from single-use plastic.
The changing regulations, the informed consumers, technological advances, varying purchase behaviour, and extreme concerns for the environment. These are some of the crucial factors that have enabled drinks companies to renew their commitments toward sustainability. Refurbishing the drink's packaging can encourage the shrinkage of carbon footprint, increase the recycling of products, and establish a plastic-free environment.
PET Bottles Replacing Glass Bottles
The production and shipping of glass bottles are one of the major components of a wine and spirits supply chain that use up a lot of energy and increase the carbon footprint by approximately 51% to 68%. Although being impermeable and fantastic for storing beverages, they require inferno-like heat to make and an immense amount of fuel and packaging to be shipped. However, PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) is made of 100% recyclable plastic and is clear, strong, and lightweight.
Cellulose-Fibre Material Paper Bottles
Using layers of recycled paperboards fused with water-based glue to create a bottle, the cellulose-fibre bottles are 94% chemical-free and 5 times lighter than a glass bottle. It requires less fuel to shop and can survive a 5-foot drop without breaking.
RTDs (Ready-To-Drink) or Canned Beverages
Aluminium beverage cans are the most recyclable drinks pack in the world and with an average recycling rate of 69%, they can be endlessly recycled without any loss of quality. The beverage can is already well-positioned in the beverage industry and is a good initiative. Due to their size and weight, they effectively reduce the CO2 emissions during transportation, encourage trials due to their smaller size, and are also a portable alternative for consumers. However, producing aluminium alloy also releases harmful greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
A smart alternative to the aluminium can is an initiative by which offers a beverage packaging system made of paper. It is 30% more eco-friendly than aluminium or PET and uses 30% less total raw materials that come from renewable resources.
Beer Can Holders
Replacing plastic rings to hold beer cans with cardboard ones has been a revolution within itself. To eliminate single-use plastic, beer brands are using sustainably sourced, recyclable, and biodegradable cardboard to hold the beer cans together. The new format along with other waste-saving innovations can help in reducing plastic waste globally by more than 1,200 tonne a year which is equivalent to 60 million plastic bags.
Across the drinks industry, there are numerous initiatives taken to shrink the carbon footprint of wine, spirits, and beers.. Beverage brands are focusing on providing ‘How to recycle?’ information on their labels to educate the consumers and are also becoming 100% transparent about their carbon footprints.
Packaging Ideas on the Rise for Beverages
Consumers and legislation are driving the demand for sustainable packaging in the beverage industry. Designing for recycling and increasing the use of PCR content in beverage packaging are well-known trends in the industry.
Here are a few Trends on the Rise -
Premium
With millennials demanding more from all aspects of their lives, from customer service to packaging and the products within, the beverage industry is no exception. This demand for premiumisation of beverages covers everything from the flavour, healthier ingredients, and attractive and sustainable packaging. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are becoming more geared towards people who demand more and do not mind paying for them.
Active Packaging Vs Intelligent Packaging
Packaging that interacts with the contents and helps in improving the shelf life or quality of the contents is deemed as active packaging. There are certain substances released or removed from the packaging. E.g., Film packaging with ethylene absorbers. On the other hand, intelligent packaging can keep track of the contents and let the consumer be aware of what is happening with the contents. This includes the time of packaging, freshness of the contents, temperature, or other useful information. It is done with the help of sensors added on, chips for certain products, or other LED barcodes.
This kind of packaging is a game-changer in the drinks industry and plays a huge role in reducing the impact on the environment. Not only this, but it can also help drinks companies to remain competitive and promote a positive brand image to their consumers. Sustainability has already become a compelling motivator for consumer purchase decisions, and here are some of the sustainable initiatives taken around the drinks industry which are being integrated into their packaging.
Beverage packaging
With consumers and regulations being the driving force, many beverage companies are embracing more sustainable ways of packaging and selling their products. Water comes in boxes, beer comes in paper bottles, and recycled plastics are being used for different products. While designs like the tethered cap are on the rise, all of which is movement in the right direction.
The Future of Green Packaging in Food and Beverage
The future in packaging for beverage companies is sustainable. This encompasses the entire life cycle of a beverage product, from internal systems that improve bulk shipping or warehousing, to packaging systems that appear on store shelves. All signs point to this growing industry. Pressure from retailers and consumers are forcing companies to rethink their packaging methods to satisfy demand. International regulations are pressuring global beverage leaders to meet requirements to continue to expand business into the 21st century. These pressures and demands are met by emerging technologies that allow food and beverage companies to grow their operations in a cost-effective manner. Leaders that have the foresight moving into the future will invest in these solutions and will ultimately reap its benefits.
(The authors belong to College of Food Technology, VNMKV, Parbhani)
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