Moving Beyond a Stalemate: Using Renewable Materials as a Bridge to a Resource Secure Future
Industry Leaders and Consumers Weigh In On Barriers and Solutions In New Tetra Pak Report
DENTON, Texas, July 21, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Closing gaps in knowledge and improving understanding about the benefits of renewable materials can have a transformative effect on the economy and the environment, according to findings in a new report from Tetra Pak.
The report, Embracing Value From Natural Capital: Advancing Packaging Solutions that Consumers Want and Companies Can Provide, explores opportunities for the CPG industry to take advantage of growing, positive consumer sentiment around packaging made with renewable materials as part of the solution to natural resource scarcity. The report also highlights some hurdles that must be addressed, including cost concerns among companies and the need for greater alignment around ongoing education and outreach to consumers.
Tetra Pak’s report is based on knowledge gathered through the company’s series of Learning Labs held throughout 2015 as part of the Moving To The Front initiative to address the impacts of resource scarcity on businesses. Through surveys, dialogues and roundtable discussions with industry leaders and consumers, insights were collected and barriers to using renewable materials —real and perceived—were examined.
The report cites four factors that impact increased adoption of renewable materials:
- Communication gaps and misunderstandings around definitions and vocabulary associated with renewable materials;
- Complexity around perceived required transformations of manufacturing infrastructure and supply chain systems;
- Cost concerns that hamper C-level endorsement of investments in changes or new practices and/or technologies; and
- Consumer demand that is dependent on more education and information.
As noted in the report, while consumer awareness of resource scarcity is still relatively low, when educated, consumers become a willing partner to help mitigate the issue. And industry participants in the labs uniformly acknowledge that consumer demand has the potential to serve as a tipping point toward accelerated adoption, even in the face of other barriers.
“Undeniably, as our Learning Labs showed us, consumers are responsive to the value and benefits of renewables when provided with the right education and information,” said Elisabeth Comere, Director, Environment and Government Affairs at Tetra Pak. “We anticipate that consumers will increasingly factor this into their purchasing behaviors and decisions.”
According to the report, overcoming barriers and advancing understanding around the importance of using renewable materials in packaging will be important as the world shifts toward a more restorative, regenerative circular economy, which builds value from optimizing materials and minimizing waste. Experts say a circular economy will generate $1 trillion.
“Industry has a key role to play in implementing strategies and meaningful actions for protecting natural eco-systems and relying less on finite resources,” said Comere. She noted that UNEP’s International Resource Panel, composed of eminent scientists and experts in natural resource management, recently reported that natural resource extraction will increase from 85 to 186 billion tons over the next 35 years. However, effective resource efficiency can reduce extraction by 28 percent which, in turn, can help to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 74 percent by 2050 and increase economic output (GDP) by 1 percent in G7 countries and globally.
Tetra Pak’s Learning Labs and Moving To The Front are part of the company’s commitment to thought leadership that explores the dichotomies that exist in meeting the needs of consumers and industry in the journey toward a more sustainable society.
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ABOUT TETRA PAK
Tetra Pak is the world's leading food processing and packaging solutions company. Working closely with our customers and suppliers, we provide safe, innovative and environmentally sound products that each day meet the needs of hundreds of millions of people in more than 170 countries around the world. With more than 23,000 employees based in over 85 countries, we believe in responsible industry leadership and a sustainable approach to business. Our motto, “PROTECTS WHAT’S GOOD™," reflects our vision to make food safe and available, everywhere.
More information about Moving To The Front is available at www.tetrapak.com/us/sustainability/movingtothefront
For Moving To The Front video assets go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfyKYEOogos
More information about Tetra Pak is available at www.tetrapakusa.com
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