SPC Update

The spring meeting of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition delves into topics from responsible material use, to product stewardship—and reviews its pending Labeling for Recovery project.

Written by John A. Delfausse, Estée Lauder

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) held its spring meeting in San Diego, and although the weather was fantastic in Coronado, the discussion inside the meeting was still provocative enough to keep everyone’s attention. For those unfamiliar with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, this organization really represents the best-in- class on science-based package design and development principles when it comes to sustainable packaging.

As the meeting brochure explains: The SPC helps companies meet their corporate sustainability goals for packaging by:

• Providing opportunities to network with professionals across the supply chain

• Sharing information on best practices, case studies, new materials and technologies

• Presenting informed technical and global perspectives on packaging and environmental issues

• Developing tools and resources as part of Coalition projects and activities

• Developing strategic partnerships to advance the Coalition mission

• Sharing sustainability expertise and introducing perspectives on global trends

From discussions on responsible material use, to product stewardship (I like to call this end-of-life responsibility), the SPC has it all covered, with projects and design tools that mirror cradle-to-cradle principles of product design.

I have always believed that the cosmetic and beauty care industry has a special opportunity with cradle to cradle when it comes to sustainable packaging. The vision offers the dream of providing the consumer all the bells and whistles that we want to put into our packages without asking us to reduce or downgrade the materials we use. Should we optimize the package? Yes! But let’s make sure that we deliver a functional and beautiful package that wants to be displayed, taken off the shelf and used.

The meeting covered subjects from life cycle assessment, to biodegradation in landfills and offered insights into the world of waste disposal and material health.

What I found most informative was to see what other companies are doing, and sharing best practices in sessions like “Corporate Cultures That Inform Packaging Design Decisions.” This session was presented by Stonyfield Farm and Seventh Generation, which introduced its new molded pulp detergent bottle. I was actually asked to try to take it apart to see how it could be recycled.

Another program presented by Unilever and Target showed “How Ambitious Corporate Sustainability Goals Translate to Packaging.” These two companies have announced significant sustainability goals in the past year. If you are wondering what metrics you should be measuring for your sustainable packaging program, the SPC’s metrics are a must-read (www.sustainablepackaging.org).

There was a session in which the SPC reviewed its Labeling for Recovery project and discussed a pilot program to trial the recovery label, in which member companies are encouraged to participate. This project not only has developed a recovery on pack label concept, but also is setting up the infrastructure to collect information on recycling availability to customers. The information will allow companies to have credible data to educate their customers about how the package can and should be recycled.The expectation is that the FTC will agree to the methodology and bless the project work.

Although they couldn’t get to the meeting, we had a call in from the FTC, which covered their new “Green Guides.” For any beauty company that professes to have special claims in this arena, this presentation was an eye opener. The bottom line is that if you are making a claim, you better be specific and descriptive so that your consumer definitely understands what you are trying to convey. Needless to say, your claim better also be fact-based and unambiguous.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that The Estée Lauder Companies is a founding member of the SPC and that I sit on their executive committee, but if you can put all that aside, I believe that this organization has a lot to offer anyone interested in the area of sustainable packaging. We at Estée Lauder have taken SPC’s definition of sustainable packaging as our vision and roadmap, and have adopted their metrics for use in benchmarking our progress in this area.

About the Author

John A. Delfausse is vice president-global package development, chief environmental officer, Estée Lauder Corporate Packaging—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors.