You’re claiming that your product is green or sustainable – but is it truly?

You're claiming that your product is green or sustainable – but is it truly? Some packagers are in peril of stretching the limits when it comes to making eco-friendly statements that may not pass the grade. Read on…

Claims of a green or sustainable packaging product seem to be popping up in nearly every advertisement I run across these days… some of them quite thin in substance. As Marketing Manager for a packaging machinery company for 17 years, I recall vividly stretching the limits of these terms, seemingly without consequence, in order to capture the environmentally conscious buyer.

However, at Summit Publishing's Beyond Advertising seminar last fall I learned that Greener Package, a social network site for sustainability, has taken a step further, scrutinizing data for a more credible approach. According to Dave Newcorn, VP/eMedia and architect of the site, suppliers cannot run an ad making sustainability claims without furnishing actual documentation supporting those claims. The documentation is reviewed by authorized third-party reviewers.

Suppliers of packaging materials may also submit data to the Greener Package Database (which is set to launch by early April) allowing potential buyers to find new materials by searching by sustainability criteria. Submitting data is free, but Suppliers can pay a nominal fee to have their documentation supporting their sustainability claims reviewed by the site's third-party reviewers.

"What our third-party reviewers do is not an audit. This is not a full chain-of-custody review," Newcorn is careful to explain. "Rather, it's a document review to make sure that suppliers can back up their claims with specific documentation that passes muster."

Interestingly enough, most suppliers who submit to the third-party review end up failing the first time. "It's not due to willful misrepresentation--it stems more from ignorance of what you can and cannot claim when it comes to sustainability."

The misunderstanding is common. For example, materials claiming to be biodegradable isn't sufficient in the eyes of sustainability experts. It's either compostable or it's not. Biodegradable isn't recognized as a sustainability claim, because it has no standardized definiton. But compostability does. Machinery manufacturers must look at life-cycle-assessments to understand the impact of their design decisions holistically and early enough in the process so they create a greener product from the start.

In order to declare a green product, you must understand the guidelines. Simply ask yourself...

• Is your product considered beneficial, safe, and healthy throughout its life cycle?
• Does the product meet market criteria for performance and cost?
• Is the packaging sourced, manufactured, transported and recycled using renewable energy?
• Does the packaging maximize the use of renewable or recycled source materials?
• Is your product manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices?
• Once your product has met its life expectancy, is it recycled efficiently to provide a valuable resource for subsequent generations?

If you can meet those basic definitions as they pertain to your product, you may be considered truly sustainable. Most common errors, according to Newcorn, consist of overly broad claims. When in doubt, make a claim that is narrow and specific, and be able to furnish backup documentation to support your claim.

I encourage companies wanting to avoid inadvertent greenwashing to download the Greener Package Guidelines to Sustainability Claims. A very helpful on-demand Webcast is also available.

Other credible references include:
http://www.sustainablepackaging.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_packaging

Editor:  Cheryl Miller – March 23, 2010©
Resource Expert: David Newcorn, Summit Publishing
Editorial comments welcomed.