Testing 1, 2, 3: How CPGs get more sustainable packaging to store shelves

Brands face sustainability, regulatory and cost pressures as they seek to adopt new packaging. Sealed Air, Sappi and Diageo shared more about the design, development and launch process.

Anyone who ordered an old fashioned or whiskey sour at the Johnnie Walker Princes Street’s 1820 bar in Edinburgh last fall may have noticed something unusual. The whiskey in the drink tasted the same, but it was poured from a different kind of bottle – a 90% paper-based bottle the brand was trialing, instead of the classic Johnnie Walker Black Label bottle made of glass. 

Over the years, pilots, trials and limited launches have been an important way for brands and their packaging partners to collaborate, experiment and advance sustainable packaging efforts.

Johnnie Walker’s parent company, Diageo, developed the new packaging as part of the Bottle Collective with PA Consulting and PulPac. Dave Lütkenhaus, global sustainability and innovation director at Diageo, said the paper bottle is 60% lighter than the glass bottle. This makes it easier for bartenders to carry and use, while still retaining the brand’s signature elements, including an embossed striding man.

“We’ve been able to combine sustainability benefits with a luxury look and feel to the bottle,” Lütkenhaus said. 

CPG brands and their packaging partners are increasingly working in tandem to set goals and success metrics as they develop, test and roll out innovative packaging solutions. Both parties recognize that designing packaging to be more sustainable frequently involves tradeoffs.

Tiffani Burt, vice president of food materials innovation and development at Sealed Air, said more environmentally conscious packaging often comes at a price premium. Companies want to avoid packaging switches that could degrade performance or risk food waste or product damage. 

“I’m very much of the mindset that innovation is best executed when all of the key stakeholders are at the table and on the journey together,” Burt said.

Today, CPGs stand at a crossroads when it comes to sustainable packaging innovation, with both internal and external pressures. They’re up against corporate sustainability goals, many of which now have 2030 deadlines, as well as consumer and regulatory scrutiny to reduce the prevalence of single-use or virgin plastic in their products. As always, they’re compelled to keep costs down and maintain their margins.

Brands “want sustainable solutions – if they’re more cost effective,” said Dustin Smith, CEO of BoldtSmith Packaging Consultants.

Choosing between cost savings and sustainability is no longer optional in many countries. And five U.S. states have passed extended producer responsibility for packaging policies.

“I think that EPR is going to trigger a lot of behaviors that some brands were choosing to do voluntarily,” said Bakul Wadgaonkar, director of sustainability at Sappi North America. Early adopters will continue to set the bar, while others will follow suit, making lightweighting, recyclable materials and circularity the norm going forward, she predicted. 

First and foremost: Life cycle assessments

What do you picture of when you think of “sustainable” packaging? Less plastic? A smaller or thinner package?

To consumers, a switch from plastic to paper or from foam to pulp may, on its face, seem like the sustainable answer, but there are myriad other factors to consider.

When CPGs approach their suppliers with ideas for more sustainable packaging, one of the first things the parties do is look into a life cycle analysis. While many in the industry see LCAs as an imperfect system, they’re still an important tool for studying the impacts of packaging choices, from raw materials to final destination.

“We always want to make sure that if we are providing an alternative to a CPG, that it actually is a truly sustainable alternative,” Wadgaonkar said.

Wadgaonkar said the overall carbon footprint, impact on biodiversity and water stewardship are some of the aspects Sappi assesses when working with a brand on potential new packaging. 

Depending on who you ask, the packaging space is rife with different arguments about which materials offer the most advantageous environmental profile, and brands may come to different conclusions.

In the case of Diageo’s Johnnie Walker trial, the company sees the main advantages of the new bottle as carbon reduction and less weight. The initial external LCA showed the paper bottle prototype had the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 47% compared with the glass bottle.