Brasil Pack Trends 2020

BrasilPackTrends2020 174 sustainabi l ity & ethics As Life Cycle Assessment studies measure various forms of environmental impact such as global warming, natural resource depletion, acidification, eutrophication and human toxicity, among others, they have been considered as one of the best instruments for the quantification of human action on the planet. The document Brazil Pack Trends 2020 shows that, this technique, in its simplest form, the Life Cycle Thinking becomes a powerful tool to be applied to continuous improvement of the existing processes as well as to drive new products and processes development, which have goal to become more sustainable. The application of this tool for packaging unfolds in this document in four trends to be pursued over the next decade: Optimization of the product/package system; Reuse & Recycling; Waste Management & Reverse Logistics and Credibility & Ethics ( Table 7.1 ). TABLE 7.1 Sustainability & Ethics – General trends and guidelines for packaging Sustainability & Ethics General trends Guidelines for packaging Optimization of the product/package system – Doing More with Less From Life Cycle Thinking perspective: • Resource efficiency: natural resource consumption reduction, weight (lightweighting), volume reduction, energy saving • Materials and energy from renewable sources • Reduction of losses • Greenhouse gas emissions (Carbon footprint) reduction • Water consumption (Water footprint) reduction Reuse & Recycling • Shelf life extension • Ecodesign • Recycling • Development of new recycling technologies Waste Management & Reverse Logistics • Reverse logistics • Symbolism for identification of post-consumer packages Credibility & Ethics • Extended responsibility • Accreditation and validation • “No” for Greenwashing