Rethinking packaging — the 2050 vision
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Hugh Falkner discusses the 2050 Packaging report which puts the customer at the heart of future of packaging, and the crucial role of collaboration in transitioning to Net Zero
Customer is the king and the queen
A new report commissioned from Oakdene Hollins by Innovate UK says that it’s going to be the customer who will lead the way in determining just how our home shopping is packaged. And it’s the sheer variety of products that we put in our trolleys that means that there can be no single “winning” type of packaging that will find acceptance.
At a lively webinar to discuss the interim findings, delegates made the case for different future packaging choices, with agreement that even if we don’t change our habitual consumption-on-demand behaviours, then at the very least new materials will help to alleviate the problems that this causes. But where customers can be motivated to change, then there are exciting opportunities for the foundation industries to create and profit from new types of packaging. Long life refillable containers, improved compostable packaging, or easier to recycle monomer packaging, are just some of the innovations expected on our journey to 2050.
But any change in packaging types will lead to follow-on changes in the packaging supply chain, such as new infrastructure that supports high rates of chemical recycling, or which enables more circular reuse and refill business models. In response to this, we’re already seeing large fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) players investing in zero waste / refillable start-ups and committing to zero waste to landfill goals, marking a clear sign of their intent. And although it may seem far-fetched now, the value of packaging could increase so much that it will come with an RFID (Radio-frequency identification) tag for easy management.
The Futures approach
The study applied a ‘Futures’ approach, incorporating a series of structured interviews and expert workshops, including representatives from across the packaging supply chain and Foundation Industries, to develop an outlook of what the 2050 socio-techno-environmental landscape might look like. From this, five different scenarios were constructed to explore how this might affect the design of and types of materials used in packaging:
- Consumption of 2020 = 2050 Aftermath showed a future in which we continue consuming, business-as-usual, in a linear economy, leading to material scarcity and resource shortages. Society and the environment are facing the extreme consequences of our industrial activity.
- Consumerism of 2020 in Part-sustainable 2050 showed a future in which steps have been taken for us to consume more sustainably, leading to material substitutions and technology development to mitigate the impact of our consumption-on-demand behaviours. Improved and more sustainable industrial activity takes place in some sectors, but with unintended negative effects in others.
- Re(use)volution showed a future in which systems are designed to facilitate reuse. The materials we use are more durable and contain composite materials.
- Doorstep to Fork showed a future in which systems are designed to produce and circulate resources and energy locally. There is less transport packaging required as consumers can purchase what they need locally; the packaging that does exist is made from biomaterials.
- Augmented Circularism showed a future in which technology has optimised systems to incorporate circularity (and reuse) into our daily lives. All packaging is tagged with RFID, and Internet of Things (IoT) connects different parts of the supply chain so that we always know where packaging is. However, we require more critical raw materials to produce RFIDs, and packaging consists of durable composite plastics (for which recycling technologies have been created).
Collaborating the way forward
The conclusion of the discussions was that in such a fast-moving sector, it is expected that all five of the scenarios created are expected to exist in parallel, even if some only to a limited extent. While existing supply chains will likely contract, new supply chains will need to be established — and so ongoing collaboration between the packaging sector and the Foundation Industries will be crucial in the transition to Net Zero. It is hoped that this report will help the foundation industries to understand more about possible market opportunities and threats, consider the impact of disruptive products or business models, and help to refine their R&D needs.
About the author: Dr Hugh Falkner is an Innovation Lead on the Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge, and is an industrial energy efficiency and product ecodesign specialist.
