2.7 Management of containers and packaging
How does the company minimize the environmental impact of its containers and packaging and report on its results?
Packaging waste is the largest part of the total waste generated by a supermarket (more than 80% of the total). Packaging is indispensable for many items in order to protect the product and ensure quality, so it cannot be completely avoided.
However, there is much room for improvement by these companies, as private label manufacturers and retailers, to make these materials less harmful to our environment and actually avoid them when they are not entirely necessary.
The 3Rs maxim: "Reduce, Recycle, Reuse" must always be present throughout the supermarket value chain in innovation, manufacturing, supplier selection, transport of goods, storage and all those processes that can add to the huge amount of waste we generate.
With this metric we evaluate companies' efforts in packaging management by focusing on their actions on recycling, reduction and reuse, use of sustainable materials, publication of their data, prevention and education.
Aspects related to plastic use, such as the use of single-use plastics, promotion and supply of bulk products, plastic bags, etc., are dealt with separately in metric 2.8 Single-use plastic management.
However, there is much room for improvement by these companies, as private label manufacturers and retailers, to make these materials less harmful to our environment and actually avoid them when they are not entirely necessary.
The 3Rs maxim: "Reduce, Recycle, Reuse" must always be present throughout the supermarket value chain in innovation, manufacturing, supplier selection, transport of goods, storage and all those processes that can add to the huge amount of waste we generate.
With this metric we evaluate companies' efforts in packaging management by focusing on their actions on recycling, reduction and reuse, use of sustainable materials, publication of their data, prevention and education.
Aspects related to plastic use, such as the use of single-use plastics, promotion and supply of bulk products, plastic bags, etc., are dealt with separately in metric 2.8 Single-use plastic management.