Climate change is one of the biggest issues globally. The world is already facing the effects of climate change such as extreme storms, frequent wildfires, regular drought, etc. The public and the private sector are aiming to tackle climate change issues by reducing pollution, keeping their carbon emissions in check, optimum utilization of natural resources and adopting sustainability practices. The packaging industry is also now coming up with innovative ideas such as sustainable packaging to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Consumer goods’ packaging is particularly responsible for environmental pollution, therefore sustainable packaging is increasingly resonating with consumers’ decisions to protect the environment. As a result, paper and other plant-based packaging materials have seen growing popularity given that they are recyclable and compostable.
Sustainable packaging can be defined as packaging that reduces the carbon footprint through using sustainable materials, an efficient supply chain, and promotes reusability. The sustainability of packaging revolves around three key notions - the packaging material must be recyclable, compostable as well as “renewable”. The production process of such packaging material minimizes adverse environmental impact while the material’s lifecycle length, as a reusable packaging material, can reduce wastage and pollution, and promotes the re-use of resources through a circular economy.
The sustainable packaging market can be divided into two segments – by application (Food, Beverage & Tobacco, Household & Personal Products, and Others) and by material (Flexible Packaging, Glass, Paper & Board, Rigid Metal, and Rigid Plastics). The global market of sustainable packaging has been growing significantly. Brands and retailers have aligned with consumer behavior to show their commitment to protecting the environment, reducing their use of plastic, and shifting their demand towards paper and bioplastic packaging materials. The countries that are leading the growth of sustainable packaging market are China, the US, Mexico, India, and Brazil. The market volume of sustainable packaging in the US reached 24.5 million metric tonnes in 2021, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.0% between 2017 and 2021, and an increase of 1.8% year over year.
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