Source: Adsale Industry Portal 2456.com
Many consumers consider it an environmentally friendly behaviour to avoid food products in packaging. They are worried about the packaging's impact on our climate. But in fact, packaging only plays a minor role in the big CO2 picture.
Would you prefer a pot of prawns in a packaging with a lesser carbon footprint to a pot of prawns with an average emission of CO2? If yes, you belong to the majority of the consumers. According to a recent survey from AC Nielsen, 75 per cent would choose a product over another if it shows a clear reduction in packaging.
However, there seems to be a misplaced emphasis on packaging, as massive CO2 emissions derive from other parts in a product's lifecycle. Packaging is just a fraction of the total carbon footprint. Talking about the pot of prawns, there's the prawn fishing, filling and distribution of products, the point of sales, the consumer's drive to and from the supermarket and the cooking, just to mention a few. It all contributes to a whole lifecycle carbon footprint. The plastic packaging is indeed a one in a crowd.
Several players have an influence on the carbon footprint of a product. The most important player, however, is probably the end-user. All indications suggest that the drive by car from home to the supermarket and back has a far more heavy impact on a product's carbon footprint than the production of the packaging.
Another important issue is food waste which is a growing problem. We eat a lot in industrialised countries, but there's also a lot that we don't eat. Consumers throw away tons of food every year and may not have in mind that food waste produces three times more carbon than packaging. This is an indisputable burden to our climate. Actually, packaging contributes to reduced food waste. If it wasn't for packaging, we would have to throw away even more food as the shelf life is much longer when the product is properly packed, at the food store and at home.
(TZX)
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