As the planet experiences the dramatic consequences of human abuse of the environment, anxiety is increasing about the future society dooms itself to. Scarcity of natural resources, general pollution, global warming, — those are but a few of the destructive effects of human activity on the hospitable planet that has been sheltering people for ages. In a desperate endeavor to decelerate the devastation of the planet, modern society is seeking ways to exist in harmony with the nature instead of abusing it.
Nowadays, one of such escapes is viewed in the so-called sustainable development: it presupposes such usage of natural resources that would allow meeting the needs of not only the present generations but also those of the future. Among the multiple spheres to which the principle of sustainability applies in the industry of sustainable packaging, as discussed in Steve Sterling’s article “Embracing the promise of sustainable packaging” (2006).
Sterling (2006) grounds the necessity for turning to sustainable packaging on three groups of factors: economic, environmental and social. From the economic point of view, manufacturers have faced the need to seek new packaging options after the dramatic oil prices collapse and alarming scarcity of resources in 2005. Under the present conditions, companies are experiencing high levels of risks at accessing the scarce raw materials, which in turn increases their energy bills. From the environmental point of view, companies are obliged to comply with the multiple pollution and waste disposal regulation, including, inter alia, such sets of directives as those on packaging and packaging waste, and Kyoto protocol.
Increasing the recycling rates and curbing greenhouse gas emissions are the key concerns for the companies to address. Last but not least, the social dimensions of sustainable development are gaining an ever-increasing significance nowadays: public trust is likely to be reposed in the companies that make efforts not only to raise high revenue but also to ensure that the community benefits from their activities on the whole. Illustrating the principles of sustainable packaging, Sterling (2006) outlines the guidelines and key issues to be considered by companies that strive to adjust their activities to the environmental needs of the planet.
In view of the challenges faced by modern economy and environment, Sterling’s (2006) article appears more than timely and well-grounded. On the one hand, natural resources crisis necessitates the search for alternative resources as well as recycling the once used substances. In this respect, packaging materials open wide opportunities since their bulk is enormous in modern world. There are hardly any consumer goods that remain unpackaged, with the packaging being discarded as useless once the goods are delivered to the ultimate consumer. This creates two issues to solve: on the one hand, there emerges an enormous bulk of literally unused materials that can find further application and thus save the trouble and cost of producing new ones; and on the other hand, the planet is littered with endless tons of packaging waste that creates multiple environmental problems to be solved.
Therefore, a new, more environmentally-friendly packaging has to be introduced which would benefit both the company budget and the state of nature. In addition, sustainable packaging would address such social issues as customers’ trust to the sustainable-acting companies and customers’ satisfaction from understanding the fact that by purchasing goods in sustainable packaging they contribute to the environmental well-being.
The issue of sustainable packaging appears perspective in all the three respects: economy, environment and society can join forces and draw their benefits from introducing a new way of treating the nature which otherwise faces dramatic catastrophes.
References
Sterling, S. (2006). Embracing the promise of sustainable packaging. Packaging World Magazine, 42–43. Web.