Overview of Packaging Requirements
Growing public concern for sustainable development has moved governments worldwide to implement strict requirements on packaging to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and shift the cost of managing discarded packaging from government entities to producers.
The most substantial implications of these requirements include:
- design standards such as material restrictions, recycled content requirements, and source reduction requirements
- documentation requirements including the disclosure of technical and marketing characteristics of packaging
- labeling of packaging components to indicate packaging material, funding of recovery, or other attributes
- reporting and payment of fees for packaging placed on the market, with cost and competitive implications
Ultimately, some authorities are empowered to remove from the market products whose packaging does not meet requirements.
In addition to regulatory requirements, customers such as retailers also place similar reporting requirements (e.g.Walmart's packaging scorecard) on companies who place packaging and packaged goods into the marketplace.
EPI's Approach
Compliance with environmental packaging requirements, once treated as an afterthought by many companies, has become a formidable task requiring the coordination of many parts of a business, from engineers to marketing, environmental affairs to procurement. Centralized management of environmental packaging issues is required to maintain compliance and avoid duplication of efforts. EPI can work with you to identify key roles and responsibilities throughout your organization and supply chain in order to ensure cost-effective compliance.