Sustainability has emerged as one of the most popular trends in the printing and packaging industry. There are a host of benefits associated with going green, and more companies are starting to embrace the idea of changing their business practices. From evolving release liners to thinner substrates, businesses can save money as well as the environment.

TLMI (Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute) has supported its LIFE (Label Initiative for the Environment) certification program for converters and suppliers. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Program for the Enforcement of Forestry Certification schemes (PEFC) also offer certifications designed to increase environmental accountability.

Studio 111, a subsidiary of Berlin Packaging, aims to reduce costs while increasing productivity and sales. Sustainability is also incorporated into the company’s core practices, and it strives to produce green packaging.  The company defines green packaging as “packaging that facilitates the reduction of toxicity, waste, emissions and liability while increasing renewability, reusability, locality and visibility.”

With technology growing at a rapid pace, Dana Cott, marketing specialist at Berlin Packaging, states that it is incumbent on brands to go green. “Companies have the opportunity and responsibility to define this for their brands and within their market category,” she says. “Green issues are mainstream, across all FMCG markets and consumers.”

Cott explains that consumers will opt for green packaging in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint and avoid products that involve unnecessary consumption of packaging. Studies also show that females and millennials are most likely to impact the sustainable standard. “Female consumers overall have higher engagement and concern driven by a desire to offer the best to one’s family,” says Cott. “Millennials have a desire for a fundamentally different form of consumption. Their engagement with issues is broad and goes beyond a focus on the environment and being green; it is about bringing in improvement in all aspects of doing business.”

Despite the information available and known benefits for both the product and the environment, customers will typically only opt for green packaging when it benefits the bottom line. “Green packaging remains a secondary factor when making purchasing decisions,” adds Cott. “Most consumers select the green option only when it is simple, convenient and cost effective to do so. Sustainability is not an easy topic. In many ways it has shown to be easy to make the sustainable sell on retail shelves via product claims and packaging. It is defining sustainability goals and quantifying the results where companies can get hung up.”

In many ways, sustainability has become a way for companies to promote a buzzword more so than a viable product. “Sustainable, green, natural product claims have flooded the marketplace,” says Cott. “Surveying product launches over the past year, globally, the top five claims were natural, no artificial color, organic, no gluten and high vitamins. Taking a look at the organic personal care space, in particular, all product claims were good-for-you focused, environmentally friendly ranked 19/20 among top claims with no other mention of eco-packaging within the top claims.”

According to Cott, going green is more than just a fashion statement. Berlin Packaging has taken necessary steps to ensure a safer, cleaner product. This includes four major families of actions that can improve packaging sustainability – Material Inputs, Material Outputs, Energy & Climate, and People & Community. “As a strategic partner to our customers we offer support throughout different stages in the process, making sure they “pull the right levers,” says Cott.

If a company develops a sustainable product, Cott explains the various ways in which to market it. “The average consumer’s eye is not trained to recognize all forms of ‘sustainable’, ‘green’ packaging, so just be true to your initiatives,” she says. “In recent years, we have seen brands clean up their packaging and labels. For example, a clean label is taken as a sign of a more natural product. Clean branding with concise content and an understandable design language can speed up purchasing times. While transparency, translucent packaging helps solidify the power of production, ingredient and brand openness. Sustainability should be reflected through your company, product, and messaging not just within packaging.”

Companies can make strides to positively affect the environment, and the process does not occur over night. “There are many ways and not everything needs to be done at the same time, it just needs to be done smart to create a positive impact on the company and the playground they play in,” explains Cott. “Start internally with your consumers, customers, and supply chain; get their feedback. How do you stand next to your competitors with this initiative? What changes can your brand afford to make? What is the overall goal? Once a company has established their sustainability strategy and foundation, they can select the best tactics and actions to meet goals. Ultimately, delivering sustainable solutions and delivering excellent business results can go hand in hand with a well-designed roadmap and supportive partners.

“All it takes to ride the green packaging wave is to define areas of improvement, set goals, ensure all marketing communication is truthful with supported products and claims. Just as there are shades to the color green, there are many opportunities to improve on sustainability,” Cott concludes.