Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF)
Packaging Sustainability Study
Callyn Gonzalez
Executive Summary
In support of EREF’s vision to light the way towards a more circular economy, the Sustainability Program is working to connect both ends of the supply chain by strengthening the relationship between product manufacturers and waste managers. Currently, our linear system operates in a way where the packaging decisions made by the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry can have negative impacts on consumers, waste management, and the environmental systems we depend on. Our goal is to create scientifically based, unbiased educational content for the CPG industry that can guide the industry towards a more circular system. We plan to educate brands on the specific packaging types that are able to be diverted by consumers and then processed into new resources by our existing waste management infrastructure.
EREF has been gathering data on the packaging materials represented within the various consumer product categories, and we will need support in the data analysis portion of the project. More specifically, support will be needed to collect background research on each specific packaging material to build a comprehensive packaging rating system. The analysis will be done through a literature review of the available research on the environmental impacts and end markets of specific packaging materials. This data analysis will be used to build a packaging rating system where each packaging type will get a sustainability ‘score’. This will help EREF educate the industry on the actions and purchasing changes necessary to build a circular economy.