LCA of Packed Food Products: the function of flexible packaging

Fichier: 

ESU_-_Flexible_Packaging_2008_-_Exec_Sum-1.pdf

Type: 

ACV complète non disponible sur le web (Résumé)

Comparative: 

oui

Année de publication: 

2008

Langue: 

Anglais

Code: 

Home Appliance

Code: 

Food, Plants

Produit: 

food

The evaluation of the environmental performance of packaging usually concentrates on a comparison of packaging materials. Other aspects including sustainable consumption and production of packed goods are often neglected. The same applies to the functional role of flexible packaging, which is the distribution of goods to society to satisfy human needs.
Broader approaches, which focus on the life cycle of packed goods, including the entire supply system and the consumption of goods, are necessary to get an environmental footprint of the food supply system with respect to sustainable production and consumption.This study shows that in case of packaging industry this goal can only be reached if also aspects indirectly influenced by the product are taken into account. Thus, the packaging industry does not only aim to improve the production process of their packages, but also to provide packages whose func- tionality helps to reduce other more relevant environmental impacts in the life cycle. Depending on the product tailor-made packaging may also help to increase overall resource efficiency.