Framework for Sustainable Food Packaging Design

TLDR

The environmental impact of packaging is relatively small compared with the food it contains, yet its primary role is to protect the product, a fact that must be acknowledged in design. The study introduces a guiding framework that integrates sustainability into every stage of food packaging design. The framework evaluates the product–package life cycle, prioritizes food‑loss prevention, incorporates package and product properties, and applies staged assessment methods with iterative back‑loops to guide sustainable design decisions. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

The environmental impacts of packages have been found to be relatively small compared with the food items they contain. Furthermore, from the environmental and operational point of view, the most significant task of the package is to protect the product, which is important to acknowledge in the packaging design process. This study introduces a guiding framework for designing sustainable food packaging. In this approach, the entire life cycle of the product–package combination is taken into consideration. The emphasis is on the prevention of food losses in packaging design as a major environmental criterion. Consideration of the properties of both the package and the product itself when designing the final package will lead to a better end result with smaller product losses and environmental impacts. By using different assessment methods in the different stages of the packaging design, the sustainability of the package can be enhanced. The decision making of the packaging designer is facilitated with methods that are introduced step by step and in a certain order that will also allow for corrective measures through back‐loops in the design process. The purpose is to integrate sustainability aspects at all stages firmly into the design process. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.