social and environmental impacts of packaging (lca and assessment of packaging functions)

Social and Environmental Impacts ofPackaging (LCA and Assessment of PackagingFunctions)

By Yoshio Oki1* and Haruo Sasaki2

1Toyo Seikan Kaisha Ltd, 1±3±1, Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyuda-ku, Tokyo, 100±0011, Japan2The Japan Packaging Institute, 10F Togeki Building, 4±4±1, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo,104±0045, Japan

This paper reviews the functions of packaging materials and the social andenvironmental impacts that packaging has, re¯ecting our changing lifestyle. Thefunctions of some packaging materials, such as prevention of food contamination,protection against spoilage, preservation of contents and communications linkingthe food manufacturer to the customer, are many and varied in extent andcomplexity. The current life cycle assessment (LCA) can not easily be applied tothe assessment of environmental impacts of packaging materials, takingpackaging functions into consideration, but attempts at such application arebeing made experimentally. Copyright O 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Received 14 December 1999; Accepted 15 February 2000

KEY WORDS: packaging function; environment; LCA; sustainable

INTRODUCTION

Life cycle assessment (LCA), employing a `cradle-to-grave' approach, is now a widely used tech-nique for assessing total environmental burdens inall stages from the extracting and processing ofraw materials to consumption of products.ISO (International Organization for Standardi-

zation) is also working on LCA as part of its effortsat environmental management standardization.The principles of LCA as a technique for assessingenvironmental impacts are already standardizedas ISO 14040 for international application. Accord-ingly, JIS, or the Japanese Industrial Standards,established JIS Q 14040 `Environmental Manage-mentÐLife Cycle AssessmentÐPrinciples andFramework' on 20 November 1997.Thus, LCA as a technique for environmental

impact assessment is steadily gaining in impor-tance. In fact, many enterprises and research

institutions are attempting their own practicalapplication of LCA. However, as we try to performactual calculations, we realize that LCA still hasnumerous ambiguities to be clari®ed. For instance,when we try to make an LCA of a product to see itsglobal environmental impacts, as shown in Figure1, we soon meet the dif®culty of setting precon-ditions and lose heart in the attempt, suspectingthe reliability of data available. However, if weknew the real problems and the magnitude of theproblems, then we might have some way to dealwith the whole project.

This way, the current LCA technique, while it isgaining international acceptance, is far fromperfect in its applicability to individual cases.Therefore, LCA will become more practicablewhen a wide variety of preconditions are set. Also,LCA ought to be used as a tool for restructuringour society into one whose development issustainable; it must not be used simply as a

PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCEPackag. Technol. Sci. 2000; 13: 45±53

Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

* Correspondence to: Y. Oki, Toyo Seikan Kaisha Ltd, 1±3±1 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100±0011, Japan.

Figure 1. Impacts and weightings in all environmental aspects of coating.

Copyright O 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 46 Packag. Technol. Sci. 2000;13: 45±53

Y. OKI AND H. SASAKI

witch-hunting tool for pointing out environmentalburdens of products, processes and services. LCAmust be put to use as a tool for promotingtechnological development in line with the agree-ment, made at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,that the sustainable development of modernsociety must be achieved through promotion offurther technological development.The assessment of functions, addressed in this

paper, is essential in applying LCA to packaging.Disregard of the assessment of functions, which isdif®cult in conducting an LCA of packaging, is arefusal to see the realities of packaging. Suchdisregard is comparable to selecting beauties in abeauty contest by measuring the weight andstructure of the skeletons of the contestantsbecause it is dif®cult to show their appearancesor actual frames in numerical values.We must not forget how the packaging industry

has built up the packaging functions of today. Theassessment of functions is indispensable in asses-sing the environmental impacts of packaging.Therefore, the author believes that addressing theproblem of function assessment will contributegreatly to the improvement and wider use of a`truly practical LCA'.

STATUS QUO OFTECHNOLOGICAL

DEVELOPMENT IN THEPACKAGING INDUSTRY

Figure 2 shows the trend in technical developmentin the packaging industry from 1990 to 1998. It isevident that as a result of improvement inpackaging materials, which represents progressin functional development, the targeted costreduction and material saving have been achievedwithout sacri®cing the functions of packaging.

It can be said that technological developmenthas accomplished an approximately 15% reductionin the consumption of packaging materials neces-sary to package products (equivalent to ¥1 millionof real 1990 GDP).

Energy saving in the Japanese economy as awhole had progressed steadily until about 1985,but has been stagnant ever since. From thebusiness slowdown following the burst of thebubble economy, enterprises in this country havelearned that they can not survive on productswhich are simply cheap. In fact, products whichwere only cheap have been losing the intensecompetition from developing countries. Manymanufacturers therefore had to shift to theproduction of products with advanced functions.

Figure 2. Technological development indicator for the packaging industry:saving rate of packaging materials necessary to package products

equivalent to ¥1 million of 1990 GDP.


LCA AND ASSESSMENT OF PACKAGING FUNCTIONS

This tendency can be seen in Figure 3, whichshows the rise in energy consumption per productin the principal industries from around 1990.Figure 4, which represents the change in theprimary energies converted into petroleum con-sumption per ¥100 million of GDP, shows a similartendency to that in Figure 5. This means that thepackaging industry, as well as other industries ofJapan, must pursue energy saving and advancedfunctions at the same time in its efforts to developnew products.

The LCA, as proposed so far, does not provideany clear-cut guidelines for the assessment ofproduct functions, which are of critical impor-tance. Reduction in the consumption of materialsis said to reduce environmental burdens, but it willinevitably result in functional loss unless it iscompensated for by technological development. Ifwe try to maintain the level of functions, con-sumption of materials tends to rise.The roles to be played by packaging in modern

society are ever on the increase. On the other hand,

Figure 3. Change in energy consumption in major industries of Japan.Source: Energy, Economy and Statistics Handbook.

Figure 4. GDP equivalent of total primary energy supply in Japan. Source:Energy, Economy and Statistics Handbook.



however, packaging materials are often lookedupon as the type of materials whose waste disposalis typically dif®cult, and thus little attention isgiven to the fundamental role of packagingmaterials.

SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OFPACKAGING

The basic packaging functions are transportation,storage and distribution, while its ancillary func-tion is communications, performed by the mark-ings on it. With the advance of mass media, thiscommunication function is today used to the bestadvantage in connection with TV commercials.It is worthwhile to consider the functions of

packaging and their social signi®cance to oursociety. We may be able to see the social impactsof packaging more clearly by enumerating possi-ble consequences if packaging had not developedas it is today.Our living environment has been improving

year by year through investment in public utilities.Better roads and refrigerated transport have raisedthe ef®ciency of our physical distribution system.Furthermore, the universal use of refrigerators athome has realized convenient and sanitary storageof foods at home, thus contributing greatly toimproving the quality of our lives. Thus, physicaldistribution has become more and more stream-lined and ef®cient, with refrigerated transportconnecting makers to homes.Packaging changes itself with the progress of

`socialization' and `civilization' or the society inwhich it is used. And packaging, as it is introducedinto society, raises the ef®ciency of our socialsystem and accelerates the modernization ofsociety. Accordingly, the demand for packagingmaterials by consumers, who characterize society,has escalated from simple functions to complex orcomposite functions. The requirement for newpackaging functions, in turn, creates new marketsfor them.One example that may illustrate the relationship

between society and packaging is goods bound foroverseas locations. For such articles of export,moisture-proof packaging is indispensable be-cause in areas with inadequate port facilities, thepackages may often be exposed to squalls or

unexpected rain. Also, shock-absorbing packagingmust be used for articles bound for areas whereroads are not fully paved. In countries well-equipped with distribution facilities and pavedroads by infrastructural investment, needs formoisture-proof or shock-absorbing packaging areautomatically reduced. As we can see from thisexample, packaging plays a complementary role tomake up for the lack of infrastructural investmentin certain areas.

If packaging performs its intended functions,there will be less damage to or deterioration ofpackaged products during transportation untilthey are sold and consumed. As a result, ideallypackaged products will less likely be disposed ofas damaged or defective products and only thepackaging materials will be disposed of as waste.Where the physical distribution system is ad-vanced, and thus substitute products are obtainedeasily or other procurement systems available,packaging materials will not be put to re-use ordiverted to other applications. In such a society, itis a basic characteristic of packaging materials thatthey turn into waste.

This basic characteristic of packaging materialsis closely related to the social system. From theviewpoint of waste disposal, it is important thatdisuse or scrapping of packaged products due todamage be minimized by further improving theperformance of packaging materials and reducingtheir volume.

Packaging materials also have an importantsoftware function. In the advanced market econ-omy, the function of communications of packa-ging, which is an ancillary software function inaddition to the basic packaging functions, hasexpanded markedly. This new function gave birthto wide-area merchandise, turning local industriesinto wide-area industries, which was made possi-ble by the long-term storage of foods combinedwith TV advertisements.

The ancillary software function of packagingmaterials is not simply to do with the appearanceof products. This communication function canimprove markings and implement sales strategyeffectively to meet the market needs of theinformation society. This function has also madea great contribution to the advancement of barcode and POS systems.

Manufacturers generally select their packagingmaterials by assuming the taste of the consumers.



But the consumers in the age of selective con-sumption exhibit a wide range of individual tastes.Some may prefer cheaper products, and othersexpensive ones. Somemay choose products easy touse, but others may pick environmentally friendlyproducts, even if they are not easy to use. Also,there may be consumers who set a high value ontraditional appearance, even though they may notcondone excessive packaging. The packagingmaterials thus selected are often paradoxical,re¯ecting the contradictory nature of the consu-mers. Packaging is therefore indispensable in anindustrial society to maintain the high level ofproductivity, just as prefabrication is a necessarytechnique in the civil engineering and constructionindustry. Ef®cient physical distribution can reducethe use of packaging materials, decrease energyconsumption and lower CO2 emissions. Yet, if weare to defend the role of packaging complementaryto social infrastructures, we realize that it isimpossible to reduce the environmental burdensof packaging, except possibly in a despotic statewhere uniform rules can be imposed upon people.Hence, we must use every available approach to

minimize waste resulting from packaging materi-als. Table 1 shows data provided by the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO). The shortage of packaging materials innations with inadequate social infrastructures iscausing extremely heavy losses of foodstuffs.

ASSESSING THEFUNCTIONS OF

PACKAGING MATERIALS INLCA

Packaging will be directly affected by changes inthe social environment of the future. Therefore,assessing the functions of packaging materials in

Table 1. Change in the Japanese view of resources

`Nature itself is not resources. It becomes resources when it is combined with other productive elements'

→ `Resources are gradually shifting from material resources to cultural resources'→ `Resources are materials we can use to help maintain or improve our life in society'→ `Resources are not limited to material or tangible things'

Resources are a concept of values, or a socioscienti®c concept'→ `Information has values as resources just as natural resources do'

`The environment is resources that can be moved. That is, land and space have functions and values simply by theirexisting'

→ `Knowledge is resources, constituting cultural society and working as a tool for social development in the future'(intellectual property right)

→ `Services as resources result from changing values, and services placing importance on software functions can constituteindustry'

→ `Time as resources is closely related to services as resources, but must be regarded as resources that can give birth tolatent values' (new life, leisure, hobbies)

Table 2. Loss rate of foodstuffs by country(1990)

Country Loss rate (%)

Japan 1.6China 52.4Korea 13.6Taiwan 18.8Singapore 6.2Thailand 38.0India 62.5USA 1.8Mexico 32.3Brazil 54.1France 1.6Germany 1.2U.K. 1.8Spain 16.7Former Soviet Union 48.5Hungary 46.5Ethiopia 69.2Ghana 75.4



LCA is of essential importance. But it has so farbeen postponed because of its dif®culty.Today there are a variety of techniques pro-

posed to reduce the emissions of substancescausing environmental burdens. Applying theresults of LCA is, of course, one such promisingtechnique. LCA techniques, however, are still intheir developing stage with lots of problems to besolved.What is now considered aweakness of LCA is its

inability to assess the various software functions ofproducts, which are creating new values inmodern society. This may be attributable to thegreat change in our view of `resources' that hastaken place over the years. Table 2 shows howJapanese views about resources have changed inthe past. This points to the fact that assessment ofthe same function can vary with the change in ourvalues or viewpoint. Assessment of functions istherefore not easy, but its importance has beenpointed out by many.The common goal for humanity is the sustain-

able development of society, and the sole viableanswer to that goal is promotion of technologicalprogress. So far, economic growth has been linkedto environmental disruption. To break this link,new approaches are being proposed to realizefusion or coexistence of economic developmentand the environment.In February 1996, the Environmental Group of

the Organization for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment (OECD) proposed the structuring ofa human society whose development is sustain-

able, based on the concept of eco-ef®ciency. Thisapproach addresses the assessment of functions,which has been postponed until now because ofcomplexity. It deals with such important problemsas service to society, productivity and durability ofproducts.

Today it is widely believed that there is aconnection, between economic development andenvironmental burdens. This connection, how-ever, must be severed to realize our goal ofsustainable development of society.

Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Universitysays that coexistence of economic growth and theenvironment can be achieved. Director Weizsackerof the Wuppertal Institute of Germany is studyingways to raise resource productivity, which is oneof the eco-ef®ciencies, in order to realize thesustainable development of society by reconcilingeconomic development with the environment.Schmidt-Bleek, president of the Factor 10 Institute,which proposes reduction of the consumption ofresources to one-tenth of the current level, is alsoamong the enthusiastic proponents of resourceproductivity.

These viewpoints will prove valid in therealization of sustainable development of societyby manufacturing useful products with as littlematerial as possible or manufacturing durableproducts (products that can retain advancedfunctions for a long time).

Also overlooked in LCA so far are efforts atimproving labour productivity through develop-ment of superior equipment and machinery, as

Figure 5. Formation and consumption of functions. Raw material (A) energy for producing raw materials; E1, processingenergy (rolling, surface treatment, etc.); E2, product manufacturing energy (product processing, distribution); E3, recycling

energy; a, recycling process yield; discharge (A): residual energy in discharged material; Waste disposal (A): product-oriented energy in waste; (A� E1� E2), energy of product; a(A±E3), energy of recycled material.



well as the productivity of land. These subjectshave been problems that were handled in socio-economic studies as external diseconomy. Yet, inview of the dif®culty of waste disposal, combinedwith such problems as the depletion or recycling ofnatural resources, it is now accepted as necessarythat the external diseconomy, which used to behandled by social expenses, be internalized intoindustrial activities (recently, there has been ageneral trend to include waste disposal andrecycling as part of industry, or as the `venous'industry, in contrast to the `arterial' industry ofproduction.)Internalization of waste disposal has an impor-

tant meaning to LCA, whose basic approach restsupon total observation. For instance, it is all themore important to conduct an LCA of a productcovering all stages from the procurement ofmaterials to waste disposal, including how thewhole product system contributes to society.In the assessment of product functions, it is

necessary to clarify the impacts that the productfunctions have on our lifestyle and eventually onsociety. For manufacturers, this means that theirresponsibilities are not only for their products butalso for the social impacts their products make.Although LCA is an approach designed to

assess total impacts, it is nearly impossible to

gather data on the social impacts of a productthroughout distribution and consumption withreliability equivalent to that of the data on ourmanufacturing processes. But it is true that manyof the functions of the product are discharged in oraround our daily lives in society.Figure 5 shows the formation of functions in the

manufacturing process, with processing energiestransforming themselves into functions of theproduct. Figure 6 shows a similar process inrelation to added values. In the market economy,all independent and sound enterprises are givingtheir share of added value to the products handledby them. The added value or functions cantherefore be understood as variations of energiesinputed.As the same added value is not always obtained

by the same amount of energy inputed, there is notnecessarily a direct relationship between energyinputed and functions created from it. This isbecause a certain function may be achieved easilysometimes but not easily at other times. Thismakes the assessment of functions all the moredif®cult, but we have to make comparison andveri®cation possible by setting speci®c precondi-tions.The cost of internalization of external disecon-

omy must be paid by somebody. Now that the

Figure 6. Added values in market economy. In market economy, processing energy in each process creates added value tothe product, working as the driving force for the product ¯ow. Added values are equal to direct and indirect personnel

expenses, equipment repayments, R&D expenses, taxes, dividends, etc.

Table 3. LCA of multilayer containers

Unit PP monolayer container Multilayer container Remarks

Material energy Kcal 106.153 112.646 EVA interlayerContainer mfg. energy Kcal 130.828 134.749 Direct blowTransport energy Kcal 215.385 71.795Total energy consumption Kcal 452.366 319.190CO2 emissions g-C/g 35.899 22.211SOx emissions g/g 0.247 0.197NOx emissions g/g 0.279 0.136



social expenses are internalized as expenses of thevenous industry, the cost must be paid accordingto the social signi®cance of the product.The social signi®cance of the product re¯ects the

impacts of the functions that the product gives tosociety. The LCA, which is thus capable ofassessing functions, will surely play an importantrole as a tool that will give incentives to techno-logical development.One example of marked functional improve-

ment in plastic packaging materials throughtechnological development is gas barriers incor-porating multilayer technology. As a result, thedevelopment of refrigerated transport (the `coldchains') combined with popular use of refrigera-tors and improvement of distribution systems, hasbrought a much wider market to local products,which otherwise do not last long. However, if wetry to assess these multilayer containers by thecurrent LCA, then wemay have to exclude the gas-barrier function from the assessment. As a naturalconsequence, the LCA will most likely concludethat the single-layer ®lm is a desirable materialimposing lower environmental burdens because ofless material consumption and less processingenergy. In reality, the high-gas-barrier materials,which entail more cost than single-layer ®lms, arewinning competition on the market.Table 3 shows the values calculated on the

assumption that the performance of the gas-barrier

function reduces the transportation energy re-quired for distribution by extending the salesperiod from three months to one year. This meansthat transportation energy can be used as theparameter for sales increase due to the three-foldextension of the sales area.

CONCLUSIONS

Modern packaging has gained its advanced func-tions through technological development in re-sponse to our social system that creates changes inour lifestyle. Packaging can not exist without thefunctions brought about by packaging materials.The LCA used in assessing packaging only fromthe consumption of raw materials and processingenergy can never be a useful LCA, without theconsideration of packaging functions.

Using the improved storage performance andimproved quality maintenance realized by the newfunction, or multi-layer design, of packagingmaterials as common parameters, we tried valua-tion of the functions by converting them intotransportation energy, thus re¯ecting the valuationin the LCA calculation.

The problems we will address from now on willbe the use of such parameters as time or improve-ment of productivity by use of packaging.



social and environmental impacts of packaging (lca and assessment of packaging functions)

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