TETRA PAK
Consumer awareness of environmental issues in packaging increases / Recycling commonplace in 90% of households
Consumers are increasingly taking steps to safeguard the environment, with recycling and environmentally-conscious shopping becoming routine in households, according to the “Environmental Research 2011” report recently released by Swedish packaging giant Tetra Pak (Lund; www.tetrapak.com). The report, published every two years and conducted on behalf of Tetra Pak by Euromonitor International (www.euromonitor.com), indicates a steady rise in green behaviour by consumers between 2005 and 2011. The behaviours include setting aside food and beverage containers for recycling and avoiding products for environmental reasons.
The number of consumers refusing to accept packaging from stores on environmental grounds surged from less than 30% in 2005 to well above 50% in 2011, the report says. Plastic still seems to be considered as less environmentally friendly than some alternatives, with the survey showing that cartons were considered the best environmental packaging in most countries, being viewed as least harmful to the environment by 62% of consumers polled, followed by 52% for glass, 32% for cans and 18% for plastic.
Sorting and setting aside food and beverage containers for recycling was the most common green activity, rising from less than 70% among consumers polled in 2007 to almost 90% in 2011. Some 88% of consumers in the 10 countries surveyed expressed a preference or strong preference for products in recyclable packaging – 77% said they bought certain products and not others because the packaging was better for the environment.
The survey also highlights the importance placed by food manufacturers, retailers and the packaging industry on environmentally-friendly packaging – with 83% of the food manufacturers and retailers surveyed indicating that they considered environmental impact when choosing beverage packaging solutions.
Convenience was the top consumer consideration when picking the type of packaging they preferred for milk and juice. They considered the environmental impact of packaging and the ability to recycle the packaging as the fourth most important consideration out of 11 criteria, behind convenience, product features and product size. The majority of consumers surveyed, 78%, said they would be willing or extremely willing to buy environmentally-packaged food and beverage products if they were the same price as traditional ones, while 28% of consumers said they would buy products with packaging less harmful to the environment even if it cost more.
Tetra Pak said it has increased its efforts to reduce its own environmental footprint and has committed to cap its carbon emissions across the value chain at 2010 levels by 2020 and aims to double the global recycling rate of used beverage cartons by the end of the decade.
The report polled over 6,600 consumers and more than 200 industry influencers in 10 countries – the US, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, France, Germany and the UK.
The number of consumers refusing to accept packaging from stores on environmental grounds surged from less than 30% in 2005 to well above 50% in 2011, the report says. Plastic still seems to be considered as less environmentally friendly than some alternatives, with the survey showing that cartons were considered the best environmental packaging in most countries, being viewed as least harmful to the environment by 62% of consumers polled, followed by 52% for glass, 32% for cans and 18% for plastic.
Sorting and setting aside food and beverage containers for recycling was the most common green activity, rising from less than 70% among consumers polled in 2007 to almost 90% in 2011. Some 88% of consumers in the 10 countries surveyed expressed a preference or strong preference for products in recyclable packaging – 77% said they bought certain products and not others because the packaging was better for the environment.
The survey also highlights the importance placed by food manufacturers, retailers and the packaging industry on environmentally-friendly packaging – with 83% of the food manufacturers and retailers surveyed indicating that they considered environmental impact when choosing beverage packaging solutions.
Convenience was the top consumer consideration when picking the type of packaging they preferred for milk and juice. They considered the environmental impact of packaging and the ability to recycle the packaging as the fourth most important consideration out of 11 criteria, behind convenience, product features and product size. The majority of consumers surveyed, 78%, said they would be willing or extremely willing to buy environmentally-packaged food and beverage products if they were the same price as traditional ones, while 28% of consumers said they would buy products with packaging less harmful to the environment even if it cost more.
Tetra Pak said it has increased its efforts to reduce its own environmental footprint and has committed to cap its carbon emissions across the value chain at 2010 levels by 2020 and aims to double the global recycling rate of used beverage cartons by the end of the decade.
The report polled over 6,600 consumers and more than 200 industry influencers in 10 countries – the US, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, France, Germany and the UK.
14.10.2011 Plasteurope.com [220441-0]
Published on 14.10.2011