Dell’s focus on sustainability has established the electronics giant as a leader in the green movement. Back in December of 2008, Dell announced a plan to transform computer packaging by adding recycled content (32%). By 2012, Dell hopes to achieve its goal of increasing the recycled content in its packaging by 40%. To do this, the company is implementing a strategy based on three C’s: Cube, Content, and Curbside.

Cube
Reducing the size of product packaging so it is more efficient, from the size of the boxes that hold product components to the number of items that can be moved per shipping pallet. In one example, Dell optimized the packaging for its Inspiron laptop so that the number of computers per pallet increased from 54 to 63.

Content
As previously stated, Dell is ramping up the amount of recycled contents that go into their packaging. For heavier products that require sturdier support, the company has increased the use of recycled foam versus using virgin product. Dell has also increased the use of post-consumer recycled plastics, integrating the equivalent of more than 9.5 million half-gallon milk jugs into its packaging.

Also, Dell has been using bamboo as a strong and compostable alternative to the molded paper pulp, foams, and corrugated cardboard often used in packaging.

Curbside
Ensuring that their packaging is curbside recyclable is that last piece of Dell’s green packaging strategy. Dell increasingly chooses materials that can be tossed in the recycling bin such as post-consumer plastics and molded paper pulp.

Bamboo is still not accepted by many municipal recyclers for curbside pickup however, Dell is working with Georgia Pacific, Unisource Global Services, and Environmental Packaging International in an effort to certify its bamboo packaging for recycling.

Dell outlines the three C’s strategy in their 2010 Corporate Responsibility Summary Report (PDF)

More than 30 companies are testing out a packaging sustainability measurement system that one group hopes becomes a worldwide standard. The system was developed through the Consumer Goods Forum’s Global Packaging Project (GPP), and includes a list of 52 indicators (and how to measure them) like weight, recycling rates, virgin content and shelf life. The indicators are divided into three main sections:

- Environmental (material waste, recycling/composting/reuse rates, recycled or renewable content)
- Economic (total cost of packaging, packaged product wastage)
- Social (packaged product shelf life, product safety, responsible workplace practices).

The GPP has also released a document (PDF) listing every indicator along with each one’s definition, metric, what to measure and what not to measure.

The basics of the system and common packaging principles are explained in the GPP’s first report, “A Global Language for Packaging and Sustainability,” which was designed to deliver a common framework and measurement system that trading partners can use to help them make better, more informed decisions about packaging and sustainability. The report was developed with input from more than 80 manufacturers, retailers, trade associations and packaging industry stakeholders.

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Walmart, SC Johnson, General Mills, Target and Colgate-Palmolive have agreed to use it to answer questions about the sustainability of different packaging choices. The results of the pilot projects will be compiled and released at the end of this year.

Here at Sunrise we love progress. Especially when it involves the environment, so a recent blog post at Ecogeek sparked our interest.  The post brought a cool invention to our attention.  The design of the recycing robot by Osaka University and Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Co.  They  have created a robot with laser-sensing technology that can differentiate six different types of plastic from all other garbage.  The 5-foot 6-inch by 6-foot 9-inch machine identifies the plastic materials by analyzing the reflectivity of five different wavelengths of lasers on the materials.

The purpose of the robot is to streamline the recycling process and increase the amount of plastic that gets recycled.  With this robot taking care of that sorting, people can recycle with the assurance that the robot will take care of the details.

Although at 55,000 dollars this isn’t exactly being marketed as a home sorting device it certainly has a lot of potential for industrial sites.

For more information please visit

EcoGeek

Telegraph

Botropolis

The average American throws away 4 pounds of trash daily.   Considering the fact that there are over 300,000,000 people living within the United States it is easy to see how the trash situation can get out of hand.  In fact, it’s estimated that the US generates around 230 million tons of trash a year.  The good news is that with that much trash there is a lot of room for improvement.  Here are some statistics from The Clean Air Council that demonstrate how much room for improvement there really is.

• Only about 1/10 of solid garbage in the U.S. gets recycled.
• Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.



• In the U.S., an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays.  Four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags.
• Americans throw away enough aluminum cans to rebuild our commercial air fleet every three months.

The good news is that a little recycling can go a long way.

• For every ton of plastic bottles that are recycled, 3.8 barrels of oil are saved.
• Aluminum has a quick turn-around as a recycled material. It can be back on the shelf as a new can in as little as six weeks.

For more information visit:

Learner

Popular mechanics

Radio-Frequency Identification, or RFID tags, are very helpful for automatic store checkout, simplifying warehousing, and preventing theft.  Some say RFID tags may even completely replace the barcode, which is most commonly used today.  They are able to store more information on minimal space and can be read quickly by readers.  Although RFID tags are very helpful for these purposes, The Blog of Packaging pointed out that RFID tags could interfere with recycling.

The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) performed a study that showed when melting waste glass, it could become less shatterproof or discolored if the recycled glass contains trace amounts of aluminum and silicon from RFID tags.

Something needs to be done to make RFID tags more eco-friendly, such as making them metal-free, easily removable, or stuck to the bottle labels instead of the glass.  Otherwise many losses will be seen from not being able to recycle these materials, which would increase the input of extraneous materials needed.

With the growing concern for sustainable packaging, Greener Package decided to recognize the green efforts of companies moving in the right direction with environmentally-friendly innovations.  The winners come from a range of different industries, including food, pharmaceutical, personal care, and household care.  Here is the list they came up with:

Greener Package Award

• Entropy Solutions–Greenbox thermal management (Winner of Innovator of the Year)
• Estee Lauder–Aveda Vintage Clove Shampoo & cap collection program
• Bryce Corporation–SunChips bag from 33% PLA
• Robbie Mfg.–Hot N Handy Bio-Pouch
• ConAgra-rPET in CPET trays for Healthy Choice
• Ampac–Patch Perfect
• Rexam PLC–rPET in APET drug ovals
• Unisource Worldwide–recycled toys with 100% recyclable packaging

Retail Leadership Award

• Marks and Spencer

Clean Manufacturing Award

• J.L. Clark

All of these companies are setting the mark for their competition.  If they want to stay in the game, they must follow suit with their green efforts, or go above and beyond, because eco-friendly packaging is here to stay.

If you’re like most people, you keep hearing about companies going green to both please customers and help the environment.  It can be overwhelming to try to manage your company’s green efforts if you don’t have much experience, but even small steps towards becoming more environmentally-friendly can help.  That is why it is important to set goals for yourself and your company that you can achieve.

I found some tips and goals to benchmark your environmental progress from the marketing magazine, Deliver, that can help your company in its start to become more eco-friendly:

Paper Procurement & Use

• Increase wood/paper purchases from recognized forest certification programs (by X percent by X year).
• Indicate use of suppliers affiliated with sustainable forestry practices that protect forest ecosystems and biodiversity as well as provide the wood and paper products our company needs.
• Increase purchase of environmentally preferable paper used for marketing pieces, product packaging, and/or internal consumption (by X percent by X year).

Successful packaging can lead to increased sales, monetary savings and a more positive public image. The following are some examples of packaging successes and their outcomes. Now would be a good time to take notes.

Wal-Mart – a company that is known for attracting negative publicity but has been working toward sustainability – received positive attention recently for choosing Winterborne as their packaging provider. Winterborne was awarded a Converting 2007 Innovator Award for its EnviroShell package. EnviroShell is a 90 percent recyclable and recycled clamshell and the use of this packaging product reflected positively on Wal-Mart in the news media. The take-away? Sustainable packaging has benefits for the environment and for your business image.

Vaseline recently redesigned its brand through a packaging change. Prior to the change, the brand’s identity had been lost as it expanded. Different products in the Vaseline line had different logos and package designs and there was a lack of consistency. Blue Marlin stepped in and created a consistent, attractive, brand-cohesive logo that would stand for all Vaseline products. Blue Marlin made sure that each Vaseline product included classic blue plastic lids and they put a great deal of effort into matching the color of the logo to the blue plastic lids. Vaseline is now the fastest-growing personal care brand for its parent company, Unilever. What’s the take-away here? A strong, consistent brand combined with refreshing packaging can lead to an increase in sales for your business.

Mrs. Fields revamped its retail packaging to reflect a design similar to the redesigned Mrs. Fields stores nationwide and to play on the nostalgia associated with the brand. Tempting shots of cookies adorn the new packaging, which is now more consistent with the Mrs. Fields brand. This new packaging has earned positive reactions from media sources, especially within the packaging industry, appearing in such magazines as Packaging World. The take-away? Refreshing your packaging can strengthen your brand image and generate recognition for your company!

Get to know the message behind your brand and whether your packaging reflects that. Not every product needs repackaging, but, as in these cases, refreshing your packaging may lead to positive consequences for your company and brand.

I recently came across a site for Zero Waste Week, which started on Monday and concludes this Sunday. All week long, people across the world have been making small changes in their lives to eliminate or reduce their amount of waste. By coming together and taking these small steps, we can reduce the amount of waste thrown into the landfills and become more environmentally-responsible.

Last year, they offered prizes and incentives for people who participated, but this year, they wanted to try something different. There are no incentives, because they want people to want to help the environment by reducing the amount of waste generated and sent to the landfills. This way, they hope for people to continue in their efforts long after Zero Waste Week is over, rather than just doing it now for a prize.

You can reduce waste by using durable, reusable packaging or by making sure that it is recyclable and made from recycled materials. We can all work on doing our part to reduce waste and help the environment. Have any ideas to reduce waste even more? Let us know!