New Global Protocol for Sustainable Packaging

PARISThe Consumer Goods Forum on Sept. 6 released its Global Protocol on Packaging Sustainability (GPPS) to help companies reduce the environmental impact of their packaging by providing a common language to address business questions about packaging sustainability within a company or between business partners.

The GPPS is part of the Consumer Goods Forum's sustainability work stream," sponsored by board members Philip Clarke, CEO of Tesco, and Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever.

The GPPS was designed by a diverse group of retailers and manufacturers, aided by packaging material suppliers and packaging manufacturers and led by a steering team that included representatives from Wal-Mart, Target, Tesco, Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé and Unilever. The protocol is based on earlier packaging sustainability guidelines developed by the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN) with ECR Europe and similar work on metrics for packaging developed by GreenBlues Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC).