Sustainability Trends 2024
Improved automation is the key driver behind several of the biggest trends that will impact packaging sustainability in 2024. In 2024, the biggest change in packaging since the introduction of plastic may occur. One thing that is helping businesses make this shift is advanced automation; This shows that sustainability and automation are the two biggest drivers of this change and are often intertwined. As we explore the biggest packaging trends affecting sustainability for 2024, we will examine how often these two concepts overlap.
**WestRock Vice President of Retail Insights and Solutions Leon Nicholas identified these trends as a result of his team's work with major brands.
1. Printing for automation
Thanks to advanced decision-making and artificial intelligence capabilities in digital, it is predicted that all routine tasks that do not require much analysis will eventually be done by robots, drones or automated machines. This means tasks like stacking packages on shelves, picking and packing products for delivery, unloading trucks, and storing inventory.
“Most packaging today is designed to be seen on a store shelf; “A drone or robot would have a hard time picking up a bag of salad or a large bag of dog food,” he says. “The packaging needs to be redesigned before we can take full advantage of automation.”
When these redesigns are made, you can be sure that the new packaging will be more sustainable, as retailers are already pushing brands to do so
2. Plastic reduction and replacement
While sustainability-focused brands are leading the fight against plastic, local and national governments around the world are now applying pressure as well. Europe banned singleuse plastic products from 2021, with Canada following suit in mid-2023 (but that decision was overturned by a federal court, and the UK followed suit in October).
More than 400 municipalities at the local and state level in the U.S. have some type of ban or tax on single-use plastics, and more are on the way. Brands are feeling the pressure to quickly eliminate single-use plastic as consumer behavior and retailer demands drive the sustainability goals private businesses set for themselves years ago.
3. Post-purchase interaction In addition to their use in marketing, experiential packaging with
QR codes also provides more practical and sustainable uses. At the sustainability level, brands can provide a way to provide source information on product ingredients to consumers concerned about possible allergens or an ethical supply chain. And if they can get that information with a barcode scan, why wouldn't they provide information on how to reuse, recycle, and/or properly dispose of packaging?
4. Reduction of air/free space Potato chip manufacturers beware:
Empty spaces in packaging (sometimes so much that there is more air than product) are about to disappear. Reducing carbon emissions is a priority to achieve sustainability goals, and one of the biggest ways to reduce emissions is to fit more products on a single pallet. Using fewer pallets means fewer containers and vehicles are required to transport them; This means less carbon emissions. The easiest way to fit more products on a pallet is to reduce the size of the package, eliminating air and wasted space inside. For some product groups, air accounts for 64 percent of a shipment. Not only will this reduce emissions, but the reduction in transportation costs will be more cost-effective for businesses
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