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SUSTAINABILITY THE PANDEMIC EFFECT ON PACKAGING TRENDS Tetra Pak Oceania Managing Director Andrew Pooch tells Retail World that a pandemic can have the effect of shaping and altering the trajectory of already identified trends. Mr Pooch says the two most pressing consumer concerns over the past few years, environment and health, will continue to shape trends in the future, but the pandemic has caused an amplification and acceleration of some of the existing trends. Key consumer trends Four key consumer trends outlined by a recent consumer and retail study commissioned by the food processing and packaging solutions company are: Responsible consumption – where health and sustainability merge, including heightened attention to hygiene and protection. Convenience reborn – with e-grocery and home-delivery options gaining relevance. Heritage and provenance – with the focus on authenticity, individuality and sustainability through tapping into local credentials and culture. Personal data – centred around organisations personalising products and services, smart recommendations and seamless transactions in exchange for consumers sharing their personal data. At the forefront now, Mr Pooch says, is the need for access to safe and hygienic food, despite challenges in the supply chain. “Safe and sustainable packaging will play a key role for food and beverage brands going forward,” he said. “As we look to rebuild from the devastating impact of Covid-19 on our economy, it’s just as important that we look at ways to reduce the environmental impact caused by the pandemic.” He says that with the pandemic having affected, and continuing to affect, communities worldwide, Tetra Pak’s “commitment to protecting what’s good has never been more vital – and our sense of purpose has never been stronger”. “Throughout this crisis, our priorities have been to protect people, keeping our own employees safe and also our customers and other stakeholders, as well as to protect food, by helping our customers maintain continuous food supplies,” Mr Pooch said. He highlights that Tetra Pak’s approach to sustainability encompasses its entire value chain. “We take this approach because we recognise that we can only create a more sustainable future by addressing the interconnected nature of the environmental, social and economic challenges we face,” he said. “Our solutions work because they’re connected. To organise and communicate our priorities, we use protecting food, protecting people and protecting futures as the pillars of our sustainability story. This underpins our brand promise: protect what’s good.” In addition, Tetra Pak uses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to help it prioritise its sustainability efforts, assigning the most relevant to each pillar. “This focus on the SDGs builds on our ongoing commitment to the UN Global Compact and its 10 principles, to which we’ve been a signatory since 2004,” Mr Pooch said. Tetra Pak also has its ‘Strategy 2030’ goals that focus on leading with low- carbon solutions for a circular economy and enhanced sustainability across the value chain, from sourcing to production to the end of life of its products. This includes minimising emissions and waste, protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, maintaining fresh water availability, and promoting recycling and circularity. Trends and challenges In the 2010s, ‘climate change’ was gaining attention, Mr Pooch says. In the 2020s, he asserts, ‘climate emergency’ – 2019’s “word of the year” – will be headline news. “There’s a greater sense of urgency for more action,” he said. “It’s put a spotlight on the need for everyone, from consumers to business and government, to think about working together on sustainable practices.” He adds that as the effects of climate change are more broadly felt, people have begun to prioritise sustainable choices and expect brands to provide them. “We’re already seeing innovations in this space: brands being totally transparent on content, packaging and the way it’s produced and shipped,” Mr Pooch said. “It’s a complex landscape to navigate. It will be important to guide consumers to make more informed choices. “In the area of circularity and sharing, there are interesting ways of how this is being met: retailers selling close-to-expire or ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables, individuals sharing food from their gardens that haven’t been used, restaurants selling leftovers, etc. The level of entrepreneurial spirit and creative innovations to handle this is high and never ending. New solutions are popping up every day, appreciated by consumers and the industry.” Initiatives bear fruit Mr Pooch says Tetra Pak’s business across Australia and New Zealand has assisted its customers to recover two million litres of clean water a day, generated from milk evaporators that would otherwise be sent to waste. “We also help them to recover, on average, 7500kW heat from boilers and refrigeration for reuse,” he said. As to packaging, last year Tetra Pak launched what was claimed to be the world’s first fully renewable carton with Brownes Dairy in Perth, its Tetra Rex plant-based carton. “We’re also working with the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation to improve recycling rates by participating in materials recovery facilities sorting trials to understand the performance of different packaging types through the varied sorting processes across different locations,” Mr Pooch said. “We’ve invested in local research to understand the true lifecycle impact packaging has on climate change. We’ll be sharing results from that study before the end of the year, when more on the true impact of packaging materials will be shared.” 46 RETAIL WORLD NOV, 2020