A decade ago, sustainability was nowhere near the topic of interest it is today. The industry has changed dramatically during the past 10 years, and raw material suppliers have evolved along with this.

“We have to give credit to the faster speed of communications and increase in the awareness of how our utilization of our natural resources impact the environment,” Shamrock Technologies VP Joon Choo said.

“We have seen interest in sustainability and renewability grow dramatically over the past 10 years,” said Gene Cassidy, senior manager, corporate accounts & customer service, North American Research Center for Lawter. “We believe this is a trend that will continue for many years to come.”

Trust Chem NA EVP Falko Orlowski noted that in recent years, China has emphasized great importance to environmental protection and sustainability.

“China has strict requirements regarding national laws and regulations and has increased investment in advancing technology, environmental protection equipment and facilities and, as a result, improved the overall comprehensive management capacity,” noted Orlowski. “The whole industry is in a constant process of optimization and adjustment in an effort to maximize sustainability.”

Chris Patterson, marketing manager Segment Printing & NIP for Clariant, said that the past decade has witnessed a variety of changes, some big and some less so.

“The first one that comes to mind is the demand for convenient packaging solutions, such as individual serving, on-the-go formats and portion packs, coupled with the need for shorter print run lengths and shorter lead times driven by digital processes,” Patterson continued. “But as consumers seek convenience, they also expect more environmentally friendly packaging options. There is a particular focus on plastic waste, which has some suppliers moving back to other materials such as glass. As communities face the consequences of improperly handled plastic waste, we, at Clariant, have developed EcoCircle, an initiative supporting the transition from a one-way plastics value chain to a circular plastics economy. Our special approach goes beyond a product focus, looking at the entire value chain, identifying the most sustainable and viable solutions for a circular plastics economy.

“Another change is the increased awareness of supply chain security and disaster recovery issues-driven largely by Chinese environmental and health/safety actions,” he added. “Clariant’s global production footprint and our focus on sustainable procurement strategies help ensure the sustainability of raw materials, suppliers and logistics providers. And lastly, the increased emphasis on extractables and migratables has had significant impacts on ink formulation chemistry e.g. removal ITX for UV inks or removal of PV3/27 and PR81/169 for solvent packaging inks.”

Dr. Nikola M. Juhasz, global technical director of sustainability for Sun Chemical, said that while sustainability considerations might not have been as prominent across the industry 10 years ago as they are today, Sun Chemical has been committed to sustainability for well beyond a decade.

“In fact, we’re issuing our 11th annual sustainability report this year, which highlights our ongoing approach to sustainability for both our products and our processes,” Dr. Juhasz added. “During that time, we have been focused on delivering products and solutions that support sustainability initiatives in the various markets we serve. In addition to our market offers, internally we’ve been finding ways to reduce carbon emissions and water usage at all our facilities for many years.

“Today the various markets we serve are very actively and visibly expanding on their sustainability goals and requirements, the topic is urgent and a true priority and Sun Chemical is well-positioned to deliver meaningful solutions with the development programs that are already underway,” Dr. Juhasz added.

Ruth Bauer, global sustainability manager at BASF Colors & Effects, said that the Circular Economy has given a new impact on sustainability.

“One of the visions that the industry starts to realize is ‘How can we design packaging, so it serves its function as protection of goods and is easy to re-use, recycle or compost instead of being incinerated or disposed of in landfill?’ Understanding that all components which are used to create the packaging have an impact is the first step,” Bauer noted. “With special pigment portfolios for compostable products, BASF Colors & Effects supports these ambitions. In addition, the functionality and the product purity of a pigment also influence the suitability of packaging with regards to closed-loop recycling that remains a vision for the upcoming years. Enabling a circular economy is truly a value chain challenge and can only be solved by involving all partners along.

“Assessing the sustainability impact of a raw material, intermediate or consumer product can be done in multiple ways,” Bauer added. “While Product Carbon Footprints create transparency about greenhouse gas emissions associated with the products, they are only one piece of a bigger sustainability picture. Comprehensive sustainability assessments include environmental, economic and social criteria. For a more holistic picture, multi-criteria assessment tools like life cycle assessments are recommended.”

Pamela Carney, global business director, Industrial Specialties for Ingevity, observed that many of the industry’s raw material and end-product suppliers have incorporated sustainability teams into their operations, which are dedicated to driving more eco-conscious processes not only into manufacturing and production but across the entire organization.

“Ingevity’s sustainability team is committed to integrating responsible economic, environmental and social principles into our global business strategy and decision making, and ensuring we subscribe fully to the Guiding Principles of the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care program as we do our part to help the industry operate safely and profitably for future generations,” Carney added.

Looking to the Future

Sustainability will continue to grow in importance in the coming years.

“We see more customers requiring their suppliers to demonstrate that they have sustainability programs ongoing in their organizations,” Cassidy noted. “It is likely that sustainability audits will become commonplace, much like quality audits did years ago.”

“With continued strengthening of national and local control of environmental governance, SMEs will face increased difficulties and the concentration of the industry will be further enhanced,” said Orlowski.

Patterson said that while there is still an emphasis on convenience and cost, many recent market studies and focus groups have shown that consumers increasingly factor in environmental impact on their purchasing choice.

“With this in mind, we are likely to see an increased emphasis on recyclability or recyclable solutions such as reduced multifilm laminates, increased requests for bio-renewable and bio-available content, more stringent regulations to limit spurious claims and provide consumers more consistent environmental information allowing more informed choices, heightened interest in compostable and bio-degradable options, and a decline in plastic usage in favor of more sustainable solutions,” Patterson added.

Dr. Juhasz said that many brands and converters have already made commitments to follow the United Nations ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ by setting ambitious sustainability goals to achieve by 2030. These commitments necessarily will drive even more widespread adoption of sustainability initiatives across the industry

“Sun Chemical has also done its part, aligning our goals with those of the UN agenda to ensure our actions support and enable a more sustainable packaging industry with an overall positive impact on the environment,” added Dr. Juhasz. “The actions we’re taking today, both within our organization and collectively with partners and collaborators, will help us to achieve a substantially more sustainable packaging industry within the next 10 years.”

Bauer said that designing with the end in mind will increasingly affect the choice of raw materials for packaging, aiming more and more for a closed circular economy loop.

“With the ‘Conscious is Colorful’ approach, Colors & Effects supports the industry already today,” she added. “Offering various product solutions for pigments with high chemical purity is one relevant component to prevent the downcycling of materials.

Bauer said that in addition to chemical purity within the recycling process of packaging materials, the collection of waste is still a challenging topic that needs to be resolved.

“When colored with carbon black, materials cannot be detected by waste sorting machines and make their way into landfills or become incinerated,” Bauer observed. “By replacing carbon black with pigments that include functionalities like NIR transparency or reflectivity, BASF Colors and Effects contributes to the successful recycling of dark packaging.”

“Likely we will see a much more regulated industry, which will press us to be more creative and also responsible in how we source, make and supply the products that are needed for the specific benefits that they supply,” Choo concluded. “And hopefully, a much more greener industry than we are today!”