Breaking down packaging - the future of sustainable packaging

Environmental responsibility has played a crucial role in business initiatives in recent years. As such, the pressure on companies to find solutions to these problems is at an all time high. With sustainable packaging, biodegradable waste, and CO2 emissions so highly talked about, let's look at the future of sustainable packaging.

The present moment: sustainable packaging now

It’s clear that plastic waste is a huge problem around the globe. The current model we subscribe to is simply not sustainable for our environment. As such, If things don’t change, we’re likely to see legislation that will enforce more sustainable packaging. That is, if businesses aren’t able to do sufficient research and development to find their own solutions.In recent years brands have heightened efforts to ensure that packaging is environmentally friendly, so both recyclable and biodegradable. With its large scale use, plastic packaging is being exposed as a danger to our environment.You only need to look to your local pub to see that the plastic problem is prevalent. Many chains have replaced plastic straws with metal in an attempt to reduce plastic waste and create more sustainable solutions. However, it’s not just plastic that businesses need to worry about. Creating sustainable packaging can come with a whole host of new challenges. These include keeping carbon emissions low and waste minimal, whilst also keeping customer needs at the heart of packaging design.

The future: what’s next for sustainable packaging?

As detailed above, the issue is complicated, and industry innovation has far to go before the problem will be solved. The future will see more pressure on businesses to use waste management strategies that promote less plastic, less CO2 emissions, and offer recyclable materials as the go-to method of packaging.As a result, businesses will need to do research and development into packaging solutions that are sustainable, which is where R&D tax credits come in. Under the government's R&D initiative, businesses will be able to claim tax credits against experimental research into more sustainable packaging. Companies experimenting with new materials, new processes and new designs will be able to claim these credits, providing it is under the umbrella of research and development; in this case into sustainability.The aim is to ensure that businesses are able to drive innovation and produce more sustainable packaging which will ultimately be to the benefit of the consumer conscience, business reputation, and environmental health.