Unboxing Sustainability

Exploring sustainability in the retail trade sector

The latest episode of Paptic’s “Unboxing Sustainability” podcast features Riikka Joukio, the Executive Vice President in charge sustainability and public affairs at the Finnish trade sector company Kesko.

In this episode, Paptic’s Hanna Kalliomäki and Riikka Joukio talk about the role of retailers in promoting sustainability, the sustainability efforts of retailers and consumers, and the impacts of the new EU sustainability regulations on the retail trade sector.

Sustainable packaging solutions and plastic recycling

Trade sector companies sell a wide variety of items, and nearly all of them have some kind of packaging. Today, one of the main sustainability goals among retailers is to reduce the use of plastics and promote more sustainable packaging solutions that are for example recyclable at scale.

Replacing plastic packaging with renewable and recyclable materials can have a significant impact on a company’s overall plastic consumption. At Kesko, for example, replacing the plastic buckets previously used to transport Kesko’s own-brand tulips with recyclable cardboard boxes allowed the company to reduce the use of plastic by a whopping 27 tonnes per year.

However, while the use of plastics is actively being reduced, plastic is a light, flexible, and inexpensive packaging material that will most likely be used in the future as well. The important thing is to make sure that it is properly recycled, and the plastic recycling system is still in the development phase. However, retailers can contribute to this goal by adding clear sorting instructions to products or by providing waste sorting stations and bottle collection points at their store locations.

Sustainability efforts among consumers

Sustainability has become an increasingly important factor for consumers in recent years. For example, in Finland, consumers typically contribute to sustainability by sorting household waste, minimizing electricity consumption, and preventing food waste.

Currently, one of the most prominent sustainability trends in Finland is buying local products to support Finnish agriculture and to ensure the security of supply in the future.

However, consumer behavior is also influenced by the economic situation. Purchasing power is currently low due to inflation, and consumers are paying more attention to prices and planning their meals and weekly groceries more carefully. Considering these trends, running promotions and special offers can be a great way to encourage sustainable consumption among customers.

In addition to providing local products, special offers, and recycling points, there are also many other ways to help consumers make more sustainable choices. One alternative is to take advantage of digital solutions. In today's world, it's also possible to guide and support consumers in making sustainable choices through digital tools and applications. At Kesko customers can use a mobile application to calculate the carbon footprint of their shopping cart items and track their consumption of, for example, vegetables or domestic products.

Learn more: www.paptic.com

Over the past few years, biodiversity has taken center stage in the news and public discourse. While climate change has long been a hot topic, the attention on biodiversity has gained momentum since 2018, with discussions on biodiversity loss, threats to biodiversity, and the crisis it poses.

Although there is a great wealth of research data available concerning the impact of biodiversity on our planet, it can be difficult to truly understand what biodiversity and biodiversity loss are. Companies play an important role in addressing biodiversity, particularly when utilising renewable raw materials.

Biodiversity is crucially significant to life on local, regional, and global scales in all its diverse dimensions.

In the quest for a greener future, packaging plays a pivotal role in protecting and preserving the products we use and love. The latest "Unboxing Sustainability" podcast episode delves into the evolving landscape of packaging in Europe, exploring key topics such as recyclability, reusability, sustainable sourcing, and the importance of regulations.  

In this episode, we discuss with Anna Papagrigoraki, Sustainability Director from CEPI, the coming European Comssions Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). What does it mean? Why is it set?  What will the packaging look like in the future in Europe? And what is actually the role of packaging itself? 

Without a doubt, many of us want to make a difference in many ways and hope for a better future. Also, how we invest and in which companies count. As an investor, you can play your part and if you choose to invest in sustainability, it means investing in our future and in our children’s future.

Sustainable products are becoming much more appealing to consumers, and today they are willing to pay the extra cost for sustainable solutions. Responsible companies are working hard to respond to consumers’ demands and to build a better time ahead. These companies play an important, and crucial role, in securing a sustainable future for future generations.

There is definitely room and demand for new innovations – like recyclable materials, and renewable energy – or solutions that reduce the burden of our globe.  

Ever wonder if there is a way out of this mess? Is all hope lost? Even amid the complexity, there is a bright side. It is the positive perspectives that can give hope to the confusion on the path to a more sustainable future. In this episode of Unboxing Sustainability, Jori Ringman from Cepi, Confederation of European Paper Industries, talks about EU regulations and how they steer us towards a more sustainable future. This episode will also touch base on the growing forests of Europe, the bioeconomy, packaging materials, and improving the circularity of packaging materials.

There has been an increase in the importance of sustainability in the past decades but the origin of sustainability can be traced back over 300 years. Back then forest owners sought sustainability by using timber based on nature’s ability to replenish the wood. Since the development of policies, sustainability is becoming more important for companies. Change has come a long way and looking at how far we have come is important, since it can give people hope, and in turn promote more action. Now, awareness has risen, but confusion has also unfortunately risen along with it. With progress, we are continuing in the right direction.

Recyclability is an absolute must, but consumers need to know where the materials go, and there need to be systems in place for these materials to be collected. It must be convenient and comfortable for the consumer to dispose of the packaging appropriately. There also needs to be the capacity to recycle, and authorities and municipalities must be involved. A good collection system also ensures revenue for municipalities.

A long wood-fibre can be recycled over 25 times. But we have also new end-uses, like textiles, where recycling fibres from packaging materials when they are not applicable for packaging end-use anymore.

Fibre-based materials, such as those used in recyclable packaging, and reusable bags are examples of circular economy materials.

Every one of us has an opinion about packaging. There’s too much packaging, there’s too complex packaging, packaging causes emissions or packaging is difficult to recycle – or on the contrary, the packaging is fascinating and tempting, it is easy to recycle, and there’s interesting information in the packaging.

But do we acknowledge and still remember, what is the ultimate purpose of the packaging? Well, the packaging is there to protect the goods inside and bring them to us in a good condition. We discussed the topic with Cepi’s Director General Jori Ringman.

Jori Ringman works at Cepi, which is the central organization for the European wood and fibre-based industries. Cepi’s role is to provide reliable information on wood-based materials and their role in the circular economy in the EU as well as to accelerate further development and sustainability measures within the industry and related stakeholders.

Can the current crisis bring hope for the future? Will the age of plastic ever disappear? Tune in as Paptic’s Hanna Kalliomäki & Tuomas Mustonen unravel the many layers of packaging use with their guest, Professor Ali Harlin.

Together they discuss why bioproducts are needed to replace fossil fuels, the significance of recyclability, reusability, and biodegradability, and how research results can be applied to global markets to bring about successful innovations.

Our world has become increasingly aware of the current issues surrounding single-use plastics and plastic waste in our environment. This episode describes the phenomena we are wrapped-up in, how we can learn about the past, and how to predict the fascinating future of bioproducts.

Today’s packaging is so much more than just a protective layer of what is inside the box, it is actually a symbol of a product. It should be appealing on the shelf and convey the main message clearly. The trend in packaging is towards more simplified designs and environmentally friendlier materials to meet modern consumers’ demands for easiness and responsibility.

Have you ever thought about how many aspects should take into consideration in packaging design? To name a few examples: the shape of that packaging, the sound of the opening, the touch, and feel of the material etc… How fascinating! Wanna know more? 

Our guest today is Markus Joutsela, Senior University Lecturer and Design Researcher Aalto University School of Arts and – a packaging fanatic. He shares his thoughts on the interplay between packaging design, sustainability, and consumer experience in this episode. Many exciting examples from the world of packaging and explanation of why packages are designed as they are done.

Is sustainability still an eco-hippie thing? Seeing how international companies and brands are vocally communicating their ambitious sustainability strategies and given all the media coverage to mitigation of climate change, the need for reducing the use of plastic, and finding more sustainable solutions - it is easy to say that it is not. Can you imagine that around 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced since the 1950s? And with production currently at around 370 million tonnes annually and only 9% of all plastic produced so far has ever been recycled?

In this episode, Hanna Kalliomäki and Tuomas Mustonen are diving into a discussion of sustainability from different angles to help us all to understand more this complex topic. Btw did you know that you eat microplastics a weight of a credit card every week? But change is on the way. Sustainable alternatives are needed and developed to save our planet for future generations.