Over the past few years, the need to measure and report your company's environmental and social footprint has grown significantly. Around the world, environmental packaging regulation is increasing fast and for businesses trading across borders, knowing where to start can be a minefield.

The truth is many brands don’t know anything about the sustainability impacts of their packaging. Packaging producers are often guilty of making false claims about the packaging they sell, knowingly or unwittingly. We’ve come across many cases where producers make claims about the materials they sell to brands, which, on closer inspection, don’t stack up.

As governments to move closer towards waste and carbon targets, policies are increasing and getting tighter. They come with fewer exemptions, more policing and higher fines for non-compliance.

If you have any questions about the social and environmental credentials of your packaging, it’s time to find out. If you don’t, you could face a hefty fine or a reputational nightmare.

When things go wrong

Innocent Drinks was forced to pull its ‘Little Drinks, Big Dreams’ TV advert last year when the brand was found guilty of ‘greenwashing’ by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

In 2017, Walmart agreed to pay $ 1 million to settle a greenwashing claim that the US retail giant misleadingly labelled plastic products as “biodegradable” or “compostable” when they weren’t.

It’s important to be clear about the details of the materials you use, the validity of any green claims you’re making and have an accurate picture of compliance risks you are facing

What is a packaging audit?

Before developing a wider packaging strategy, it’s good to identify your risk hotspots using a quick and cost-effective way to evaluate the sustainability credentials of your packaging.

It’s important to be clear about the details of the materials you use, the validity of any green claims you’re making and have an accurate picture of compliance risks you are facing across the territories you trade. Without it, it’s difficult to know what actions you need to take or where to focus your attention and resources first.

One of the biggest challenges facing packaging teams is the lack of internal resources and the appetite of the business to give you more. As the regulatory landscape gets ever more complex, the workload for sustainability and packaging teams increases. But it’s difficult to ask the board for budget or resource if you don’t understand the actual risks to the business.

A packaging audit will tell you everything you need to know about your packaging and give you the ammunition you need to secure more resources.

A Root Packaging Audit will save you time, resource and money and help you understand your regulatory and reputation risk exposure

Top 10 reasons why your business needs a Packaging Audit

A packaging audit from Root is the first step to understanding the impact your packaging has on the planet, not just what your packaging supplier has told you. It will save you time, resource and money and help you understand your regulatory and reputation risk exposure.

You’re a brand using packaging and:

  1. Have little or no understanding of the impact your packaging materials have on the environment
  2. Rely solely on packaging producers to provide information about the sustainability of the packaging material they provide
  3. Are making claims about the recyclability or environmental creds of the materials you use in your packaging
  4. Sell or distribute products across multiple countries, all of which will have different sustainability regulations
  5. Are active in a highly competitive space and are unsure how your ‘green creds’ check out against those of your competitors

You’re a packaging producer supplying brands and:

  1. Don’t know the actual composition or of the materials you use
  2. Have an LCA or other kind of analysis which is out of date or only focuses on carbon
  3. Are making potentially inaccurate claims or using your own eco-labels to certify materials, which customers are repeating and may unwittingly be leaving themselves open to compliance risk, fines and reputational damage
  4. Are unsure of the regulations across all the markets your clients sell to, and therefore risk being non-compliant
  5. Could potentially leave you at risk of lawsuits from clients accusing you of mis-selling sustainable packaging.

Why choose a Root Packaging Audit

Root is a packaging and sustainability specialist, not a generalist. Our expert consultants are trusted by global brands such as Diageo, Flying Tiger, Avery Dennison and Nandos.

You will receive a high-impact analysis of your packaging, an assessment of its recyclability, a review of the accuracy of any green claims you make, and a review of your competitive landscape.

We won’t blind you with science or unfathomable stats. Instead, we help you interpret complex findings into clear, intelligible, and actionable insights that ‘non-experts’ find easy to understand and follow.

And we don’t leave it there – our experts will continue to provide ongoing support, working with your team to fix the issues identified and future-proof your business for success.

To book your Root Packaging Audit, click on the link below.

Book your Root Packaging Audit

Get in touch

Root is one of Europe’s leading sustainable consultancies, advising brands on how to use less and transition to becoming a regenerative, inclusive and kinder organisation to people and our planet.

To talk to one of our consultants about a Root Packaging Audit or any of our other services please get in touch by by email at impact@root-innovation.com or complete the enquiry form

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Compliance Packaging audit