The evolution of sustainability assessment in packaging
Over the past 20 years, sustainability assessment in packaging has gone through a major transformation. What was once a specialist, behind-the-scenes exercise is now central to packaging design, compliance, and business strategy.
In a recent article for PKN Packaging News, Lifecycles’ Director Tim Grant reflects on this shift — from early LCA studies focused mainly on material comparisons, to today’s broader applications that influence supply chain choices, validate end-of-life options, and support company-wide carbon and circularity goals.
In this, he compares the journey of LCA’s adoption with the Gartner Hype Cycle, illustrating how emerging tools move from initial excitement, through disillusionment, to realistic, valuable application.
This rigorous and holistic approach ensures businesses don't simply shift problems from one environmental issue to another (for example, improving recyclability at the cost of increasing carbon emissions). ISO 14044-compliant reporting enables packaging professionals to go beyond compliance - providing credible, science-based evidence to guide packaging design and sustainability claims.
