Sustainable Packaging Development for Fresh Food Supply Chains

Abstract

The fresh food industry is increasingly more interested in developing efficient and innovative solutions to guarantee quality and distribution sustainability; one of the main factors that influences such crucial aspects is packaging. This paper aims to perform a critical analysis of two existing packaging solutions, i.e. corrugated fibreboard boxes and re‐usable plastic containers, from both the economic and the environmental perspective, to highlight the main weaknesses. It then proposes two alternative packaging solutions. The analysis features different economic assessments and models with different environmental impacts, taking into account the characteristics of packaging solutions predominantly within two supply chain types: the traditional food supply chain and the short food supply chain. The economic and environmental models are applied to understand the limitations of existing packaging solutions, to develop two alternative solutions and finally to perform an overall analysis of all fresh food containers, allowing the definition of the most suitable container for each of the proposed supply chain scenarios, from both an economic and environmental perspective. The innovative aspect of the research lies in the simultaneous evaluation of economic and environmental factors and the introduction of two new packaging solutions, making it of interest to researchers and fresh food industry professionals alike.

Economic and environmental packaging sustainability: A case study

“…The results obtained in this case study show the viability of a win-win relationship that several researchers (Atilgan & Azapagic, 2016;Battini, Calzavara, Persona & Sgarbossa, 2016;Carter & Rogers, 2008;Cordero, 2013;Garza-Reyes, Villarreal, Kumar & Molina-Ruiz, 2016) have found in the past. According to this approach, adopting environmentally sustainable policies may have a positive impact on cost reduction.…”

“…Despite the notoriety of the win-win relationship in this case study, it is noteworthy that results may vary significantly depending on the values of the input data. This is critical when developing the packaging strategy of a company (Battini et al, 2016). For example, in the case analyzed by the authors, the corrugated cardboard box is clearly the best alternative in all cases, even when different scenarios are considered.…”

Logistics Best Practices for Regional Food Systems: A Review

“…A study comparing cardboard boxes and reusable plastic containers concluded that cardboard is a better packaging option (both economically and environmentally) for short food supply chains [193]. On the contrary, a similar study conducted in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, concluded that reusable plastic containers will reduce environmental impact [194].…”

A Sustainable Performance Assessment Framework for Plastic Film Supply Chain Management from a Chinese Perspective

“…Eighty percent of customer purchasing decisions for foodstuffs are made based on the packaging [1]. It is estimated that up to 50% of food is wasted in developing countries before it reaches retailers compared with 3% in developed countries, and packaging is thought to play a large part in this waste [1,2]. Packaging reduces damage in the supply chain and increases the shelf-life of products.…”