We talk a lot about sustainability, hailing its benefits for our ecosystem and looking at ways that we can counter-act the processes that have long exploited our planet. That is why we have organizations such as the Intl. Living Future Institute. This is a non-profit organization that doesn’t believe in finger pointing. Instead, it looks at working with companies to create regenerative packaging.
This plan of theirs was shared by ILFI‘s vice-president of products at the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s SPC Impact conference in San Francisco on April 24-26.
More on ILFI:
As mentioned, the ILFI is a non-profit organization dedicated to building an ecological planet and improving the green building standards we currently have. They take to the approach of working symbiotically with companies and not focusing on “making buildings less bad.” This notion birthed the Living Building Challenge, which works to create buildings that are free of toxic chemicals. So how does this apply to manufactured goods?
Manufacturing Goods the Right Way:
The concept was drawn for the Living Building Challenge to create the Living Products Challenge (LPC). Here, companies are encouraged to look past making products that are less bad to developing products that create a net-positive impact to the environment.
Using recyclable materials to package the products we use creates harmony between the environment and its consumers.
Celebrating Companies, not Shaming Them:
Again, it’s about celebrating the actions that companies take in sustainable approaches rather than pointing fingers. It’s also about looking at designing buildings that can pull carbon from the air, or manufacturing products that result in positive environmental outcomes. The mantra is simple: manufacture for optimal and most effective means of disposal.
Are Companies on Board?
Several companies have achieved certification, and 35 more are in the process of pursuing this. What makes the program so successful is their ground-level approach at educating manufacturers, and using realistic steps to look at what is achievable.
Many companies want to jump on the wagon of ecological practice because it looks good on their resume. However, when push comes to shove, they are neither proactive nor reactive. The ILFI program enables companies to feel a sense of power over their own output without experiencing a need to concede and lose out.
Regenerative Versus Sustainable:
Essentially, regenerative and sustainable tend to mean the same thing. Except that in a sustainable system, you cannot revive lost ecological systems. Once they are gone, they cannot be restored. Conversely, in a regenerative system, those “lost” systems can begin to regenerate back into existence.
A Recycling Revolution:
Sustainable and regenerative packaging speaks to a “circular economy” in which we use resources for as long as possible. It’s about extracting the largest amount of value from them, and then regenerating these products and their materials as they approach the end of their lifespan.
Companies can examine ways of approaching waste reduction in packaging, and using less material in product creation. Companies will make the shift from using non-recyclable plastics to using recyclable ones. The goal is to source plastics made from regenerating plants and agro-waste.
Manufacturers need to continually develop technologies that support a sustainable economy, and make it easier for the consumer to understand.
