Global Executives Survey: Plastic Packaging, Sustainability, and Disruption

Global Executives Survey: Plastic Packaging, Sustainability, and Disruption

Summary

The future of the plastic consumer packaging market is at an inflection point as demand for sustainable business practices increases. Although plastic packaging can help consumers be less wasteful, for example by minimizing food waste, an overall narrative has emerged that puts plastics at odds with sustainable consumption. This negative perception will drive disruption among packaging suppliers. The packaging companies will invest in recyclable plastics material and to some extent in non-plastic materials and light weighting. This is likely to cause changes in their existing product development strategy, increase the cost of packaging raw materials, and drive R&D investments.

Executives identify that Government legislation and ongoing global revolutions against plastic are playing significant role in causing shift in the market dynamics and changing the product development strategies altogether within the packaging industry. Global initiatives are being taken to reduce the consumption of plastic on a large scale, especially, packaging manufactures (85%) who are likely to change their product development strategies. Under such circumstances, businesses are intent to focus on recyclable plastics material and to some extent towards non-plastic materials and light weighting, this will increase the cost of packaging raw materials, and drive the R&D investments.

Paper and board will have the strong growth opportunities for new packaging materials as a result of their versatility and benefit of environmental friendliness. Moreover, glass and polyethylene (PET) will have a moderate growth prospects over the next five years. Overall, the cost of changing strategy will increase by an average of 3.8% over the next five years. Businesses (especially packaging manufacturers) are strongly inclined to accelerate switching to recyclable plastic, and moderately inclined to light-weighting and non-plastic packaging materials in response to increase in negative perceptions of plastic among consumers.

The report "Global Executives Survey: Plastic Packaging, Sustainability, and Disruption", examines and identifies the costs of the criticism against plastic within the packaging industry, as well as the strategies and expectations of businesses involved, including its impact on packaging supply dynamics. Furthermore, the report highlights the opportunities and threats that are emerging for new packaging materials due to change in packaging supply dynamics.

The report offers -

• Drivers of the disruption: identifies most pressing factors that influence the packaging industry and driving the criticism against plastic packaging


• Changing strategies: recognizes the key opportunities and challenges faced by packaging industry executives with regard to disruption against plastic


• The future of the consumer packaging industry: highlights the future scenarios and implications of switching to potential packaging materials


• The end-game -The cost of changing strategies: identifies key factors projected to drive the cost of changing product development strategy to become more sustainable

Companies mentioned: Coca Cola, McDonald's, Evian

Scope

• Businesses firmly believe that governments will have a significant effect on packaging markets; 87% of respondents said that they expect government legislation to impact plastic packaging dynamics, with the 49% strongly inclined to this expectation.


• The respondents representing organizations with main operations in North America reported the highest levels of consumers' engagement in the reduction of plastic use (70%).


• More than 77% of respondents that represent an organization in each of the value chain stage of the packaging industry cited a change of product development strategies.


• The vast majority of organizations within the packaging industry sees a rise cost of raw materials and production costs , and increased R&D investment as the most likely scenarios-challenges to be faced


• 85% of the respondents in the consumer packaging business consider the accelerated switch to recyclable plastic materials as the most likely response to a continuous backlash against plastic.

Reasons to buy

• The report provides businesses with ongoing perspectives of the executives regarding the disruption against plastic packaging.


• Helps organizations to explore opportunities derived from potential alternative packaging materials and anticipate the cost of changing their product development strategy.


• Gives understanding of the major drivers of criticism against plastic and assist executives to make informed decision for creating a sustainable business and environment.


• Benefits organizations to enhance their production processes and supply chain management by understanding the environmental concerns associated with plastics and providing effective packaging solutions that embraces the world with less plastic.