Green design: a marketing challenge

While sustainability in packaging has moved beyond the “greenwashing” that prevailed earlier in the decade, designers and marketers still face numerous challenges in getting sustainability accepted across all sectors of the brand chain.

At a recent roundtable on the Marketing Aspects of Packaging Sustainability organised by RMIT and the Sustainable Packaging Alliance (SPA), representatives from all stages of the packaging design process outlined their experiences in incorporating sustainability in their packaging design projects.

While most agreed sustainability can be a great marketing tool, many spoke of the difficulties of convincing all the stakeholders in the process of its value.

As Michael Grima, director of packaging design at Melbourne agency Outerspace puts it, tight deadlines often work against the incorporation of sustainability into the design process.

“Design locks the intent into a package. And sustainability opportunities need to be determined early to make the greatest impact,” he explains.

“Planning sets the direction and flavour of the project, then it goes back to development to make something physical that can go to production.

“But you have to work to the trade launch deadline, and to make that deadline, usually it is the idea phase that has to suffer by being cut back. And sustainability is at risk if that gets cut back.”

Grima also says that it's rare for a brand owner to specify they want sustainability incorporated in their packaging.

“It is usually not top of mind in the marketing briefs. Of the briefs I have gone through, maybe 15 out of 1000 have considered sustainability. That is the challenge you need to understand if you want to comprehend how long it has taken sustainability to play a role in the industry.”

He also says there is much disconnect between the various branches of the product design cycle as to what sustainability actually means.

For brand agencies, for example, it can mean the use of raw materials in packaging, muted tones, minimalist graphics and hand packed containers.

For the manufacturer, however, it is more of a technical consideration – it's all about lightweighting, the use of readily recyclable materials and reduced waste.

The brand owner, however, sees it as more about taking a brand position and being seen as doing the “right thing”.

“So both sides have different ideas about what sustainability is,” Grima says.

That's not to say that sustainability should be put in the ‘too hard’ basket, he says. Rather, he believes, a few simple steps should be adopted to bring sustainability to the fore.

“Increase the environmental officer's role in innovation and strategy discussions and allow sufficient time during brand planning to ensure it is considered,” Grima says.

“You should also adopt sustainable packaging guidelines in your organisation and conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA).”

Many of these challenges were echoed by sustainable packaging consultant, Keith Chessell, a marketing professional with previous experience with such food giants as Kraft Foods and Cadbury-Schweppes.

Chessell says the marketing industry today is more fast paced than that of previous decades, which mitigates against much consideration of sustainable design.

“Marketing these days is more professional and pressure driven to get that margin and get that all important shelf space, and the marketing professional today is very much driven by tighter deadlines,” he says.

“Also, many professionals move about more these days, so they want to make their ‘mark’ on brands now.”

He said there was also a disconnect with consumers about the value of sustainable packaging.

“Unfortunately, packaging is something that the consumer has to dispose of. They do not see packaging as good,” Chessell says.

Nevertheless, he says, there are simple steps that can be taken to get green principles accepted across the board.

“From an FMCG viewpoint, addressing things like free trade, child labour, agricultural commodities and so on are key to how your brand is perceived by the consumer,” he says.

“And for brand owners, it is important for you to get your packaging people to review your sustainability guidelines and keep marketing informed of sustainable developments.”

He says that when it comes to marketing, the aim when communicating sustainable developments should be to educate, rather than confuse, the consumer, monitor the market and trends and consider sourcing and end-of-life issues.