BRYAN McKAY

This year, Bryan McKay, packaging director of Campbell Arnott's Asia Pacific, was part of the team that developed Campbell's Global Packaging Sustainability Framework, a series of principles, strategies, and objectives that will frame all future packaging development programs globally.

“In going through this process, we realized that many packaging projects already underway at Campbell could deliver a better sustainability footprint for our products,” said McKay, who is based in Sydney, Australia and has worked for Campbell Arnott's for seven years. “When collated, the results are significant and will positively impact our environment.”

For example, by making simple redesigns to existing packaging, Campbell reduced steel usage by more than 3.5 million pounds and paper/board usage by more than 1 million pounds globally. McKay's department also designs and develops packing for new products, meaning future product packaging will be assessed under these new criteria.

Going forward, McKay's team is working with key suppliers to investigate other areas where they can reduce waste. For example, they're looking at using renewable and biodegradable packaging materials, including post-consumer recycled materials in beverage bottles, further reducing metal container weights, and employing packing and processes to improve baked goods shelf life and reduce waste.

Said McKay, “This framework gives us the direction to change our focus and efforts on driving packaging sustainability at Campbell.”

NOURISHING OUR PLANET

Sustainable Packaging

Campbell's sustainable packaging guidelines, innovation, and marketplace results

Campbell's Global Packaging Development organization is engaged and committed to continuously improving our sustainable packaging footprint. Packaging professionals are engaged in both short term improvements and long term development projects to reduce the environmental impact of our packages while providing the highest quality products possible.

  • Globally, packaging improvement projects eliminated more than 9.3 million pounds of packaging materials in the last two years.
  • Campbell's saved more than 4.5 million pounds of steel, plastic and paper packaging materials in 2010.
  • Pepperidge Farm converted Baked Naturals line of products to recycled paperboard.
  • Arnott's conducted a complete redesign of their Monte Carlo product line saving 15 tons of packaging materials.
  • Pepperidge Farm completed the first test of returnable corrugated cases for Goldfish products.
  • Campbell's completed the first Life Cycle Assessment of a soup product, including the assessment of packaging material impact categories.
  • Campbell's has joined The Sustainability Consortium to partner with academic and industry leaders in understanding and systematically assessing the sustainability impacts of our sector from farm to store.
  • Transitioned a PET beverage bottle supply from the U.S. to a local supplier in Canada, eliminating 750 trucks, and their associated environmental impact, from the road.
  • Redesigned Shapes and Jatz packaging in Australia, reducing paperboard by 440,000 pounds and eliminating 12,000 pallets from distribution.

In addition to these changes, we have initiated strategic technology development programs with key suppliers aimed at producing sustainability breakthroughs in the foreseeable future. Many of these efforts were highlighted during our Packaging Sustainability Fair held at Campbell World Headquarters in June 2009.

Sustainable Packaging Guidelines

In FY2009, our packaging professionals developed formal packaging sustainability guidelines to help guide decisions associated with the packaging materials used to protect the wide range of our products. These guidelines translate industry best practices into a set of guiding principles.

Sustainable Packaging Goals

We have updated and created new goals to guide the design and development of packaging throughout the global packaging community at Campbell's.

  • 100 million pounds of packaging eliminated by 2020
    — Material selection
    — Material reduction
  • 100% of our global packaging made from sustainable materials
    — Renewable materials
    — Recyclable materials
    — Recycled content
  • 100% of our packaging supply base proactively engaged in developing sustainable alternatives
    — Economically feasible
    — Grounded in Science and Technology
    — Sustainable end-of-life scenarios

Campbell is a member of the Consumer Goods Forum Global Packaging Project (GPP). The GPP launched a partnership of major manufacturers and retailers to define and pilot a new common language of definitions to measure the sustainability of packaging.

Packaging Challenges

A topic that continues to receive increased attention is the use of a material called bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is widely used in the lining of metal food containers to prevent corrosion and help maintain the food's safety, quality and flavor. Campbell—with our suppliers—has been researching alternatives to BPA that perform as well as existing packaging.

We believe that the current can packaging technology used in our products is one of the safest food package options in the world. However, we have been studying the issue and recognize that there has been a debate over the use of BPA.

For more than 140 years, we've earned consumers' trust — and we intend to keep it.

We have already started using packaging lined with a BPA alternative in some of our soups, and we are working to phase out the use of BPA in can linings in the rest of our canned products.