Packaging: don’t we all feel that sometimes products have too many layers of paper and plastic around them these days? And don’t we wonder why that is so, since all that packaging becomes trash as soon as it is peeled off or removed from the product that it is enveloping. Often the actual content turns out to look smaller in volume than the wrapping.

If you feel that way, you are not alone. Several initiatives have been working to raise awareness of the waste generated by packaging as well its energy footprint, management of raw materials, shipping, etc. Recently, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), which is a project of GreenBlue, an environmental nonprofit, unveiled a new plan for a sustainable packaging recognition mark to be fully launched by early 2016. A pilot program is scheduled to be launched in January 2015.

The incipient initiative has a simple goal: to recognize and reward efforts forward in the packaging industry to achieve a more sustainable practice. The recognition mark will be points-based, while criteria for recognition will be based on the SPC’s Definition of Sustainable Packaging. The process will be transparent and verified by a third party.

“It’s often unclear to consumers and businesses what the many different sustainability claims on a package actually mean,” said GreenBlue’s Executive Director, Nina Goodrich. “Our goal with the SPC recognition mark is to recognize those companies that are truly making a commitment to sustainability, and to help them continue to improve their processes in order to achieve the highest recognition standard, which will involve consideration of the entire packaging system.”

Next, an SPC Member working group will finish the initial planning and scoping phase of the recognition mark. Beginning early in 2014, the SPC will organize a number of member and stakeholder working groups to develop the recognition mark’s indicators and metrics definition as well as the framework for data verification and scoring.

Image credit: GreenBlue