PFFC - September 2007 - (Page 34)

GREEN CONVERTING Scorecard The deadline to comply with Wal-Mart’s packaging initiative looms. Industry associations weigh in on the hurdles for converters. By Edward Boyle, Contributing Editor Scoring the T here’s a baseball adage that says, “You can’t tell the players without a scorecard.” But under Wal-Mart’s latest environmental initiative, none of its more than 66,000 vendors may even be able to take the field without completing a “packaging scorecard” by February 1, 2008. Wal-Mart developed the scorecard so manufacturers could track and report their own use of packaging materials. Ultimately, it measures the environmental impact of the packaging on WalMart’s store shelves in three general areas: renewable energy, waste reduction, and sustainable product or recyclability. Vendors must complete an individual scorecard for each of the more than 120,000 individual products sold by the world’s largest retailer— or risk being shut out of the business. Lofty Goals, Monumental Impact Wal-Mart’s goal to reduce packaging 5% by 2013 is projected to save the company $3.4 billion/yr. Photo courtesy of Wal-Mart 34 | SEPTEMBER 2007 The goal of the scorecard initiative is to “encourage” vendors to use both recycled and recyclable materials in their packaging and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions when transporting finished goods to WalMart’s nearly 6,500 stores and wholesale clubs in 15 countries. Wal-Mart has set a goal of reducing packaging 5% by 2013. The company projects its suppliers will save a combined $11 billion/yr by using less paper and plastic and by using more eco-friendly materials. It projects its own operations will save about $3.4 billion/yr through packaging reduction, according to the trade publication Promo Magazine, a Penton Media publication. The impact of Wal-Mart’s packaging scorecard on both the retail community and the environment likely will be as monumental as the sales giant itself. “Someone said this is probably going to have the biggest impact since the Clean Air Act,” notes Jerry Van de Water, executive director of the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC). “I think this is going to be looked back on as a watershed event.” In addition to basic information, such as the supplier number and product SKU, the scorecard requires details about dozens of package-related variables, including product and package weight, number of items sold, testing/product performance results, shipped distance of packaging materials, and much more. Ultimately, those formulas favor intangibles such as package weight reduction and recyclability, and reward minimizing transportation distance from the converting facility. But meeting the deadline, which is just five months away, may be an even more formidable task than the numbers suggest: As of June, less than 2,000 of Wal-Mart’s more than 66,000 vendors had even logged on to the company’s website to download the scorecard; just 1,200 SKUs had been completed. Task Forces Formed “It’s a huge undertaking; huge, huge, huge,” says Marla Donahue, president of the Flexible Packaging Assn. (FPA). “It’s going to require a lot more communication between converters and [their customers] and a lot more communication between converters and suppliers of raw materials. The whole supply chain is going to end up getting involved in this.” In fact, most already are. The FPA, PPC, Fibre Box Assn. (FBA), and American Forest & Paper Assn. (AFPA), among others, have formed task forces, developed support materials, and sponsored seminars that review key aspects of the scorecard. The four associations also are among nine industry trade groups that are WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM http://WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PFFC - September 2007

Table of Contents First Glance From the Editor Calendar of Events Web Lines Process Management News Clips Narrow Web & Label Reporter Narrow Web & Label What’s New Products Narrow Web Sustainability: Going Green? What's the Score with Wal-Mart's Scorecard? Straight Talk From Your Trade Associations Learn 5 Key Elements to Creating Cost-Effective and Eco-Conscious Packaging Install Energy-Efficient Light Fixtures and Reap the Environmental Benefits People, Profit, Planet: How to Balance the Impact of a Triple-bottom-line Philosophy Show Preview What’s New Products Services Directory Classified Marketplace Equipment Buyers & Sellers Advertisers Index Experience Speaks

PFFC - September 2007

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