Corrugated Packaging is Good For Society
By Richard Coward, Chairman of the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) Corrugated Sector
Many fundamental questions continue to be asked about our international financial system and the values behind capitalism. It’s right that these questions should be asked and the answers may lead to a better way forward.
But there is one aspect of our current system which has clearly been a force for good, and that’s the development of a consumer society where people have more choice, more possibilities of comfort and pleasure than ever before in history.
Richard Coward.
Corrugated packaging represents 75% of all transit packaging and continues to play an enormously important role in underpinning the way we live our lives today. In some less developed countries, waste due to damage or neglect in the supply chain can exceed 40% – here in the UK it’s less than 3%.
The record of corrugated packaging as a sustainable material is becoming very well known. With every corrugated pack containing, on average, 75% recycled fibres and with a recycling rate of over 80%, corrugated has become a catalyst for taking cost and carbon out of supply chains.
Our political leaders are recognising the importance of corrugated packaging to the efficient workings of our consumer society. At a recent Parliamentary event, Dan Rogerson MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Packaging, said: “I’ve seen in my own constituency the importance of the Corrugated Packaging Industry to the local economy. This is a product that minimises waste while ensuring that goods arrive safely at the retailers. And, of course, it can be recycled. It’s a good news story – a great story to tell”.
The Corrugated Packaging Industry, through CPI, has been lobbying Government hard during 2011 to encourage policies that will attract more manufacturing in the UK. This work will continue during 2012 as we believe that a vibrant manufacturing sector is essential to put our economy onto a healthier footing.
As we look ahead to 2012, we are committed as an industry to staying very close to our customers, listening to what they have to say about our products and the way we provide services to them. We have a major research programme under way right now. I’m con dent that we will continue to create innovative products and services that result in further efficiencies for customers, and help maintain the upward trend of product choice and quality available to consumers.
