Developing a policy framework for the design and manufacture of environmentally sustainable food packaging

Abstract

Food packaging plays a vital role in human existence by eliminating barriers to satisfying food requirements regardless of geography. Since food is a basic requirement of all human beings, a billion-dollar industry has been developed surrounding the food supply chain. Providing protection against chemical (oxygen, moisture, carbon dioxide, etc.), physical (vibration and shock), and biological (insects, microorganisms) agents while facilitating the handling of food items in bulk or in appropriate portions for easy and efficient logistics are the primary requirements of food packaging. Concurrently, the adverse consequences of food packaging have caused higher resource consumption and waste generation. Food packaging contributes to significant plastic waste accumulated in landfills, open environments and oceans. Due to the high contribution to single-use plastic waste, organisations and nations are taking several actions to minimise the environmental burden caused by food packaging. However, limited efforts are being made to introduce systematic frameworks that could help packaging designers and policy developers to design and manufacture food packaging. This research focuses on proposing a policy framework for designing and manufacturing food packaging that oversees the triple bottom line of sustainability; environmental, economic, and social. The initial phase of the study identifies the considerations in the development of food packaging concerning rigid packaging and how sustainability could be numerically represented as a decision support tool. Multiple methods, such as public surveys, questionnaires, and focus group interviews, were used for data collection. Then, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was used to analyse the data to identify the prioritised set of design considerations. Based on the analysis, different designs were developed and evaluated to identify the product characteristics that would influence the sustainability of food packaging. The next phase focused on developing a policy framework using the results of the from the analysis of the case studies. The design science research (DSR) method was used to develop the framework combining different food packaging aspects and graphically representing them in a diagram. The main outcome of this research is the policy framework for designing and manufacturing food packaging that integrates the three main aspects of food packaging. The proposed framework was modified and validated with expert insight, adding credibility to the research outcome.