The SPC launched the
Packaging Sustainability Metrics Project to develop a common set of indicators
and metrics for companies to use to measure progress toward the vision of sustainability
articulated in the SPC Definition of Sustainable Packaging. The Sustainable Packaging Indicators and Metrics
Framework, Version 1.0 was released to SPC members in April 2009, and to the public in
December 2009. The release was the
culmination of a nearly two-year process that involved extensive research,
stakeholder engagement and a comprehensive review process. Download
The
Metrics Framework provides a
wide-ranging palette of indicators and metrics that are organized into eight
categories related to material use,
energy use, water use, material health, clean production and transport, cost and performance,
community impact and worker impact. Each
Framework module explains why the
measurements are relevant to sustainability efforts, defines each indicator as it
relates to packaging, specifies the metric to be used and provides recommendations for what to
measure and what not to measure.
Consumer Goods Forum
Selected
metrics from the
Metrics Framework are also serving as the baseline for
the Global Packaging Project, an initiative of the
Consumer Goods Forum, that seeks to standardize
packaging sustainability measurement by developing a globally recognized set of
indicators and metrics with common data request and collection protocols. Pilot
testing of the GPP metrics is expected to begin in the first half of 2010. The
SPC will follow the pilot testing process and incorporate feedback into a
Version 2.0 of the
Metrics Framework so that any indicator and metrics
common to both resources will be compatible and consistent in terms of
language, data request and collection guidelines and referenced measurement
standards and protocols.