NEW research has revealed that 73% of packaging and retail leaders are still collecting data on sustainable packaging manually.
The findings were revealed in a survey of senior industry professionals carried out by packaging consultancy Aura.
Rather than using a dedicated sustainability data platform or existing product lifecycle platform or SAP, most brands and retailers are still reliant on manual data collection and tracking it on a spreadsheet. However, 50% of respondents think they’re on track to 100% data compliance.
Aura said this suggests that many wrongly believe that manual data collection is going to be sufficient, despite anything less than 100% accuracy risking the prospect of significant fines under new EPR regulation.
The poll was conducted over a series of webinars, with senior attendees from some of the world’s largest retail, CPG and consumer brands. It also found that only 27% of packaging industry leaders are fully comfortable with their existing packaging regulatory knowledge and think they know what needs to be done now and in the future. 26% are still only in the initial data-collection stage of their sustainable packaging journey, while 35% admit they don’t really have a sustainable packaging strategy.
Greg Lawson, MD at Aura, said, “It’s astonishing that so many brands and retailers still seem to think manual data collection is enough to meet the increasingly stringent demands of new and upcoming regulation like EPR. It looks like a lot of companies may have their head in the sand, and as a result will be hit with higher fees because their data accuracy simply isn’t up to the challenge.
“The lack of knowledge is worrying, especially as consumer demand is shifting inexorably towards more sustainable products and packaging. Brands that don’t have a strategy – and aren’t ensuring their data is 100% compliant by using the right tools to collate and interrogate it, are simply going to be left behind.”
