NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS HOW CHOICES CAN INFLUENCE REPUTATION AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE WHEN PACKING FRESH POTATOES
THE importance of packaging choices to the reputational and financial performance of companies supplying fresh potatoes has been highlighted by the findings of a new report.
The majority of respondents from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector who took part in a survey organised by Aquapak, said that there is a significant threat to their business if the environmental performance of the packaging used is not improved, with two thirds describing it as high and 31% saying it was ‘average’. Just 3% said the threat was very low.
Nearly three quarters (70%) of respondents said that their business faced the risk of reputational damage if they didn’t improve the environmental performance of their packaging, 67% said they could miss Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and sustainability targets, and 60% said they would see a drop in market share to competitors.
The research highlighted the risks FMCG brands businesses face if they don’t move away from plastic to sustainable materials in their consumer packaging, ranked in order of importance:
- Reputational risk 70%
- Missing ESG /sustainability targets 67%
- Drop in market share to competitors 60%
- Pressure from NGOs 37%
- Declining share price 33%
- Declining sales 33%
Although 24% of respondents said the packaging director is the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to moving to more sustainable materials in their business, 22% said it was the CEO, 17% said it was the finance director and 14% said it was the brand director, followed by the operations director (13%) and sustainability director (10%).
Chief Technical Officer at Aquapak, Dr John Williams, said: “It is really encouraging to see that moving to sustainable packaging materials such as paper is the top priority for FMCG brands and a board-level decision when it comes to improving their environmental credentials and mitigating reputational and financial risks of not doing so. Abolishing the wrong sort of plastic use is important and is a longer term target, the change has to be balanced as they assess alternative materials and wait for greater clarity around targets and regulation.”
Photo: Aquapak
