Sustainability’s
Fourth Wave
January 2022
Connect with me at 612-807-5341 or
claire@packagingtechnologyandresearch.com
Dr Claire
Sand’s article
in IFT’s Food
Technology
Magazine

1/5/22, 8:26 AM Sustainability’s Fourth Wave - IFT.org
FOOD TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE |
ARTICLE
Sustainability’s Fourth
Wave
Peer to Peer | ISSUES & INSIGHTS
Elizabeth Brewster
January 1, 2022
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Sustainability maybe anoverusedbuzzwordnow,
but its origins date to the transcendentalism of
Ralph Waldo Emerson andHenryDavidThoreau
in the 1830s, consideredthe first waveof
sustainability. In the 1970s, the second waveof
sustainability wascharacterized byRachel Carson’s
groundbreaking book, SilentSpring, andOhio’s
burning CuyahogaRiver, weather inversions, Earth
Day, andthe creation of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency(EPA). The third waveof
sustainability in the 1990s sawtriple bottom line,
corporate responsibility statements, and“people,
profit, planet”become well-knownmantras.
In the past five years, the fourth wavehasresulted
in more countries andregions learning to ride the
currents of sustainability, driven byboth negative
andpositive motivation. On the positive side are
food waste awarenessandcorporate shared values,
initiatives byglobal retailers, brands, andpackaging
suppliers, andthe translation of the United Nations
Strategic DevelopmentGoals (UNSDGs) into a
businessframework. On the negative side,however,
are greenwashing,consumerconfusion, lack of
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ethics in environmental claims, plastic bans, and
competinglife cycle analyses(LCAs).
FoodTechnology contributing editor Claire Sand
recently sat down with Robert Lilienfeld, executive
director of Sustainable PackagingResearch,
Information, andNetworkingGroup (SPRING), to
talk about howwecan explore anewfrontier of
truly sustainable packaging. Both experienced the
secondwaveof sustainability asyoungprofessionals
andare deeplyinvolved in the current fourth wave.
Lilienfeld works to achieve more sustainable
packagingandto assist brands andpackaging
companies in deriving multipronged science-based
solutions that address collection andsorting
challenges, as well asmaterial-basedsolutions to
enable safe optimization, reuse, recycling, and
degradation of packaging. Sand, whoowns
PackagingTechnology andResearch LLCandis
also aSPRING advisory boardmember, focuses on
preventing food waste with optimizedpackaging
science andvalue chain–basedsolutions. Here’s
what these two experts hadto sayabout the
timeliness of today’s sustainability wave,
consumption trends, environmental scorecards,
plastics, food waste,andmore.
Sustainability in the Forefront
Sand: Why are westill havingthe “more
sustainable packaging” conversation after all these
years?
Lilienfeld: While youandI havebeen thinking
about sustainability for 30-plus years, much of our
society hasnot been doingso. It's hard for human
beings to get concerned about something that
doesn't affect them. We are concerned about issues
that are close to usin several dimensions: physical
distance, chronological immediacy,size andscope,
andimpacton familyandfriends. Upuntil now,
there hasn't been agoodreason for the average
personto think about sustainability because it's such
abig, vast problem, andit seemed so far away. Top

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Well, it’s here. Andeveryone can participate in
trying to domore with lessandget involvedand
take responsibility. Most of the environmental
issuesthat weface todayare baseduponwhat weas
aspecies consume.If consumptionis ahuman
driver, then weneedto makeit easier for people to
consume less and/or consume differently. There are
three keywaysto dothis: financial incentives,
emotional signaling, andlegislative/regulatory
controls.
Sand: That makessense—linking these three issues
is critical to driving meaningful change.In fact, we
have seen this recently on the emotional front. As
more people engage globally and learn how others
interface with packaging and what solutions work,
more will join the wave.
We also see tremendousachievement driven by
economics.For example,in 2018, I sawthe Yangtze
—oneof the 10 rivers where90% of the ocean
garbage is derived—littered with package andother
waste.The sametype of economic incentive usedto
build the stunning Three Gorges hydroelectric dam
[on the Yangtze] canbeapplied to deter packaging
waste being dumpedin the river.
Economic incentives take manyforms. For
example,recently, a client of mineembarkedon a
more sustainablepackaginginitiative as ameansof
retaining employees, after apoll showedthat
employeeswanted to beassured the packagingin
usewasas sustainableas possible. Fortunately, they
employedafood system approach so that food
waste wasminimized,andpackagingwasoptimized
in tandem.
Source Reduction
Lilienfeld: Consumption is the primary driver of
most of the environmental issuesthat weface today.
If we're talking about the global climate, people say,
well, our goal is to reduce carbon dioxide
production. Well, that's not really our goal—that's a
strategy. Our goal is to minimize the chancethat we
will makeour climate uninhabitable for ourselves
andother species.
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Andthen youstart looking at things like climate
change.If wereduce the insatiableneedto consume
things, then the amount of CO2 that gets produced
willdecline,asopposedto havingto figure out what
to dowith what we'vealready produced.
Sand: This is critical. Consuming lessmeans
optimizing packagingspecifically to prevent food
waste.When this is done, our environmental
footprint will decline per capita.
If wejust focuson the package sustainability and
spendenergy on this, weare missingthe point and
have misguidedefforts in reducingthe
environmental impactof our wholefood system.
The focusshouldbe on preserving andprotecting
resources. What I loveabout source reduction is
that weusefewerchemicals of concern, andthe
EPAestimates that source reduction eliminated up
to 15 billion poundsof chemicals being usedfrom
1991 to 2016. You sawthis manyyears ago, Bob,
andhighlighted it in your 1998 book, UseLessStuff.
Boy, I lovethat title becauseit addresses both using
less stuff anduselessstuff.
Lilienfeld: I becameaproponent of the concept of
source reduction because if less is used,there is less
to collect, sort, recycle, reuse, degrade,landfill,
incinerate, etc. So the late Bill Rathje from the
University of Arizona, the world’s first garbologist,
wrote the book with meto explain this.
Sand: The messageis still true.
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“Consuming less means
optimizing packaging
specifically to prevent
food waste. When this is
done, our environmental
footprint will decline.”
- Claire Sand
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Lilienfeld: This ties back to what it is that we're
trying to accomplish.Our goal is not to recycle
more, reuse, or degrade more. It is to reduce the
environmental impact, andwecan dothis best by
using less stuff.
Environmental Scorecards
Sand: Environmental scorecards for packaging—
suchas the Walmart one developed in 2006—are
increasingin popularityagain. Ideally,scorecards
can be usedto guideindustrydecision-makers.
Increasingly, wehave seen packagingsuppliers
developing their own scorecards basedon nonpeer-
reviewed LCAs.But now I wouldsaythere is an
overabundanceof scorecards not entirely basedon
facts.
Lilienfeld: I wasveryinvolvedin the Walmart
scorecard process. But I wasnot aproponent—I was
anopponent. I gavethe keynote address at their
sustainablepackagingmeeting where they
introducedscorecards, andI saidthis is going to
come back to haunt you. Leadership is about telling
the truth!
The problemwith that scorecard wasthat it focused
on materials, recyclability, andrecycled content and
not actually more sustainablepackaging. What I am
afan of is accuracy.For example,if youwantto
claim recyclability, youhave to get the APR
[Association of Plastic Recyclers] to approveyour
finished package for recycling. If youwantto claim
compostability in the EuropeanUnion, youhaveto
get Technischer Überwachungsvereincertified in
Germany. In the USA, the Biodegradable Products
Institute certifies compostability.
Sand: Ah, the facts. That is what scorecards are
supposedto assist with. OneI dolike is the section
of the UP Scorecard that addresses an issue—
chemicals of concern—that is ignored byother
scorecards.
Recent legal action is clarifying the facts for
consumers andbrandownerstoo. For example,the
plastic identification code developed in 1988 looks
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like a recycling symboleven though it is not, and
California recently enacted a labeling lawthat
mandates removal of the symbol.Andthere is also
legal action against TerraCycle whichalleges that
they deceivedconsumers into thinking that
packages are recycled whenthey are sent to
TerraCycle facilities.
Lilienfeld: In manycases, usingscorecards plants a
seed.They canget people to realize that they may
haveto movein newdirections or be opento new
directions. It takes awhile to actuallygrow the tree.
For example,from Walmart, wenowhave Project
Gigaton, designed to reduce carbon dioxide
generation within the Walmart supplychain by2.2
trillion poundsannually.
Disappearing Plastics
Sand: Many consumershave astrong wishfor
plastics to simplydisappear.
Lilienfeld: I know.It is strange. If youstart from
the perspective of what is it that plastic material
delivers, it is anamazing material. For example,
polyethylene(PE) has one of the highest strength-
to-weight ratios of anymaterial in our universe.
What this translates to in food packagingis that PE
bagshold alot of stuff. Plus,PE wasawaste
byproduct—anupcycledproduct from oil refining.
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“In many cases, using
[environmental]
scorecards plants a
seed. They can get
people to realize that
they may have to move
in new directions or be
open to new
directions.”
- Robert Lilienfeld
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Sand: Material scienceadvancesin coatings,
adhesives, inks in packagingare advancingthe
efficacy of what plastics can do. BioderivedPE from
arenewable resource andrecycling of flexible
packaginghas a lower LCA than fossil-derived PE.
Making the distinction betweenbioderived and
biodegradable is paramount.
Lilienfeld: Agreed!In theory, compostable or
biodegradable packagingsoundsgreat. But the
reality is it doesn't just break downandgo away.
There are two types of composting—industrial
composting andhome composting—andthe odds
that apackage is going to breakdownandgo away
in your homecomposter are almost nil. In order for
the most popular biodegradable polymer,whichis
PLA[polylactic acid], to break down,it hasto be in
an environmentwherethe temperature is at least
131°F, andthat takes energy andis also not
happeningin your backyard in Minnesota anytime
soon.
There are not alot of facilities around that will
acceptbiodegradable polymers.On top of that, even
amongstthose that doexist, alot of them don't
wantPLA.They don't wantit becausefrankly, it is a
contaminant or contains contaminants, andthe
only reason they acceptit is because it's the cost of
getting the food waste andyardtrimmings they do
want.
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“In theory, compostable
or biodegradable
packaging sounds great.
But the reality is it
doesn’t just break down
and go away.”
- Robert Lilienfeld
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Sand: Many people immediatelyassumethat more
sustainablepackagingis compostable packaging. I
find this very frustrating for manyreasons. First,
compostingpackagingis just abovelandfilling on
the EPApyramidandoften not the most sustainable
option. Second, compostable packagingis not
compatible with municipal solid waste compost
facilities that handle only food scraps, andwe have
limited capacity to handle compostable packaging.
Third, the standardsmeasure alimited amount of
byproductsandallow certification if the particle size
is 2 mmor less. Andfourth, advocatesfor
compostability cite packaging waste in oceansand
on land,andthey donot address that it is likely that
compostable packaging will degrade in an
uncontrolled manner andcontaminate our water or
soil. On this last point, PFAS [per- and
polyfluoroalkylsubstances] wasnot measured by
compostability standardsuntil two years ago.
Lilienfeld: Oddly,a lot of people whosaythey're in
favor of acircular economy wantcompostingof
packaging, because [they mistakenly think] the
packagingwill somehowdisappear into compost
andwill rejuvenate the soil. Compostable packaging
wasnever part of the soil. For example, the result of
composting plastic is not compost—it's greenhouse
gases.It’s water vapor, it’s carbon dioxide, andif it's
an anaerobic process like in alandfill, the third gas
is methane. If it's anaerobic process suchasin an
industrial composter, the third gasis ammonia.
Sand: Those are greenhousegases,so let meget this
straight—a pieceof plastic will be put in an
environmentwhereit breaks down.Andin the best
of circumstances, this creates greenhouse gases. In
the worst of circumstances, it creates greenhouse
gasesandmicroplastics. It soundsasif composting
often is not the most sustainableoption.
FoodWaste and FoodAccess
Sand: I becameinterested in food packagingin 1984
to usepackagingto prevent food waste andimprove
food access. Awarenessis increasing: We just had
the secondannual [virtual] FAO [Food and
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Agriculture Organization] International Day of
Food LossWaste Awarenessin September. One
point I madeat the event wasthat weneedto
respect that manypeople have other things, such as
feeding their children, to worry about rather than
more sustainablepackaging. The keyis to provide
goodpackage choices for them that allow them to
take care of their other nutrient needs andnot really
think about the packagingbeing the most
sustainableor not. It just will be.
This is atall order. But I dohope the conversation
shifts to wheremore sustainable packagingis
viewedas packagingthat protects resources, andits
disposalandsourcing canbe taken for granted.
Lilienfeld: The wholeunderlying mechanism of
food production, starting with corn andthen corn
being fedto cattle, significantly reduces the cost of
getting that food on our plates. So weare spoiled. If
weactually hadto paywhat it really costs to
producefood, wewouldwaste alot lessbecause it
wouldbe asignificantly bigger portion of our
disposable income.
Sand: We dosee less food waste with high-value
items such as meat andfish. The bottom line is
reducing the total impactwehaveon the planet
versusblindlyfollowing one solution. For example,
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“The key is to provide
good package choices
for [consumers] that
allow them to take care
of their other nutrient
needs and not really
think about the
packaging being the
most sustain-able or
not. It just will be.”
- Claire Sand
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for food with high greenhouse gasimpacts, more
sustainablepackagingmust focuson preventing
that food waste. Smart brands andpackaging
companies are usingpackagingjudiciously and
respectfully to reduce food waste after retail,
employing packagingthat is more sustainable and
linking the UNSDGs.
SpringingForward
Sand: Moving forward, wein the industryneedto
lead.Can you share details about the
SPRING initiative andhowit will makean impact?
Lilienfeld: SPRING stands for Sustainable
Packaging, Research, Information, andNetworking
Group, andthis is aconceptthat I started working
on almost 10 years ago. SPRING provides
transparent expertise andallows policymakers [and]
business leaders, to makescience-based andbetter
decisions on more sustainablepackaging. We have
anadvisoryboard—of which I amproudto sayyou
are a member—withsubject matter experts who
have 25-plus years of expertise in aparticular field
andpossess not just knowledge, but also
compassion andfacilitation skills. We have the
ability to take astep back andinstead of talking
about whichis the best bioderivedpolymer,wedig
deepinto the specificsof the best useof bioderived
polymersto reduce greenhouse gasgeneration.
One of our goalsis to helppeople understandthe
incredible complexity associatedwith the
development of sustainable packaging. Andmany
times, sustainability is definedbycultural and
political considerations,not just scientific ones. To
helppeople understandthis complexity, SPRING
hasdeveloped what I like to call the sustainable
packagingdevelopment wheel(Figure 1
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Sand: I think alot of scientists, myselfincluded,get
so excited about anewmaterial, andit's so
important to take astep back andfocuson the end
goal—to achieve a more sustainablefood system.
Lilienfeld: I agree. Andweneedto trust these
scientists andour subject matter experts. Probably
around 95% of consumersare never goingto bein a
position to makeasmart decisionabout sustainable
packaging, just asI amnever goingto bein a
position to makea smart decisionabout what's the
properwayto sustainably landscapemyyardin
eastern Colorado. That is what experts do. It's more
important that wein industryget back to the
understandingthat expertise provides value that
allowsusto live our lives andfeel reasonably
comfortable that the big problems are being looked
after bypeople whoare capableof makingthose
decisions. SPRING provides this expertise so that
newmaterials, ideas, andprocesses can be assessed
rationally.
Sand: Alot of youngpeople are passionate about
the environment. Right now wehave agolden
opportunity to harness the passionof the next
Figure 1. Sustainable Packaging Development Wheel. Source: SPRING,
2021
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generation andthe experience of our generation.
We just needto makethe right decisions.
Lilienfeld: The packagingindustryhasalot to be
proudof. We doneedto focuson the goal of truly
reducing the environmental impactof packaging,
andlet expertise beour guide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Brewster is a freelance writer based in Evanston, Ill.
(lib500@comcast.net).
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• Claire Sand is a Global Packaging Leader with 35+ years of broad
experience in the food and packaging science spectrum in industry -
from basic research to marketing - and in academia - tenured
professor and director.
• Sand's mission is to enable a more sustainable food system with
science and value chain innovations that more sustainably increases
food shelf life and prevents food waste.
• She solves packaging and food industry challenges using a blend of
packaging and food science and value-chain expertise.
• Dr. Sand holds a PhD in Food Science and Nutrition from the
University of Minnesota and MS and BS in Packaging from Michigan
State University.
Questions?
Let’s Connect!
Call 617-807-5341 or email
claire@packagingtechnologyandresearch.com
www.PackagingTechnologyandResearch.com