Success/ROI of green packaging.

our company is planning on reusing our shipping material but the cost of returning it will be a customer perogative. We just needed to give them the incentive like a cash back to return their packaging material. Do you think there is more economical and greener way to do it?

I am not expert or experienced in distribution and logistics and in that regard can't comment.

In terms of marketing, having worked with several brands and businesses which are taking Green issues more seriously, it sounds like you are going the right way about it. The economic side will come down to, creating the best fit you can for the reusing processes with your existing processes. So for a blunt example, a truck that has just made a drop off, can easily take empties back on its return. Without proper scrutiny, it is hard to gauge exactly how effective this would be in-terms of economics and the environment. However, it is better to do the best you can with the knowledge you an acquire, than do nothing.

One way to create some return/sponsorship of this this activity, is to communicate this brand value onto the end consumer. i.e. Depending on your market, many consumers are proactively interested now, in how the product or service they are contemplating buying into, has arrived in front of them (in all regards - people, materials, processes and so on).

Consumers who have green ethics informing their reason to purchase, would value products/brands who are helping them to meet their life-style values. i.e. it helps to create competitive edge.

I hope this helps.

At this time, the ultimate ROI of "green" packaging is impossible to determine because, as stated above, there are no standards. There is a Canadian group and a US non-profit that, after determining the history of the product(s), the quality through testing, and how "green" it really is can give their approval for a special seal. Most manufacturers are giving themselves their own approval which is nothing more than a marketing ploy. Consumer Reports recently tested a number of products that claimed to be "green." In almost all cases, the claim was at best misleading if not downright false. One company claimed it was green because their product contained no fluorocarbons which were banned many years ago. Those products that did have some partially legitimate claim to "green" were almost always inferior.

Whether in products or packaging, getting on the "green" marketing bandwagon may ultimately prove disastrous for a company. As more and more fraudulent or misleading claims are uncovered and standards start to be developed, those that used the claim for marketing purposes may find their lies exposed to the public and their reputation severely tarnished.

Companies that truly desire to go "green" should research what they can realistically and effectively do towards sustainability instead of doing whatever is expedient just for marketing purposes.

Until standards are adopted, defining "green" packaging ROI is likely to be measured by the benefits derived and acknowledged by your company and your customers. Being "green", to answer your question directly, is not always measured by the recyclabilitity of materials. In many industries, there are metrics around reducing the global footprint of products and that gives you a greater space to evaluate. For example, your company may benefit by directing customers to a website for the instructions previously inserted in your packaging: ROI can be measured as the sum of $ saved on paper/printing + dollars saved by reducing the size of your package because the insert no longer takes up space + savings in sterilization/inventory costs (if appropriate) due to smaller packaging + transportation cost reduction due to smaller packages/ability to palletize differently, etc. Extra bonus: Emissions and gas use reduction associated with transportation cost reductions. For your customer: Reduction in waste management costs (less bulky pakaging, less inserts to throw out); shelf space impacts that enable them to order from you less often while taking advantage of greater quantity discounts per order?

Hope that helps!

I think "green packaging" can address not only the materials that are being shipped but also the way products and services are developed, tested, and implemented. If you look at the ROI for green packaging from a software standpoint, you look towards how the company is utilizing the current tools available for development such as virtualization and cloud computing. Using these tools reduces the footprint of the company and essentially creates a more green environment. Creating a more green environment by using development tools that reduce the companies footprint utlimately will create a bigger ROI because of reusing programs, functions, services within cloud computing, and reducing the carbon footprint of the internal servers by virtualization.

hopefully there will not be any standards. bunch of tree huggers get together with some wonderful ideas to make business more complicated

Hi Focus members

I'm lina Kay

I just found you group and looking to learn more what is driving you in term of leading and focus of you discussion.

Warm regards

Lina Kay