Tuesday, May 15, 2012

2012 Walmart Sustainability Expo in Review


Rob Busse


By Rob Busse, CPP- Chainalytics

Last week Chainalytics attended and presented at the 7th Annual Walmart/Sam’s Club Sustainable Packaging Expo as well as the SVN meeting.  This year there seemed to be more participation in the Expo than ever with 2,000 people in attendance and 190 total exhibitors.    

Tom Blanck presented on the effect of packaging design on the whole supply chain.  He reiterated a point made by Walmart personnel in the SVN meeting, that sustainable packaging design should not and does not have to cost more.  In fact, most companies are not willing to pay more for sustainability and the end solution must make good business sense.  The message that seemed to resonate with the crowd was that packaging optimization is a solution which has “wins” throughout the supply chain affecting not just the the material costs, but the damage, warehousing, logistics, and labor costs as well.  So instead of costly material substitutions, an incremental packaging change which costs much less to implement may be the bigger bang for your company’s buck. 

Always lots of energy at this show!
Among many sustainability success stories that were shared was a project by General Mills highlighting how they have reduced their material consumption and appealed to their end users’ request to have two smaller size cartons of Cheerios instead of one very large carton with two separate bags in it.  You can see this package in action at Sam’s Club or learn more about it, click here.
Sustainable Club Packaging
New Cheerios Twin Club Pack
For more information about how Chainalytics’ Packaging  Optimization practice can help your company identify and implement packaging solutions that are planet friendly and will increase profitability for your company, don’t hesitate to call us at 612-252-1830.  
Chainalytics Booth

1 comment:

  1. Sustainability has become a very important part of every industry today and packaging industry is also not untouched. As people are becoming more and more aware about the environment, they are demanding for green and sustainable packages. Packaging companies will have to find the ways to implement packaging in their production to compensate with the demand.

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