ME Printer speaks to Ankie Cheng, the Sales & Marketing Manager at LN Nano Technology Limited, about sustainability in the printing and packaging industries
In your opinion, is sustainability today more of a keyword or are companies genuinely interested in offering sustainable products and solutions?
Increasingly, we are seeing more companies working their sustainability goals into their overall business strategy and objectives. This is definitely a good move forward, coupled with the society placing more attention towards plastic pollution and its effects to our environment. We are also witnessing the trend that going green is becoming more mainstream in consumer products.
What are some of your sustainability strategies in place? Any challenges faced so far?
Working towards a sustainable future is one of our company’s development goals. It is one where we envisage a healthy environment, economic prosperity and diversified development being simultaneously pursued in ensuring the well-being and quality of life of present and future generations.
This has led to the development of our BDS Foam (Biodegradable Starch Foam). Produced by corn starch and other all-natural raw materials, BDS Foam is a sustainable and zero-waste packaging material that is biodegradable in 7 weeks. Beyond its green properties, considerations were also placed on its design characteristics as packaging for a product. These include protection needs, as well as its ability to withstand delivery and storage.
In terms of challenges faced, it really is down to market awareness and support from the government. One major misconception of corn-based packaging material is that it puts excessive strain on food production and supply, which may in turn slow down the market for biodegradable products.
On the contrary, corn-based packaging material is preferable as its raw material, corn, is sustainable, cheap, and easy to produce. Corn is the least expensive and most abundant source of commercially available sugar. If disposed correctly, packaging material made from cornstarch will break down into carbon dioxide and water within several months.
Government support is also crucial. Bans on conventional plastic carrier bags and straws have been introduced in Italy, France, California, Hawaii and Taiwan – and have demonstrated that simple single policy objectives such as reducing littering can cascade into other wide-reaching policy benefits such as food waste collection and organic recycling. Further proving that legislative support can drive growth and encourage adoption.
According to you, which areas of the print & pack industry can become more eco-friendly? How do you see sustainability impacting/affecting the industry as a whole?
In the printing and packaging industry, to achieve eco-friendly packaging, we need to look at its entire value chain from materials to technology and production methods. Many companies are still at the materials ‘stage’. We would need the whole industry to align and synchronise their production chain towards the same goal of being sustainable to achieve a healthy future. While this may seem far-fetched and idealistic, we like to reference to the food industry as an example.
Going back to 50 years ago, food served as a basic necessity for livelihood. But in today terms, food is now for nutritional balance and even has medicinal value – leading the shift in priorities towards food safety. In the same vein, if the printing and packaging industry places eco-friendliness as top priority, it would translate down the line to the use of eco-ink and eco-materials, keeping to eco-friendly and sustainability products in the market for consumers.
How do you see exhibitions like PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL, contributing to the sustainability objectives of companies?
PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL provides a trade-focused platform to spread awareness on innovative and sustainable packaging solutions – where businesses can strive together to achieve a sustainable future. It presents a setting for industry players from all around the world to come together to exchange knowledge and skills.
“The need for efficiency drives the print & pack industry towards sustainability”. Is this statement true? Why?
In our opinion, the need to ‘go eco’ and ‘go green’ is what drives the printing and packaging industry towards a sustainable future. With this in mind, we believe being efficient and effective is crucial during production, so is the need for safety – as these would form the foundation for sustainability, that of the avoidance of natural resources depletion in order to maintain an environmental balance for many years to come.
