Consumer Goods Forum introduces Global Protocol on Packaging Sustainability

PARIS — The Consumer Goods Forum released the Global Protocol on Packaging Sustainability, a global measurement system designed to help the consumer packaged goods industry to better assess the relative sustainability of packaging.

The GPPS — collectively designed by a diverse group of retailers and manufacturers, aided by packaging material suppliers and packaging manufacturers — helps the CPG industry understand the environmental impact of their packaging by providing a common language to address a range of business questions about packaging sustainability either within a company or between business partners, the Consumer Goods forum said. The common language consists of a framework — called A Global Language for Packaging Sustainability, which was first published in June 2010 — and a measurement system. The metrics published in the GPPS deliver the measurement system.

The GPPS, which can be accessed free of charge here, is sponsored by Tesco CEO Philip Clarke and Unilever CEO Paul Polman, who serve as board members for the Consumer Goods Forum.

"One of the strengths of this project is how it has brought together so many companies and organizations from across our industry to work collectively on developing this common language," Polman said.