Packaging data specialist, ecoveritas, is urging brands and retailers to take a more granular approach to their sustainability strategies in light of updated Government guidance regarding the incoming UK Plastic Packaging Tax.
Greater detail about the types of plastic packaging that will be subject to the tax has been published by HMRC in section 2 of Further Information for Businesses, relating mainly to single-use products including carrier bags, sandwich bags and disposable cups.
Josh Remi, Commercial Manager, at ecoveritas said: “Companies tend to think of sustainability on a macro scale, as a single business strategy, when in fact it needs to be broken down and viewed as a series of individual steps. Authentic sustainability is successful when businesses make step changes rather than approaching sustainability as a revolutionary objective.
“The updated government guidance is a great example of what we have been speaking to customers in the packaging sector about. We need to look at sustainability through a granular lens and delve deeper into the detail of what it really means to be sustainable and how it can be more easily achieved. By looking at sustainability more strategically and breaking it down into a series of smaller actions, such as increasing recycled content or removing single-use plastics, it becomes less of an obligation and more about enhancing overall business performance and efficiency.”
To support this approach, ecoveritas has recently launched its ecoview platform. The new comprehensive online analysis and reporting tool provides customers with total transparency and accessibility to their packaging data and offers brands and retailers a detailed assessment of their packaging supply chain.
Users can review everything from packaging by polymer type, volume of recycled content by supplier and recyclability of materials, to plastic packaging tonnage by department and information about OPRL certification. It also provides data relating to branded and own-brand products.
With ecoview and ecoveritas’ free online plastic tax calculator, brands, retailers and manufacturers can estimate their future costs in preparation for the incoming UK Plastic Packaging Tax. The calculator also allows users to calculate potential annual tax savings that can be achieved by increasing the amount of recycled content used in the manufacture of plastic packaging. The calculator is free to use and can be found by clicking here or visiting www.ecoveritas.com/plastic-tax-calculator/
The implementation of the UK Plastic Packaging Tax is part of a new law to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and cut manufacturers’ reliance on virgin plastic. The tax will apply at a rate of £200 per tonne of plastic packaging that does not contain at least 30% recycled material from April 2022. This will apply to plastic packaging which has been manufactured in, or imported into, the UK.
