Dow targets food waste mitigation with Asia's largest retailer

31 Jul 2020 --- Dow is exploring vacuum packaging solutions (VPS) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and food loss through a recently signed Carbon Project Agreement with AEON. The partnership marks the first carbon mitigation project in Japan under Dow’s Official Carbon Partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Meanwhile, the materials science company has also launched two bio-based films for food packaging in other industry collaborations.

“Approximately 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are related to food and avoiding food waste can reduce our overall carbon footprint by up to 8 percent. Through this project, we would like to raise awareness with consumers on the issue of food loss and its importance and contribute to elevating consumer knowledge about this topic. In-store promotions and consumer outreach, currently being planned, will help share this knowledge,”Dr. Nicoletta Piccolrovazzi, Circular Economy Market Director for Dow tells PackagingInsights. She is also the Global Technology & Sustainability Director for Dow Olympic & Sports Solutions.

The new packaging is now available in AEON’s subsidiary supermarket, Daiei, and has been in stores since the end of 2019. “AEON is a good fit for this program because they are leaders in the retail industry and have sustainability goals and initiatives which they are already working to accomplish. Along the way, business-as-usual has been disrupted in favor of solutions and technology that are continuing to enable lowered carbon footprint long after the partnership,” Dr. Piccolrovazzi continues.

VSP uses special films that gently surround the product and seal over the entire surface of the pack like a second skin, preserving shape, texture and product integrity for a premium retail presentation. Dow’s ionomer resin technology is utilized in this multi-layered film, in which the core feature is the film that stretches without pressurizing the product.

The TF-BOPE film can be used directly as the printed layer of the packaging, making it convenient for recycling.At the same time, it maintains puncture-resistance. The strong seal and surface adhesion to meats and seafood helps minimize migration of liquids and presents a cleaner package to the consumer.

PackagingInsights’ inquiries with leading research institutes and industry experts have revealed that the problem with plastic is not so much its material contents, but rather its end-of-life disposal. Moreover, research suggests that the plastic pollution problem could be solved within a generation, if policymakers, investors, businesses and political leaders can collaborate on a large scale.

The Herculean task
In 2017, Dow was appointed the Official Carbon Partner of the IOC. As a result, Dow has developed a collaborative carbon mitigation program using the platform of sport to balance the operational carbon footprint of the IOC.

“The collective carbon savings of the Dow Carbon partnerships with the Olympic Games and the IOC have reached more than 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) as of end of 2019 and are expected to reach 7 million metric tons by 2026,” Dr. Piccolrovazzi reveals.

The global packaging industry generated an estimated US$900 billion annually as of 2019, Dow highlights, with a steadily high growth rate projected through 2022. “Factors at play range from the boom of e-commerce, to increasing global populations, and a growing emphasis on branding and design. As a result, the risk of environmental waste is high. The way we produce, package, store, consume and dispose of materials matters now more than ever,” says Kodak Xiao, Asia Pacific Marketing Director for Packaging at Dow.

Consequently, Dow prioritizes working with converters, brand owners and retailers along the value chain to change the packaging narrative. Academics and NGOs also play an essential role in raising consumer awareness of plastics and proper recycling. Through the IOC, Dow’s mission is to introduce light-weighting to logistics and packaging, while elevating recyclability.

Thong Guan will be using Dow’s bio-based resin to create Nano Bio (Credits: Corporate Dow).Part of Dow’s environmental sustainability goals is to stop the leakage of plastic waste into the environment by enabling one million metric tonnes of plastic to be collected, reused or recycled by 2030. The company also aims to close the circular economy loop by having 100 percent of its products sold into packaging applications be reusable or recyclable by 2035.

Get Dow(n) for innovation
Answering this need for industry innovation, Dow recently extended its family of innate Precision Packaging Resis with Innate TF Polyethylene Resins for Tenter Frame Biaxial Orientation. The latest Innate addition has higher mechanical properties and material rigidity, better optical and printing performance, and the potential for all-PE structures to be recyclable.

Also, Innate TF Polyethylene Resins for Tenter Frame Biaxial Orientation offers distinctive physical properties that can enable material substitution, film layer elimination and downgauging to reduce overall packaging materials.

Together with plastic stretch cling film producer Thong Guan, Dow introduced a new range of bio-based polyethylene called Nano Bio in Asia Pacific. This marks a “milestone” in the region’s commercialization of a plastics offering made from renewable feedstock, says the company. It enables industry providers to produce high-performance plastics while reducing carbon footprint.

Nano Bio will be made using Dow’s linear low-density polyethylene ELITE 5230GC R Enhanced Polyethylene Resins. Without compromising on quality, the new bio-based stretch cling films will support brand owners in addressing Asia-Pacific’s increasing demand for renewable plastics. Dow’s bio-based PE portfolio is produced using bio-naphtha from tall oil, a byproduct of paper pulp production. 

This new supply chain from bio-feedstocks enables a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to standard fossil-derived PE resins. Also, Dow’s PE resins production is certified by International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) based on a mass balance approach.

By Anni Schleicher