Recognizing the intense interest in sustainable packaging by both the packaging community and the Institute of Packaging Professionals (www.iopp.org) membership of over 5,000, IoPP's Technical Council recently approved the formation of a Sustainable Packaging Task Group. This newly formed group held its first meeting January 24 to 25 in Holland, MI.

IoPP's task group vice chairs, Ted Holloran and Bob Forsyth, agreed that the task group's first meeting would take place at office furniture manufacturer Herman Miller Inc. (www.hermanmiller.com) because of the company's experience and commitment to sustainability. Meeting attendees heard from industry experts from Herman Miller, who discussed the challenges and opportunities that sustainable packaging presents. Speakers included Suzanne Fisher, packaging engineering manager; Scott Charon, new product development-sustainable product design; and Paul Murray, director of environmental health and safety.

The meeting broke out into three working sessions, which included:

Definition of sustainable packaging and other related terms. Moderators included Randy Boeller, HP; Laura Donnelly, CPP, Plymouth Foam; and Chris Wolpert, Henkel/Dial Corp.

Metrics: how sustainable packaging is measured. Moderators were Marsha Arvedson, ExxonMobil; Jane Chase, CPP, US Foodservice; and Robert Spreeman Jr., Sturm Foods.

Education: how to educate the packaging community about sustainable packaging. Leading this session were Rosanna Cavanaugh, Key Tech; Judy Fischer, CPP, Sargento Foods; and Jim Peters, CPP, IoPP's director of education.

According to Peters, IoPP's purpose for establishing this task group fits into the assocation's mission statement and vision of being a central unifying force in the packaging market. "IoPP's role is as a facilitator. We do not have a policy on sustainability right now," he says.

One of the association's most important missions, he continues, is to raise the professional levels within packaging through education. "We hope to identify what educational vehicles IoPP can provide to get the message of sustainability out there," Peters says.

One possibility could be a series of professional reports (white papers) to add validation and credibility to the information being disseminated on the topic of sustainability.

The task group will likely meeting again later this spring to continue its work, Peters says.

More information is available: