The SPC launches green packaging software

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) describes itself as "an industry working group dedicated to creating and implementing sustainable packaging solutions". It was founded in 2003, has over 180 member companies and claims to be the definitive resource for information about packaging sustainability.

Anyway, on Monday the organisation is due to release COMPASS (Comparative Packaging Assessment), a web-based tool that allows packaging designers to assess the environmental impacts of their designs. COMPASS provides the information for a life cycle approach, from manufacture to disposal, to help understand the implications of design decisions. Five-user licenses for COMPASS are $500 annually for SPC members and $750 for non-members.

The data required is being approached by life cycle phase (e.g., manufacture, conversion, transport and end-of-life) and by geographic region (United States, Europe, etc.). U.S. data has been the focus to date but in the future COMPASS will include comparable European data sets and other regions as data is collected.

It sounds like a really useful tool that could (and should) be widely used. It's typically of the way the IT industry can provide the tools to help companies be greener and these tools will become increasingly essential as environmental practices and legislation spread.


The Green IT Report offers a range of market research and consultancy services on the impact and opportunities that environmental issues represent for the ICT sector. Click here for more details.