Digital assistant for selecting sustainable packaging

SPOC stands for ‘Sustainable Packaging Online Calculator’. Accordingly, we want to provide manufacturers and packagers with an online tool that offers simple support in choosing the most sustainable packaging possible. To do this, users enter the materials used for a functional unit and add the quantity, recycling rate, manufacturing technology, method of disposal and transport in each case. The CO2 equivalents that are automatically calculated from this data are based on the majority of the plastics that are usually used as well as other packaging materials.

SPOC can be used wherever food or also non-food packaging is in use. However, packaging made from plastics and paper is particularly interesting. Establishing a transparent and verifiable life cycle assessment is an extremely complex task. In this respect, the aim is to keep SPOC as simple as possible so that users with little prior knowledge can also work with it and categorise the results. By focusing on CO2 as the main influencing variable, they only have to compare one value, which accordingly makes the whole process simpler. The information value is nevertheless high.

The most difficult thing for the user is likely to be assessing the recycling rate for an item of packaging. This has to be entered correctly in SPOC, as it extensively influences the calculation. As regards the range of variation, the mean values of materials resulting from production plants throughout Germany or Europe are used. If packaging is purchased from numerous factories, the mean value can be assumed to be very accurate. Thanks to the specified data sets and because they are always carried out in exactly the same way, the calculations are also reproducible.

Exactly. Users are provided with a wealth of information showing the differences between various packaging solutions: the influence of the type of material, processing, disposal, transport or of the recycling rate. Composites can also be calculated well insofar as the individual constituents are known and entered. There are always new materials such as grass paper, for instance, that will almost certainly not all be stored in SPOC. However, people can contact me to ask how to calculate them.

The energy generation and disposal route data refers to Germany’s infrastructure; this will be extended to cover additional European countries in the near future. The crucial aspect is the end of life. Different calculation options are available, particularly for recycling. SPOC is oriented to the recommendations of the ILCD (International Reference Life Cycle Data System), not the simplified PEF methodology proposed by the EU. However, it should be possible to use both calculation options in the future.

Further information is available at: https://verpackungsrechner.com