KIDV model ‘Five perspectives on sustainable packaging’ ®

Starting with sustainable packaging, you will quickly discover that this involves more than simply using less or a different material. The development of a successful sustainable packaging also requires you to consider for example the packaging process and the logistics, your customers’ purchasing and disposal behaviour, and your organisation’s packaging and sustainability strategies. That is why the Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV) developed a model called Five perspectives on sustainable packaging®.

This KIDV model provides a clear overview of the key areas of attention that you have to take into account when developing sustainable packaging. It also gives you the opportunity to zoom in on issues that are relevant to your specific situation from any angle. It offers background information, tips, guidelines, and examples that can help you along the way.

Five perspectives

Packaging and the product Policy and strategy Consumer behaviour Packaging in a circular economy Choice of material and packaging process Sustainable product- packaging combination
The KIDV-model: Five perspectives on sustainable packaging. Click on a section in the model for more information.

The packaging and the product

Sustainable product-packaging combinations are always the result of the right combination of product properties and packaging properties. When making a packaging more sustainable, it is important to first strive to prevent product loss and product wastage and guarantee the safety of the user and the environment. Once these aspects have been optimally safeguarded, you can start looking for ways to further improve the sustainability of the packaging, e.g. by reducing the amount of material used or by adopting sustainable material applications without compromising the packaging’s functionality.

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Policy and strategy

It is important to integrate the sustainable packaging process in your organisational policies. In addition to knowledge of the laws and regulations pertaining to (sustainable) packaging, it is important to know what developments and opportunities related to sustainable packaging occur in your sector. This lets you determine the optimal way for your organisation to adapt to these circumstances with the right packaging strategies and/or new business models.

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Consumer behaviour

Packaging materials affect consumer behaviour during the purchase, use and disposal of the product-packaging combination. A sustainable packaging process can also contribute to sustainable consumer behaviour. By viewing packaging materials from the consumer’s perspective, sustainable packaging becomes an investment in added value for the customer. In this manner, a sustainable packaging process offers environmental benefits as well as cost reductions related to material usage, energy, transport and waste. That is all the more reason to carefully consider a packaging’s effect on consumers during its development.

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Packaging in a circular economy

The demand for packaging materials is growing rapidly due to our increasing wealth and growing global population. Consequently, the amount of raw materials used, the volume of packaging waste produced and their respective environmental impact are also increasing. That is why it is important that our society transitions from a linear to a circular economy: an economic system in which we maximise the reusability of products and raw materials and minimise wastage. That calls for a different mindset. For example: how can I take the disposal phase into account during the design process by making sure that my packaging is easy to recycle? How can I eliminate waste with my design? What other systems or business models can we use to meet consumers’ needs?

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Choice of material and packaging process

When developing sustainable packaging materials, it is important to choose the right material and packaging process. The packaging process is largely dependent on the material you select and the combination of the two determines what types of packaging materials you can produce.

Within this subject

Sustainable product-packaging combination

Sustainable packaging means developing packaging materials that have a minimal impact on the environment, without compromising the quality of the packaged product. The packaging has to be designed, produced and processed in a way that requires as little raw material as possible and allows it to be reused or recycled. You can develop an optimally sustainable product-packaging combination by optimally using, coordinating and balancing the five perspectives from the KIDV model. This will help you find the perfect mix, tailored to your product, organisation and chain.