Life cycle assessment of packed food products - the function of flexible packaging

摘要

It should be the aim of every type of industry to minimize the environmental impacts directly related to their products. This study shows that in the case of the packaging industry this goal can only be reached if aspects indirectly influenced by the product are also taken into account. Thus, the packaging industry does not only aim to improve the production process of their packages, but also to provide packages whose functionality helps to reduce other more relevant environmental impacts in the life cycle. Depending on the product, tailor-made packaging may also help to increase overall resource efficiency.