Packaging Solutions
Laura Fernandez, senior packaging and sustainability manager at Ocado, will join Packaging Innovations and Empack 2022 as the lead judge of the Ecopack Challenge. Ahead of the show, which returns to Birmingham’s NEC on 25 and 26 May, Laura looks at where the opportunities lie to improve sustainability in packaging, the difference between on-shelf and e-commerce packaging, and how to address the anti-plastic sentiment amongst consumers.
What has been the highlight of your career so far and what makes your role at Ocado so different?
Before my time at Ocado, helping the Queen celebrate her 90th birthday in style, without a doubt! I was responsible for delivering the insulated hamper and packaging for the picnic lunch enjoyed by charities in the Mall. An unforgettable experience with many sleepless nights!
I also count 2021, my first year at Ocado Retail, as a definite highlight.
Online packaging has different requirements than in-store packaging as it is unable to influence ‘shelf presence’ as is the case in traditional retail environments. Online, the purchasing decision shifts to a click of a button and although the distribution channel is more demanding, the packaging must deliver an equally positive experience with a seamless transition from online to off line; the packaging must look as attractive in the kitchen as it did on screen to the delight of our customers.
The online retail space poses a significant opportunity to do things differently whilst ensuring the packaging is optimum and relevant to the product, sustainable and functional, prevents damages and limits waste – factors that can impact the environment.
What role do you think a circular economy has to play in packaging?
Packaging is one of the fastest developing areas in the food industry and where innovations are constantly being established in response to creating a more circular model, as well as the increased consumer and government attention on packaging’s environmental impact.
However, despite the growing need for circularity, transition can be slow and barriers, in some industries, still exist. To really flourish, packaging needs to be embedded in a holistic framework underpinned by wider collaboration. And we must maintain a sense of urgency to generate the wealth and environmental gains packaging can create.
Embedding circularity to reduce our environmental impact is a key focus for our strategy at Ocado. In the past year alone, we have reviewed the packaging of our 600 Ocado Own Brand lines to eliminate 13 tonnes of paper and board, 85 tonnes of plastic and use 75 tonnes less virgin plastic with 49 tonnes now recyclable. We have also eliminated 18 million units of unnecessary packaging.
A great example of circularity is Ocado’s closed loop carrier bag recycling scheme, where bags are handed back to delivery drivers from customers' homes and recycled for future deliveries. But we know there is much more we need to do!
Sustainability is a key area for progress in the packaging industry, where do you think the opportunities lie for the future?
During the past few years, many companies have made great progress addressing sustainable packaging. But the solution is not just material substitution or reduction or focus solely on recycling. Widespread use of single use packaging has resulted in a heavy burden on the environment. We need to turn off the tap of single use packaging and deliver a system change for reuse.
Increasing reuse is a must win battle to optimise resources and drastically reduce waste by delivering an infrastructure of scale with true environmental benefits.
Ocado is very proud to be part of a new coalition of retailers, all working together to help solve the single use packaging problem by developing a new industry wide supply chain solution to bring refills to more customers. We are the Refill Coalition, led by Unpackaged, and our aim, if successful, is for this to soon become industry standard.
And whilst we continue our packaging optimisation, developing innovative solutions for reduction, improved recyclability, and recycled content, we also create lasting consumer behaviour change participating in industry projects and supporting national campaigns on recycling and food waste elimination, as part of Ocado’s ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2040.
How do you think the anti-plastic sentiment should be addressed for consumers?
It is a tough one! Plastic is undergoing a crisis of trust that needs to be overturned. It is about the industry singing from the same hymn sheet to eradicate greenwashing and consumer confusion.
Where needed, plastic packaging must be optimally designed, produced, used, reused, disposed of, and re-processed to bring back consumers’ confidence. And of course, plastic litter and marine pollution are very real and need to be tackled. We must reduce our reliance on single use packaging and make it as easy as possible for consumers to do the right thing, recycling more and better with the right infrastructure and information so they can play their part too.
You are part of the judging panel for the Ecopack Challenge, what will you be looking for from the entries?
On behalf of Ocado Retail, I will be looking for game changing innovative packaging that demonstrates a holistic approach to sustainability and considers the multiple issues that consumers and companies are faced with daily to improve the future of our planet. And being selfish, a great innovation for online!
Not an easy task but that is what the Ecopack Challenge is all about!
You can find out more about the event at Packaging Innovations and Empack NEC 2022
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