Switching to Paper Packaging: How to Measure Success

Once your transition from plastic to paper packaging is in full swing, it’s important to evaluate your success and strive for continuous improvement. Here are common sustainable packaging metrics to track.

Percentage of Sustainable Packaging

As you replace plastic with paper, record what percentage of your packaging is sustainable over time to ensure you’re meeting the milestones you set in Part 2 of this series. To recap, your goals might be to:

• Eliminate single-use plastics
• Achieve 100% recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable packaging
• Use a certain percentage of recycled content in packaging

That means you should track:

• Total plastic and paper usage
• Percent of recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable packaging
• Percent of post-consumer recycled content

Continually evaluate progress to make sure you’re on track to meet your goals and adjust if needed.

Waste Reduction

Waste reduction depends on multiple factors, but you can get a good idea of how much waste you’ve reduced by:

• Measure waste produced per unit of output
• Calculate the percentage of waste diverted from landfills through recycling or composting
• Track the ratio of input materials to finished products to identify material losses

These figures can help prove the environmental benefits of switching from plastic to paper and demonstrate your company’s commitment to social responsibility.

Cost Savings

Track investment in paper packaging and ROI over time, then compare those metrics to previous costs. Make sure you’re measuring the right things, as unit cost isn’t the only factor. You need to calculate the total cost of impact, which includes:

• Recycling infrastructure costs
• Manufacturing process costs
• Sustainability benefits such as customer acquisition, retention, and brand loyalty

Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is another critical metric, especially when you consider that many customers will buy more and pay more for products with sustainable packaging. You can gauge customer satisfaction through:

• Surveys and questionnaires
• Direct feedback
• Focus groups

All of these can help evaluate the impact your transition from plastic to paper packaging has on overall customer satisfaction.

Marketing

Evaluating success not only helps determine the impact sustainable paper packaging has on your business, but it also gives you a powerful marketing tool.

Promote your sustainable packaging efforts with some of the following strategies:

• Placing logos and recyclable symbols on packaging
• Adding statements such as “made from 80% post-consumer recycled content” to your packaging
• Adding a QR code that leads to a website with additional information about your packaging and overall sustainability initiatives

Measuring the impact of your plastic-to-paper packaging conversion lends powerful insights your company can use to make data-based decisions, promote your brand, and win customers. If you’re not sure how to get started, consult a knowledgeable packaging partner who can guide you every step of the way.