I had the opportunity to speak on a panel at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual Food Expo in Chicago on the subject of sustainability and the implications of climate regulation on the food and beverage industry.  The panel discussed the progress of formal climate legislation, the importance of developing more energy and water efficient approaches to farming and agriculture, voluntary carbon reporting and labeling programs for consumer goods, and consumers’ perception of sustainability.

Coming from the perspective of a packaging technology provider, AEB is feeling the pull from co-packers and brand owners for solutions that offer strong sustainability and economic value propositions.  The packaging research firm Mintel released a study earlier in the conference illustrating a lack of consensus among consumers on what defined sustainability.  Furthermore, they found that consumers preferred “sustainable” products, but were not willing to pay higher prices.  This sentiment is paralleled in the market for packaging technology equipment.

As we discussed in a recent webinar, AEB’s Blu sterilization technology enables greater sustainability as well as a superior Total Cost of Ownership when compared to conventional thermal or chemical based approaches.   With increasing pressure to show progress on common sustainability metrics such as carbon footprint reduction, water footprint reduction, and package light weighting, food and beverage packagers are considering advanced technologies for new filling capacity and for filling line retrofits. 

Download a copy of our IFT presentation here.