Johnson & Johnson lays out sustainability criteria in China

Li was sharing a platform with UPM Raflatac, as the two companies have done a lot of work together on finding sustainable labeling solutions.

Johnson & Johnson’s global Healthy Future 2014 program is designed to give practical effect to a long-standing commitment to preserve the environment and natural resources, but Li stressed that sustainability must go hand in hand with profitability. ‘It is not realistic to talk one without the other. You can plant trees but they will not survive if there is no profit.’

Johnson & Johnson aims to design for sustainability using benchmarks derived from a Life Cycle Analysis, said Li. Sustainable design criteria include: is it designed to minimize waste; can it be smaller or lighter; is it designed to be durable or multi-functional; does it use renewable resources; is reuse practice and encouraged; is it made with post-consumer materials; do the materials come in less toxic form; does it come from a socially and environmentally responsible company; is it make locally?

‘We are using recyclable materials and we are asking for renewable and sustainable materials at a reasonable cost', said Li, who praised the work carried out by Coca-Cola in China, as the only company turning recycled food packaging back into food packaging.

‘China has prohibited the use of recycled products for food and this is the only exception so far. This allows many uses of the same material, so we try to work with them to see if we can also use it.’

Biodegradable materials represent a dilemma, Li explained:  ‘There are many biodegradable materials, but if they are edible corns, it will create conflict between human consumption and industrial useage. This is the classic bio-diesel dilemma and will create new social conflicts.’

The company often has to be pragmatic in its choices. So although it banned PVC five years ago, there are still some pharma applications where no replacement is available. ‘If you know that you can help, then let us know.’

Another complication is that not all countries have access to Life Cycle Analysis data. ‘This is why we developed a new tool just for our internal use we called Earthwards,’ said Li. ‘We have just put it onto our website so it’s available to the public and means we can always monitor and assess our performance.’

Earthwards also tries to assess ‘indirect’ sustainability benefits. ‘For example loading trucks in a way that reduces fuel consumption, or developing a new formula for medicine which means you take less tablets, so use less packaging. That is hard to quantify.’

Price is not always the most important factor. ‘We require our vendors to supply sustainable and ethical products, and UPM Raflatac knows us very well and our requirements. Sometimes we have vendors come in with a good quality product but with a cheap price so we know it cannot possibly be produced sustainably.’

Concluding, Li encouraged packaging suppliers to apply for Earthwards designation. ‘Packaging engineers can help control the fate of our planet. I encourage you to work on sustainability.’