European Shopping Baskets
The European Shopping Baskets (ESB) Program is an innovative program to foster an improved understanding of the drivers for packaging development and demand by generating packaging data and key values on an ongoing basis correlated with relevant social data.
The program supports the continuous environmental improvement of packaging thereby helping maximise resource efficiency and demonstrate the broader contribution of packaging to the sustainable use of resources.
The program is a joint undertaking of EUROPEN and INNVENTIA AB and records packaging (primary, secondary and tertiary) data on an ongoing basis for 100 of the most commonly used products in countries across the EU.
Background
Today's changing demographics, social trends and international trade are causing changes in the type of packaging necessary to meet consumer expectations and demand (ready-food, convenience etc.) as well as the interests of other stakeholders. As a consequence packaging issues are very complex and involve economic, social and environmental as well as product safety aspects. To help better understand the drivers and their consequences the ESB program has created a unique tool and methodology using selected packaging key-values applicable to the packaging of the most commonly used products across the EU.
Objectives
The ESB program provides packaging key values on a country-by-country basis which will be calculated at fixed time intervals. These key values together with knowledge of relevant national social data allow trends in packaging key values to be correlated against social drivers per country. The program provides valuable knowledge to support the goals of the EU's 6th Environmental Action Programme (including the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, the Thematic Strategy on Prevention and Recycling of Waste and Integrated Product Policy). It also helps identify more cost-effective packaging systems as part of industry’s quest for more efficient supply chain management.
The ESB program is a joint undertaking of EUROPEN aisbl - the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment - and INNVENTIA AB - the packaging research institute in Sweden.
For more information on the progamme go to www.europeanshoppingbaskets.org
Report on Phase I of the ESB (public version)
The publicly available report of the European Shopping Baskets first data collection on: Packaging Trends for Fast Moving Consumer Goods in Selected European Countries can be downloaded (below) free of charge.
