The environmental services provider Prezero supports packaging manufacturers and distributors in optimizing the recyclability and life cycle assessment of packaging. To this end, the Schwarz subsidiary offers the web-based “Sustainable Packaging Optimization Tool” (SPOT) in cooperation with the Austrian software provider Packaging Cockpit.
According to the company, the free core service considers the material, the design structure, and the disposal infrastructure in each individual EU country when classifying the recyclability of packaging. This should provide distributors with information on the varying degrees of recyclability from country to country. The tool also maps the CO2 footprint and regionally relevant costs on a country-specific basis. In addition to plastic taxes and license fees, these also include any payments into a littering fund.
Prezero Expands its Services
“The service enables distributors to compare several packaging options with the aim of deriving the best courses of action and thus comprehensively optimizing their own packaging portfolio,” says Alexander Reitz, Head of Customer Development & Consulting at Prezero. According to him, the website also offers functions for managing a portfolio via data management. This facilitates interaction and communication between manufacturers and distributors of packaging.
According to Reitz, experts from Prezero and Packaging Cockpit can supplement the online tool with additional consulting services on request, albeit for a fee. The focus is on the design of packaging, its production and use, as well as the reuse of the materials it contains for new products. The use of recycled materials, technical feasibility, and realizable savings potential are also taken into account.
More and More Online Platforms
Prezero defines itself within the Schwarz Group not as a waste disposal company, but as an environmental service provider that develops recycling cycles for retailers. The company is the “Center of Expertise” for all packaging within the Schwarz Group, which includes Lidl and Kaufland.
Dietmar Böhm, CEO of Prezero International, explained during the dvi's German Packaging Congress that you have to start with packaging design in order to achieve a circular economy.
