COBRO and SLOPAK
2011-09-19
PLASTiCE – WP4 - Framework conditions for stimulating market demand
WP4.1 –
Transnational
Context Report Compiled by COBRO, Warsaw, Poland
1
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 0
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 2
CHAPTER 2 - TERMINOLOGY 4
CHAPTER 3 - TRADITIONAL PLASTICS INDUSTRY. 9
CHAPTER 4 – SUSTAINABILITY AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS. 13
CHAPTER 5 - NEXT GENERATION OF POLYMERS – BIOPLASTICS 15
CHAPTER 6 – MARKET RESEARCH - METHODOLOGY 26
CHAPTER 6 – MARKET RESEARCH I 36
CHAPTER 7 – MARKET RESEARCH II 56
CHAPTER 8 – MARKET RESEARCH III 68
CHAPTER 9 - CONCLUSIONS 74
APPENDIX 1 - MARKET RESEARCH I QUESTIONNAIRES 77
APPENDIX 2 - MARKET RESEARCH II AND III QUESTIONNAIRES 80
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Chapter 1 - Introduction The main purpose of this report is to provide readers with comprehensible context on the
types, roles and most importantly industry requirement of new sustainable plastic solutions.
As the new sustainable plastics are most commonly used in the packaging industry, this report
will also reflect on that especially in the market research sections.
The report is divided into two main parts, first one being the theoretical one, where all
particularities of sustainability and sustainable plastics are explained and the second part
containing the market research and conclusions of the findings. Below is the executive
summary of all chapters included in this report:
Theoretical Section
Chapter 2 – Terminology – different terms and definitions connected with plastics and
sustainability are explained here
Chapter 3 – Traditional Plastic Industry – this chapter explains the history, functions
and markets of the traditional plastic industry. From the perspective of new sustainable
solutions in plastics it is important to get the evolutionary context and look at the
traditional plastic industry in more detail
Chapter 4 – Sustainability definition for PLASTiCE project
Chapter 5 – Next Generation of Polymer Materials – this chapter discusses the new
sustainable solutions in plastic industry, it is divided into three sections:
- Biodegradable materials
- Biobased materials
- Bioplastics market
Market Research Section
Chapter 6 – Market Research – Methodology
Chapter 7 - Market Research I – Polish Entrepreneurs and Polish end consumers and
their environmental awareness – Biodegradable packaging – market research prepared
by COBRO
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Chapter 8 – Market Research II – Slovenian Entrepreneurs – Sustainable plastic
materials and packaging – market research prepared by SLOPAK
Chapter 9 – Market Research III – Polish Entrepreneurs – Sustainable plastic materials
– market research prepared by COBRO
Chapter 10 – Conclusions – common conclusions of market research results.
Sustainability as a trend
Recent developments of knowledge in the domain of environmental sciences uncovered that a
given environmental impact of different products, including those from plastics, has to be
considered from the point of view of full life cycle not just on the stage of waste generation.
Due to this, the concept of sustainable development1, design, production and usage is
currently in high demand. In addition to this in business and production practices we can more
often observe introductions of higher standards than it is required by the current law. Many
companies, especially international and global conglomerates, use the standardised Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) methodology in order to analyse the environmental impacts of their
product and hopefully lower it by means of technical and material solutions. In this way a
company may declare that it is concerned about the environment more than the competition
and the results of assessment form new directions in product design, that include such issues
as: materials and feedstock sources, recycled resources use, limiting „carbon footprint‟ values
etc. Currently observed environmental trends include:
Search for alternative materials, especially use of bio-based resources.
Use of recycled materials
Due to global warming effect, the growing importance of products and materials
„carbon footprint‟ level and incentives to lower it.
Use of biodegradable materials which fulfill the conditions of industrial composting.
This enables the users to recover the material by the means of organic recycling –
composting.
1 To use the traditional definition, sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs", in other words ensuring that today's growth does not
jeopardise the growth possibilities of future generations. Sustainable development thus comprises three elements - economic,
social and environmental - which have to be considered in equal measure at the political level. The strategy for sustainable
development, adopted in 2001 and amended in 2005, is complemented inter alia by the principle of integrating environmental
concerns with European policies which impact on the environment.
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Chapter 2 - Terminology Terminology of sustainable plastics is vast and complicated. The following section gives an
overview and clarifies different definitions used in the context. The definition are sourced
from various internationally acknowledged standards, European legislation and European
institutions specialized in the subject matter such as German certification body DIN CERTCO
and European Bioplastics association.
Main standards used:
EN 13432:2000 Packaging - Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting
and biodegradation - Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging
ASTM D 6400:2004 Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics
EN 13193:2000 Packaging Packaging and the environment Terminology
BS 8472:2011 Methods for the assessment of the oxo-biodegradation of plastics and of the
phyto-toxicity of the residues in controlled laboratory conditions
Sustainability
Sustainability means, for instance, minimizing CO2 emissions and protecting resources, and
making only minimal use of finite raw materials. Bio-based products based on renewable raw
materials are indispensible components of environmentally sound recycling management
[DIN CERTCO]
Sustainable development
To use the traditional definition, sustainable development is "development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs", in other words ensuring that today's growth does not jeopardise the growth
possibilities of future generations. Sustainable development thus comprises three elements -
economic, social and environmental - which have to be considered in equal measure at the
political level. The strategy for sustainable development, adopted in 2001 and amended in
2005, is complemented inter alia by the principle of integrating environmental concerns with
European policies which impact on the environment
[http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/environment/sustainable_development/index_en.htm]
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Sustainable Packaging (EUROPEN)
At EUROPEN, we avoid speaking of 'sustainable' packaging because packaging is just one of
many elements that can help companies meet corporate sustainability goals. Sustainable
packaging cannot be an end in itself, rather there are more sustainable ways of manufacturing
it.
Packaging's Contribution to Sustainable Development: The Vision of EUROPEN
Sustainable development addresses economic, environmental and social objectives.
EUROPEN Members are encouraged to develop and use packaging which contributes to
achievement of the European Union's Sustainable Development Strategy (1).
Such packaging should:
be designed holistically with the product in order to optimise overall environmental
performance
be made from responsibly sourced materials
be designed to be effective and safe throughout its life cycle
meet market criteria for performance and cost
meet consumer choice and expectations and
be recovered efficiently after use
(1) Renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy, 10117/06, Council of the European Union, 9 June 2006.
(2) This Vision addresses the environmental element of sustainable development, reflecting EUROPEN‟s area
of expertise. However EUROPEN recognises that our members should also incorporate social and economic
elements in their packaging policies.
Biobased
Biobased products are completely or partially made from raw materials that have absorbed as
much CO2 during their short growth as they emit when they are disposed of and/or burned
[DIN CERTCO]
Biobased: A significant proportion of the carbon in biobased or partly biobased products
comes from renewable raw materials. There are two major advantages of biobased plastic
products compared to their conventional versions: biobased plastic products save oil and
greenhouse gases
[European Bioplastics2].
2 Founded in Germany in 1993 as IBAW, European Bioplastics today represents the interests of over 70 member
companies throughout the European Union. With members from the agricultural feedstock, chemical and plastics
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Biodegradable packaging
Biodegradable packaging waste shall be of such a nature that it is capable of undergoing
physical, chemical, thermal or biological decomposition such that most of the finished
compost ultimately decomposes into carbon dioxide, biomass and water
[Directive 94/62/EC]
Biodegradable
Biodegradable: characteristic of material which allows it to undergo biodegradation to
specific extent within a given time measured by specific standard test methods
Biodegradation: degradation caused by biological activity especially by enzymatic action
leading to a significant change of the chemical structure of a material
Biodegradability: potential of material to be biodegraded
[EN 13193:2000 Packaging Packaging and the environment Terminology]
Biodegradable
Ultimate biodegradability: breakdown of an organic chemical compound by micro-
organisms in the presence of oxygen to carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts of any other
elements present (mineralization) and new biomass or in teh absence of oxygen to carbon
dioxide, methane, mineral salts and new biomass
[EN 13432:2000 Packaging - Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and
biodegradation - Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging]
Packaging recoverable in the form of composting
Packaging waste processed for the purpose of composting shall be of such a biodegradable
nature that it should not hinder the separate collection and the composting process or activity
into which it is introduced
[Directive 94/62/EC]
industries, as well as industrial users and recycling companies, European Bioplastics serves as both a contact
platform and catalyst for advancing the aims of the growing bioplastics industry.
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Compostable packaging
Compostable packaging – packaging made of biodegradable materials, that fulfill the
requirements of EN 13432:2000 (or relevant for instance: ASTM D 6400) and are licensed to
the use of a compostable mark issued by a relevant Certification Body
[COBRO]
Compostable products
Compostable products: products made of biodegradable plastic materials can be composted
under specific conditions. If the materials and products have proven their compostability
according to international standards, they can be treated in an industrial composting plant.
Under oxygen-rich conditions, composting produces carbon dioxide, water and biomass. As
only natural substances remain from this process, composting is an additional end-of-life
option for plastic products made of compostable material with a short life cycle.
Bioplastics
According to European Bioplastics‟ definition, bioplastics are biobased, biodegradable and
compostable, or both. This is illustrated in the figure below:
Figure 1. Material Coordinate System for bioplastics according to European Bioplastics
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Degradation
change in initial properties due to chemical cleavage of the macromolecules forming a
polymeric item, regardless of the mechanism of cleavage
Mineralization (aerobic)
conversion to carbon dioxide, water and other inorganic chemicals
Oxo-degradation
degradation resulting from oxidative cleavage of macromolecules NOTE 1 Similarly, prefixes
like thermo (for the action of heat), photo (for the action of light) are to be used whenever one
wants to indicate an identified mechanism of degradation.
Oxo-biodegradation
degradation resulting from oxidative and cell-mediated phenomena, either simultaneously or
successively
NOTE 1 Similarly, prefix like thermo (for the action of heat), photo (for the action of light)
are to be used separately or in combination whenever one wants to indicate the involvement
of various identified mechanisms of degradation.
[BS 8472:2011]
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Chapter 3 - Traditional
Plastics Industry. Everywhere you look you will find plastics. We use plastic products to help make our lives
cleaner, easier, safer and more enjoyable. You will find plastics in the clothes we wear, the
houses we live in, and the cars we travel in. The toys we play with, the televisions we watch,
the computers we use and the CDs we listen to contain plastics. Even the toothbrush you use
every day contains plastics!
Plastic is a general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials
used in a huge, and growing, range of applications from packaging to buildings; from cars to
medical devices, toys, clothes etc.
The term „‟plastic‟‟ is derived from the Greek word ''plastikos'' meaning fit for moulding, and
''plastos'' meaning moulded. It refers to the material‟s malleability, or plasticity during
manufacture, that allows it to be cast, pressed, or extruded into a variety of shapes - such as
films, fibres, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more. There are two broad categories of
plastic materials: thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. Thermoplastics can be heated up
to form products and then if these end products are re-heated, the plastic will soften and melt
again. In contrast, thermoset plastics can be melted and formed, but once they take shape
after they have solidified, they stay solid and, unlike thermoplastics cannot be remelted3.
Plastics are derived from organic products. The materials used in the production of plastics
are natural products such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt and, of course, crude oil. Crude
oil is a complex mixture of thousands of compounds. To become useful, it must be processed.
The production of plastic begins with a distillation process in an oil refinery. The distillation
process involves the separation of heavy crude oil into lighter groups called fractions. Each
fraction is a mixture of hydrocarbon chains (chemical compounds made up of carbon and
hydrogen), which differ in terms of the size and structure of their molecules. One of these
3 http://www.plasticseurope.pl/
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fractions, naphtha, is the crucial element for the production of plastics. The two major
processes used to produce plastics are called polymerisation and polycondensation, and they
both require specific catalysts. In a polymerisation reactor, monomers like ethylene and
propylene are linked together to form long polymers chains. Each polymer has its own
properties, structure and size depending on the various types of basic monomers used.
There are many different types of plastics, and they can be grouped into two main polymer
families:
Thermoplastics (which soften on heating and then harden again on cooling)
Thermosets (which never soften when they have been moulded)
Examples of Thermoplastics
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene – ABS
Polycarbonate – PC
Polyethylene – PE
Polyethylene terephthalate – PET
Poly(vinyl chloride) – PVC
Poly(methyl methacrylate) – PMMA
Polypropylene – PP
Polystyrene – PS
Expanded Polystyrene – EPS
Examples of Thermosets
Epoxide - (EP)
Phenol-formaldehyde - (PF)
Polyurethane - (PUR)
Polytetrafluoroethylene – PTFE
Unsaturated polyester resins - (UP)
Plastic Industry
Stated below are some key data regarding the state of Plastic Industry as of 2009, they explain
the history of plastic production, the market share of different plastics applications and
demand by plastic type.
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Figure 2. World Plastics Production 1950-2009
Source: PlasticsEurope Market Research Group (PEMRG)
Figure 3. Europe Plastics Demand by Segments 2009
Source: PlasticsEurope Market Research Group (PEMRG)
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Figure 4. Europe Plastics Demand by Segments 2009
Source: PlasticsEurope Market Research Group (PEMRG)
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Chapter 4 – Sustainability and
assessment tools. Chapter 2 introduced several definitions of sustainable development. The definition of
EUROPEN focused directly on sustainable packaging, but addressed the issue of sustainable
thinking not only in packaging design but throughout the lifecycle of a given product. In
addition to this EUROPEN definition mentioned a very crucial aspect of sustainability – its
multidisciplinary objective based view. This definition seems to be most fitting and
appropriate to use as a basis in the PLASTiCE project “Innovative Value Chain Development
for Sustainable Plastics in Central Europe”, but requires few adjustments and more practical
approach to be applied and understood properly. In practice, it has to be noted that, when
introducing a new product to the market, all three objectives of sustainability introduced in the
definition – that is, environmental, economic and social objectives have to be considered as
equivalent. This is illustrated on figure 1.
Figure 5. Area of sustainable development
It is only when the three objectives overlap where one can speak of sustainable development
in the market of plastics. The main question remains, how to account and assess whether all
Sustainable Developement Area
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objectives can be sustainable. Fortunately all sciences involved in this sustainability model
have their own tools of measurement.
Environmental aspects:
Life Cycle Assessment – a standardised tool that enables the researcher to environmentally
asses all components and processes required for a product to live its full life cycle, also often
called „from its cradle to the grave‟.
To put it simply life cycle assessment is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects
associated with a product over its life cycle. The most important applications are:
Analysis of the contribution of the life cycle stages to the environment, usually
with the aim to build operational improvements on products or processes and cut
costs on excessive long term expenses in terms of the environmental legislative
charges (like the mentioned product fee)
Marketing comparison between products.
Economic aspect:
All choices that are made by a small and medium enterprises have to be in accordance to the
rules of economy. If the sustainable solution would drive the product price higher than the
clients are willing to pay for it, such improvement should not be deemed sustainable, as the
company generates excess supply of products.
Apart from the economic, strategic and marketing tools, Life Cycle Assessment Costing may
be used, where all processes are given an estimated financial value.
Social aspect:
Sustainable products have to fulfil the necessary legislative requirements, they have to be
acceptable by households and the society as a whole, society has to know how to use them
and what additional responsibilities / particularities they have to bear in mind when using the
product. Also a working selective collection system and recovery technologies should be in
order. There is little point in creating a sustainable product when the general public does not
know how to use the product properly in order to realise its sustainable potential.
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Chapter 5 - Next generation
of polymers – bioplastics When speaking about new bio-plastics one has to take in account that they can split into two
groups which are not necessary inclusive. Both groups will be considered separately in the
sections below.
Figure 6. Bioplastics distinction
BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS
From an environmental point of view, biodegradable sustainable polymers offer an interesting
alternative to classical plastics. Those materials materials represent a family of polymers that
are designed to degrade through the enzymatic action of living microorganisms. Bacteria and
fungi breaking down the chain of polymer lead to its depolymerisation. Chart below
represents this biodegradation process in more chemical terms. It can be seen that the process
consists of two phases: oxidation or hydrolysis where the polymer chains become shorter and
shorter, and mineralisation, where living organisms turn depolymerised material into biomass,
water, CO2 and/or CH4 depending whether the process took place in the oxygen or non-
oxygen environment.
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Figure 7 – the process of biodegradation
Source: Ching, Kaplan, Thomas: Biodegradable polymers and packaging, Technomic
Publishing Co., INC Lancaster, Basel, 1993.
Biodegradable polymers can be produced by a wide variety of technologies, both from
renewable resources of animal or plant origin, and from petrol industry (Kaeb 2005). A
number of different types of biodegradable polymers are already available on the European
market, some of them are completely made from renewable resources: for instance PLA
(polylactic acid) and MaterBi.
Figure below represents the biodegradation process in 8 steps. It has to be noted again that
such phenomena is only observed in the specially prepared composting environment, and
therefore such packaging will not biodegrade in normal applications.
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Figure 8 – the process of biodegradation
Source: Reske 2008.
Development of knowledge in the environmental sciences and gradual depletion of
natural resources, has led researches to examine possible alternative sources for materials.
One of many taken R&D directions focused on creation of biodegradable polymers that could
substitute traditional plastics retaining their properties. Special interest was given to those
polymer brands that enabled its user to process them on traditional plastics manufacturing
machinery. Industrial production of biodegradable polymers on small scale for packaging
purposes began at 1995. Currently known applications of biodegradable polymers have got
greatly wider scale and scope. In 2007-2008 global supply potential of biodegradable
polymers has reached more than 500 000 tons and in 2011 they are estimated to increase to 1
million tons4,
5.
Biodegradable polymer materials can be distinguished into two main groups, depending on
their feedstock sources. Those groups are described below:
Polymers from renewable resources (including classic chemistry natural monomer
synthesis and microorganism produced so called bio-polymers), including:
- Thermoplastic starch (TPS) – blends of starch with aliphatic polyesters and
aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters, starch esters, blends of starch and natural
sources,
4 Weber C.J.: Biobased Packaging Materials for the Food Industry, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural
University, 2000. 5 Kaeb H.: Bioplastics – Vision 2020. Market Introduction in Europe. BIOPLASTICS IN PACKAGIN,
Interpack 2008, Dusseldorf, 26 April, 2008.
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- Microbiological hydracids polyesters – PHAs, including PHBV and PHBH,
- Polylactic acid (PLA) and plastics with PLA blends,
- Cellulose esters, cellulose blends, regenerated cellulose,
- Blends of wood and other natural sources.
Polyesters from crude oil including:
- Synthetic aliphatic polyester (PCL),
- Synthetic and semi-synthetic aliphatic co-polyesters (AC) and polyesters (AP),
- Synthetic aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters (AAC),
- Polymers soluble in water (PVAL).
It has to be stressed that this classification is currently theoretical, as the current trends
of polymer producing manufactures is to produce blends of all of mentioned types of
materials - for instance Ecovio material by BASF is a mixture of PLA and Ecoflex. The
market offer itself is very rich and attractive due to increasing production capacity and hence
lower prices. Biggest market share of materials belong to NatureWorks (Cargill Dow) PLA‟a,
polymer-starch composites named MaterBi (Novamont) and next generation of cellulose films
called Natureflex (Innovia Films).
Analysts forecast that in years 2007-2008 the global output of next generation polymers will
Reach more than 500 thousands tones, and will reach 1 million tons threshold in 2011, which
will lead to decreased price. Nowadays the prices of next generation polymers are on average
twice as high as those of classic plastic material – they oscillate within 1-10 $ for kg range
According to European Bioplastics in 2007 the consumption of biodegradable polymers on
European market reached to about 75-100 thousands tones, which in comparison to standard
plastic polymers (about 48 million tons) is very low. It is however important to observe the
dynamism of growth of next generation polymers, which reaches to about 25% on yearly
basis.
Reske (2008) listed the following main market development drivers of next generation plastic
packaging:
Innovation: Technical properties & functionality is selling
New & efficient options for recycling: Organic recycling
Reduce fossil raw material dependence (escape price hikes)
Reduce global warming
New non food outlet for agricultural feedstock
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Figure 9 – ‘compostable’
symbol
Concept of regional economies, biorefinieries
High consumer acceptance
Corporate social responsibility programmes (CSR)
In the longer term: Economical perspectives
- Conventional plastics: Price increase of 50-80% in 2 years
- Next generation packaging: Significant potential for cost reduction through
economy of scale (today: 1,2 - 4 €/kg)
The organic recycling option is especially attractive.
Experiences from other EU states show that organic
biodegradable recycling systems are cheaper than
material recycling systems for plastic packaging waste.
In Poland, as of amendment of Waste Act,
biodegradable collection systems are accounted for
every municipality. Compostable packaging waste is
also included in the amendment, and is accounted as
well, provided that such materials will be introduced to
the market. In such case certificate of conformity with
norm PN-EN 1342:2002 is needed along with special
„compostable‟ symbol on the packaging.
Implementation of organic recycling systems for
biodegradable waste in Poland still lies in the future, as none biodegradable packaging is
currently present on the market on industrial scale – there are many barriers towards this
development (price of biodegradable materials, lack of state bio-waste collection system,
etc.). On the other hand several factors influencing the development of market of
biodegradable packaging in Poland have been observed:
Legislation (biodegradable packaging is not covered by recovery and recycling
obligations);
Increasing price of petrol products;
Producer‟s interest of biodegradable packaging materials;
A great number of composting plants in Poland;
Social acceptance of organic recycling.
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BIOBASED POLYMERS
Apart from the biodegradable plastic materials in recent years more and more attention is
given to biobased polymers or materials with share of biobased polymers, including
multimaterial compositions with biodegradable/compostable plastics. The rationale of such
materials is that the bio-resources that are used for their production are theoretically limitless
as opposed to the fossil fuels with will one day deplete.
The main material that is being currently refined is Polyethylene produced from ethanol,
the so called „Green Polyethylene‟. The material was developed by Brazilian petrochemical
corporation Braskem and is made from the polymerisation of ethylene from ethyl alcohol that
originates from plants fermentation. The process of „green polyethylene‟ production is
presented on figure 10.
Fig. 10. Green Polyethylene production process6
Many global companies, for example Tetra Pak, have already declared a desire to use
„green polyethylene‟ for their products.
Other example of biobased materials include PET bottles with biobased content. The
technology is based on PET material production with some biomaterials inputs in production
processes. The LCA of such application has proved that such material is sustainable as it
limits the CO2 emission by 25% in comparison to a standard PET bottle. This innovative
6 Morschbacker A.: Biobased PE - A Renewable Plastic Family, Braskem S.A., European Bioplastics
Conference Handbook, 21-22, Paris, November 2007.
21
technology is going to be introduced by Coca-Cola Company. The production of this product
(called PlantBottle) is illustrated on figure 11. PlantBottle has got 30% biobased content and
after use it can be recycled similarly to standard PET.
Fig. 11. Comparison of standard PET bottle production and its PlantBottle counterpart
Similar to their competition PepsiCo corporation has announced that in 2012 it will
introduce a new PET bottle produced from 100% plant biomass7. New bottles will be made
from plant based waste materials (grass, cork, corn) which do not constitute of food base
materials. In the near future other natural non-food industry by-products are expected to be
used to produce new biobased polymer materials.
BIOPLASTICS
The sections above have introduced two types of sustainable next generation polymer
materials. They collectively can be called bioplastics. According to European Bioplastics
definition „bioplastics mean biobased, biodegradable and compostable or both‟. This is
depicted with examples of possible materials on figure 12
7 Word’s First 100% Plant-Baseed PET Bottle, Bioplastics Magazine No 2/2011, p.25.
22
Fig. 12 Examples of Bioplastic Materials and Manufacturers
Bioplastics are biobased, biodegradable, or both. They are not a single kind of polymer but
rather a family of materials that can vary considerably from one another.
Summing up, there are three groups in the bioplastics family, each with its own
characteristics:
Biobased or partly biobased non-biodegradable polymers such as PE, PET and soon
PVC and PP (drop-in solutions)
Polymers that are biobased and biodegradable, including PLA, cellulose and PHA
Polymers that are based on fossil resources and are biodegradable, such as PBAT or
PBS
Bioplastics can be processed into a vast number of products using conventional plastics
processing technologies. The process parameters of the processing equipment have to be
adjusted to the individual specification of each polymer.
Below are the economical charts and figures presenting current data and forecasts about
bioplastics market.
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Fig. 14 Global production capacities per region
Fig. 15 Global production capacities by material type in 2010
26
Chapter 6 – Market Research
- Methodology The main goal of this translational context report is to provide the insights on industry
understanding of sustainability and sustainable plastics solutions. This will be achieved by
market research of two countries present in the project – Poland and Slovenia. This research
section of the report is divided into three parts – and three different market researches.
The first market research is an extension on the research that was done in COBRO in 2009,
and is targeted specifically to the packaging industry and end consumers of sustainably
packaged products. The second and third market researches respectively contain the results of
the interviews made with Slovenian and Polish companies of packaging, food and consumer
goods sector.
Although the first market research is quantitative whereas the second and third one, being in-
depth interviews are qualitative, they both share the same methodology and similar research
questions. They will be explained in this section, all questionnaires are also included in the
appendix to this report.
The market research section of this report will explore how Polish and Slovenian plastic and
plastic packaging industry and its end costumers understand sustainability and environmental
awareness. In case of the industry this will explore what are their requirements and how do
they rank the importance of different asepcts connected to the sustainable plastics and in the
instance of end consumers this will include exploration of what are their purchasing decisions
on the grounds of packaging functions and potential innovative and environmental friendly
value added. In addition certain grouping questions will test whether the end consumers are
logistically prepared for next generation packaging in terms of home composting and / or
organic waste sorting routines – which is a proper method of next generation packaging waste
disposal from households.
This general description of research aims is translated to the following two main research
questions, divided by specific sub questions, on which particular hypotheses will be tested:
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Question one concerning Polish and Slovenian plastic industry:
Is the industry ready for the production, processing and usage of next generation
sustainable plastic?
More specific sub questions include:
Are next generation plastic materials attractive for the Polish and Slovenian
companies?
What is the importance of next generation polymer economic properties for the Polish
and Slovenian companies? Those economic properties include:
Price
Availability
Processing knowledge
Suitable characteristics of material
Which business aspect of the plastic/plastic packaging is most important for the Polish
and Slovenian companies
What relationship do different determinants of next generation plastic business aspects
have for Polish and Slovenian plastic companies?
Question two concerns Polish end consumers (as it was only prepared in Poland) – potential
buyers of products packaged in next generation plastic packaging:
Are Polish end consumers ready for sustainable plastics?
More specific sub questions include:
Are Polish end consumers aware of environmental friendly terms associated with
packaging?
Are Polish end consumers prepared for the disposal of bioplastics in terms of their
awareness, knowledge and household waste management patterns?
Are Polish end consumers willing to spend more for innovative and / or
environmental friendly/sustainable packaging/products?
Does the innovative and / or environmental friendly/sustainable packaging/product
design influence the purchasing decisions of Polish end consumers?
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As written above, the main aim of this paper is to research two populations that will be
affected – sustainable plastic users and consumers and explore whether they are aware of next
generation plastics, what are their requirements towards them and more importantly are they
willing to utilise / buy it.
This chapter is divided into two sections, one for each of the two populations tested in this
research.
POPULATION I – THE INDUSTRY
Population / Sample / Sampling Frame
The first population consists of the companies who use (pack, fill, mould etc) polymer
products.
In Poland the sampling frame used was in form of internet database consisting of 7 500 plastic
users and packaging producers/users e-mail addresses from Polish Packaging Research and
Development Centre. From those, 2635 addresses were used out of which 2116 e-mail
addresses were operable (i.e. the message was delivered without any errors and passed
through the SPAM filters).
Those addresses were sent previously prepared questionnaires.
Data collection – Market Research I
Market Research I primarily addressed the Polish packaging (packaging producers/user)
sector.
Before issuing the questionnaire to previously selected e-mail addresses it has been pre-tested
with employees of Polish Packaging Research and Development Centre and with 26
participants of monthly seminar concerning packaging waste, out of which 21 participants
matched the questionnaire population. The participants of the seminar were also asked to
provide the author with the feedback about the questionnaire potential validity and whether it
was understood clearly.
After the minor changes done in the questionnaire, a message consisting of a short
introductory text and a MS WORD created questionnaire as the attachment has been sent to
the mentioned 2635 e-mail addresses. From those, 102 questionnaires have been sent back,
29
with the response rate of 3,9% (or 4,8% counting only the 2116 operable addresses) of whole
addresses in the sampling frame. This is remarkably high response rate considering that the
average response rate for e-mail questionnaire was found out to be 2,5% in 2005. (The Direct
Marketing Association 2005)
Collected data has been then been manually coded into STATISTICA 8 specially prepared
questionnaire template.
Data collection – Market Research II
For Slovenia – Market Research II 42 companies – packers, fillers and importers of packed
products, fulfilled questionnaire specially prepared for PLASTiCE project. They represent 23
% of the packaging put annually to the Slovenian market. They put packaging of all sorts of
material to the Slovenian market.
Companies fulfilling the questionnaire were small, medium and large enterprises. The
majority ( 29 companies) were medium sized companies putting to the Slovenian market from
100 to 1000 tons of packaging annually. 27 % of largest Slovenian enterprises were present,
and only 7 small companies ( 1% of all small companies).
All Slovenian companies that put packaging on the market and are partners of Slopak were
invited. According to the presence at the seminar the most interested ones in the topic of
biodegradability were medium sized companies.
Data collection – Market Research III
From the sampling frame of 2116 companies, COBRO chosen 50 representative companies
and tried to arrange interviews with them based on a questionnaire. Out of 50 companies only
37 responded positively, but out of 37, in the end 28 companies participated in the actual
interview that was based on the questionnaire below. The interview questionnaire can be
found in the appendix of this report
Description of the questionnaire / Statistical methodology
Questionnaire I consisted of six questions in total. As advised by Polish Packaging Research
and Development Centre employees, a great care has been taken not to exceed the total length
of one page in the questionnaire. Experience with questionnaire research with packaging
industry shows up that the longer the questionnaire the less likely the response rate will be.
30
The first two questions of the questionnaire were intended for grouping nominal scale
responses.
First question asked for the size of the company (according to the number of employees, as
defined by the Recommendation 2003/361/EC), between small (up to 50 employees), medium
(from 51 to 250 employees) and large (more than 250 employees).
Second question referred to the sector of the operation. The respondents had a choice between
production of packaging or usage of packaging, if such situation was applicable and a
particular company was vertically integrated (packaging producer and user at the same time),
a choice of both checkboxes was possible.
Third question asked the researched companies about their perceived importance of five
identified business aspects of packaging in their particular operations. This was done via
relative ranking scores of a five point Likert scale. This general ranking question is followed
by a question more specific to the reports subject. Fourth question was designed specifically
to check the awareness and willingness of companies to produce / use the next generation
plastic packaging. The question asked whether the company already uses any next generation
plastic packaging technologies, whether it would be eager to produce / use it, whether it will
not be using it at, or whether it is undecided about it. It also asks the companies to rank the
attractiveness of next generation packaging on the scale of one to five. This question was
followed by Likert scales where respondents were asked to rank on the scale from one to five,
the significance of particular business and operational aspects of packaging (identified in the
theoretical sections of this paper), with regards to potential investment into the next
generation biodegradable packaging. The issues included:
Most obvious element of price – operational element connected to all five business
aspects.
Knowledge about processing and usage – operational aspect that stems from awareness,
the significance of logistic and strategic aspects
Properties of the material – operational aspect connected to marketing, logistics and
legislative business aspect of packaging
Availability – how much of the material is available for use – operational element that
influences long term strategic business aspect
Law regulations – the significance of legislative benefits that next generation plastic
packaging offers.
31
Organised waste collection systems in Poland – environmental and legislative aspect of
the packaging
Environmental awareness of the society – marketing and environmental business aspect
Marketing strategy of the company – marketing and strategic business aspect.
The last question in this survey concerned the ratio of price level in percentage that companies
were willing to pay for next generation packaging in relation to the price of traditional
plastics. Companies had a choice between six different answers between less than 100% of a
traditional plastic cost and more than 250% of traditional plastic costs categories.
Limitations
The following limitations of this research are consciously listed:
It is possible that a majority of specifically environmentally aware companies have replied
to the questionnaire, considering its contents. Even if the results are anonymous, the e-
mail medium is not, and due to the anti-SPAM regulations of the data base the companies
had to be informed that the questionnaire came from Polish Packaging and Research
Development Centre‟s database.
If possible the questionnaires were sent to the CEO‟s and managing directors of
companies found in the database in the first place and then if no personal emails were
available, to the marketing departments. However in many instances, no distinctive
address has been available, therefore the possibility that the answers where sent from an
incompetent source is relatively high.
Due to the compromise of achieving maximum response rate possible, the questionnaire
itself was relatively short. There are many more possible questions regarding the subject
that one could ask, but they would ultimately increase the size and time required for filling
out the questionnaire.
Question six concerned the ratio of price that a company might be willing to pay for the
next generation polymer / packaging. What the company is willing to pay, and what it will
pay provided that it decides to pursue this technology are two different issues. As it is very
difficult to receive the answer for the second option, the willingness will have to suffice,
however the notion that question six represents the „wishes‟ of Polish packaging
companies has to be conscious while analysing the research.
32
POPULATION II – END CONSUMERS
Population / Sample / Sampling Frame
The second population consists of Polish end customers, i.e. the general public as whole and
potential end users of the next generation packaging. Due to these characteristics the
population of second research is much dispersed and therefore an appropriate method of
sampling must be used.
It was decided that the research will be limited to the citizens of Warsaw; this was done for a
number of reasons:
Convenience reason – the research is based in the city of Warsaw, Poland.
Warsaw being the capital of Poland has statistically significant amount of cross country
immigrants, which increases the chances of sampling someone who is not originally from
Warsaw
According to Polish Packaging Research and Development Centre, Warsaw is one of the
first cities where next generation packaging will be commercially available, and indeed it
is the case of one of the leading French hypermarkets chains
It was decided that the sampling method used will be the quota sampling, where 20 people
from each of the four age groups will be targeted. The questionnaires were distributed by the
author himself to potential end customers in the commercial areas of Warsaw – near Sadyba
Best Mall shopping gallery, near Złote Tarasy shopping gallery and near Arkadia shopping
gallery. Involvement of the author in the sampling process guaranteed full and correct
answers by all quota targeted population – 80 questionnaires in total.
Data collection
Before issuing the questionnaire to general public it has been pre-tested with employees of
Polish Packaging Research and Development Centre, who were very helpful in providing
appropriate feedback on the composition of the questions and the potential information it can
also contain. The questionnaire was specifically not distributed in Polish Packaging Research
and Development Centre to exclude any possible bias of answers. Collected questionnaires
have been coded electronically into STATISTICA 8 suite, where they will be tested.
33
Description of the questionnaire / Statistical methodology
Questionnaire II again consisted of six questions in total. In order to facilitate the collection of
data similarly to above the questionnaire was limited to one page only. It is very important to
add that great care has been taken not to hint in the questionnaire itself that it deals
specifically with next generation plastic packaging. It was suggested by Grochocka (2008),
that such direct technological focus to end consumers may bias them towards their answering
pattern. The blank questionnaire form is available in the appendix 2.
The questionnaire consists of two nominal scale grouping questions one multiple choice
question and one section of seven step Likert interval scale, where respondents were ranked
several different statements.
Question one and two are standard grouping questions with regards to gender and age, which
will allow presenting categorical graphs and observe different trends.
Question three and four are simply yes / no nominal scale questions, which check whether the
sample is practically prepared to next generation packaging in terms of ownership of
composting bin (home composting) or sorting of the organic waste from other waste
categories.
Question five is a ranking type question, based on a similar question used in an American
environmental and next generation plastic packaging awareness research conducted by Kraft
Food (Appendini 2008).
The question lists various environmental terms applicable to different types of packaging and
asks the respondent to choose two that sound as the most environmentally friendly. If any of
the terms was not understood by the respondent, there is also a column available for
signifying such occurrence. Answers to these questions will help to understand whether
people distinguish between the terms and how environmentally aware they are.
Stated below are the definitions of the terms used in question five:
Recyclable packaging – packaging made from material which can be recycled; usually
this is signified by a special Moebius strip symbol.
34
Recycled packaging – packaging made from already recycled materials, this fact is
sometimes marked on the packaging, but it is not a statutory requirement to do so
(Żakowska 2008).
Biodegradable packaging – the commercial and technical (at the same time) name for the
next generation plastic packaging. Packaging made from biodegradable polymers is
changed into H20, Biomass and CO2 in certain, easy to achieve condition within a short
amount of time
Degradable packaging - Most of the products using the label Degradable plastic, degrade
as result of physical and chemical impact (fracture into smaller pieces of plastic).
Biological activity is not a significant part of the degradation of these products, or the
process is too slow to earn the classification Biodegradable or Compostable (the
biological degradation will typically take many years).
(http://www.biobags.co.uk/faq/biodegradable.htm 2008)
Multi use packaging – packaging that can be used / filled many times for storage,
transport or product use, for example carrier bags, lunch boxes, bottles etc.
Packaging from natural renewable resources – packaging made from resources which can
be grown or seasonally harvested such as corn starch, wheat, linen etc.
Less packaging – more optimised packaging usually equals less total mass of the
packaging per single product, which is both more commercially and environmentally
feasible.
Question six consists of several Likert scale statements in which the respondents rank
themselves on the scale of seven, where four signifies the neutral answer (neither agree nor
don‟t agree).
Particular sections test the following factors, which are mainly attributed to the marketing and
natural environment business aspects of the packaging:
Environmental awareness
Technological awareness
The importance of packaging itself in the choice of the product
The importance of innovative packaging design
The importance of packaging communication with regards to environment protection
The importance of environmental friendly packaging design
35
The importance of symbols and information placed on the packaging
Willingness to pay more for better packaging in terms of innovative design
Willingness to pay more for environmental friendly design
Packaging waste awareness
Similarly to previous questionnaire the answers will be statistically tested by the ANOVA and
correlation tables, which will allow observing how different groups of respondents perceive
different aspects of next generation packaging usage, and how those identified aspects depend
on each other. In addition several comparative illustrations between packaging producers /
users and end consumers will be made.
Limitations
The following limitations of the end consumer population have been identified:
The research was conducted near large commercial areas; therefore the sample might have
consisted of more commercially aware people, who tend to be generally more conscious
about various aspects of packaging.
Due to the nature of authors‟ personal involvement in conducting the questionnaire,
answers to some of them, especially to the one which asked the respondent to mark the
term, which he does not understand fully, might have been biased, as people generally do
not want to show their potential incompetence to strangers.
Even though, composting bins for flats are commercially available, they are still a novelty
in Poland. Due to the fact that question about whether a respondent lives in house with a
garden or a flat is not ethical, one cannot determine if respondent owns infrastructure to
possess a composting bin but does not or cannot do it, because he/she lives in a flat.
36
Chapter 6 –
Market Research I The results of the research are divided into two sections - one section for each main research
question.
RQ I: Polish plastic packaging industry is ready for the production, processing and
usage of next generation plastic packaging
The study will specifically research different groups of packaging producers / users and
present the differences between the willingness of next generation packaging usage:
Following four hypotheses will be tested to prove or reject the RQ I:
H1: Next generation plastic packaging materials are attractive for the Polish plastic packaging
producers / users. (i.e. responses higher than scale average of 2,5)
H2: Price, availability, processing knowledge and suitable characteristics of next generation
polymers are important operational aspects for the Polish plastic packaging producers / users.
(i.e. responses higher than scale average of 2,5)
H3: Marketing, logistics, legislative, environmental protection and long term strategic
business aspects of plastic packaging are important for the Polish plastic packaging producers
/ users. (i.e. responses higher than scale average of 2,5)
H4: Polish plastic packaging producers / users connect benefits of next generation packaging
to their own understanding of packaging business aspects. (i.e. responses higher than > 0,5)
RQ II - Polish end consumers are ready for next generation plastic packaging.
The study will specifically research different groups of consumers (based on gender and age)
and present the differences between their awareness of next generation plastic packaging.
37
Following four hypotheses will be tested to prove or reject the RQ II:
H1: Polish end consumers are aware of environmental friendly terms associated with
packaging?
H2: Polish end consumers are prepared for the disposal of next generation packaging in terms
of their awareness, knowledge and household waste management patterns
H3: Polish end consumers are willing to spend more for innovative and / or environmental
friendly packaging?
H4: Innovative and / or environmental friendly packaging design influences the purchasing
decisions of Polish end consumers
THE INDUSTRY
Testing Research Question I
Polish plastic packaging industry is ready for the production, processing and usage of
next generation plastic packaging.
Descriptive statistics
The following graphs and tables present the basic information obtained from the researched
companies. These mostly present the distribution of different grouping properties of
companies that will be used throughout Population I analysis. These specifically are:
Size of a company
Type of a company
Attitude of a company towards next generation packaging
Price expectations of next generation materials (as a % ratio)
The descriptive statistics for those four factors are presented below:
38
The majority of respondents belonged to the medium group of employing between 50 and 250
people (41%), followed by the small enterprises with 31% and large ones with 27%.
The majority of respondents belonged to the „packaging producer‟ group with 53%, followed
by packaging users (34%) and the smallest group of vertically integrated entrepreneurs who
39
both produce and use produced packaging with 13%.
As one can see more than 55% of the respondents are planning to produce or use the next
generation plastic materials / packaging in the near future. Only 6 percent is not interested in
those materials whatsoever and 27% of respondents do not have a clear opinion on this
subject yet, or are unaware of such materials. 11 percent of companies who completed
questionnaires are already using next generation polymers.
40
This histogram presents how much companies are willing to pay for next generation
packaging in relation to the costs of traditional plastics. As can be seen on the graph over 50%
of respondents would not want to pay more, and 18% would even like to pay less, with only
31% willing to pay more than 100% of standard plastic materials.
Listed below are the categorised descriptive statistics for mean responses of Likert scale
questions in questionnaire I:
42
Research Question I
RQ I: Polish plastic packaging industry is ready for the production, processing and
usage of next generation plastic packaging
H1: Next generation plastic packaging materials are attractive for the Polish plastic
packaging producers / users. (I.e. Responses higher than scale average of 2,5)
It has been generally discovered that while over 65% of all researched companies plan using
or use next generation materials, larger companies find those materials to be more attractive
than the medium and small one. The reason behind this may be explained by the plastic
packaging producer/users industry structure in Poland, where small and medium companies
are usually locally based and concentrated and therefore less concerned with the new
technologies and lack funds to invest in it, especially given the fact than many large
packaging producers/users have much foreign capital employed or are directly Polish
subsidiaries of foreign packaging conglomerates. This of course does not signify that all small
43
and medium companies are not in a position to use next generation packaging. Indeed the
mean score for the attractiveness is generally high, spanning the values of 3,25 for small
companies and 4,18 for large ones, where five is the maximum. This is especially apparent in
the statistically significant test of attractiveness of next generation packaging over the attitude
towards next generation packaging, where companies who are not interested in the technology
or who do not have a clear opinion on the subject score the subsequent means of 2 and 2,79,
in contrast to 4,11 for companies planning using, and a very high 4,73 for companies already
using next generation packaging. The last figure is alone very interesting to analyse, as it
shows that companies who already use the next generation packaging are satisfied. Also the
willingness to pay ratio shows that the more company is willing to pay for the next generation
packaging, the more attractive it is.
Those significant observations therefore conform to H1, which states that the next generation
polymers are attractive for Polish packaging industry.
H2: Price, availability, processing knowledge and suitable characteristics of next generation
polymers are important operational aspects for the Polish plastic packaging producers /
users. (I.e. Responses higher than scale average of 2,5)
Results of H2 with respect to company size show an interesting relationship with the
operational factor of next generation packaging costs. It appears that medium and large
companies rank the importance of costs as high with the mean of 4,43, while it is not that
important to small companies (mean of 3,91). This can be linked to the competitive advantage
theory of Michael Porter, where firms can compete on either price or differentiation. It is
impossible for small companies to compete on price especially given the costs of next
generation polymers; therefore the companies understand that a potential investment in such
materials equals to their competitive niche market or differentiation strategies.
With regards to the type of company, it appears that packaging users are most concerned
about the availability of the materials, it is understandable as the packaging users are the ones
that introduce the product in the next generation packaging to the market, whereas packaging
producers can switch their input materials at ease. With respect to those answers it is very
surprising that vertically integrated companies who both produce the packaging and then pack
44
their products score so low on the availability scale (3,23). This could be due to the low
response rate of such companies – only 13% of all population, and therefore this result shall
be discarded, it still scores however above the scale average of 2,5, which supports the H2.
Other interesting and significant results within this hypothesis present that companies already
use the next generation polymers are less concerned about its price than any other company,
except for those who are not interested in using next generation polymers. This signifies that
they are conscious of other characteristics of next generation packaging that offset the issue of
higher price. Although many variance tests performed for this hypothesis are insignificant, it
can be noted that all characteristics for all companies interested in next generation packaging
score higher than the average scale score of 2,5, which signifies that operational aspects of
next generation packaging are important for Polish packaging industry and therefore support
the H2.
H3: Marketing, logistics, legislative, environmental protection and long term strategic
business aspects of plastic packaging are important for the Polish plastic packaging
producers / users. (I.e. Responses higher than scale average of 2,5)
With regards to company size and business aspect of next generation packaging the results
show that marketing value is most important for small companies and least important for large
ones, which supports the previous relation of next generation costs significance for company
sizes. Due to the fact that small companies can choose the competitive strategy of
differentiation it is important for them to express differentiated features through marketing
activities.
Legislation is also considered less important for medium and large companies. The reasons
for that remain to be explored by future research, however according to the interviews with
industry specialists from Polish Packaging Research and Development Centre small
companies are more concerned in legislation due to the potential penalties for not conforming
to packaging law. Those penalties are easier to avoid and are less financially burdensome for
larger companies hence the observed trend.
45
In terms of strategic management the trend is reversed. Large companies rank this importance
as highest with a mean of 4,54. Considering the structure of the Polish packaging industry,
with many small and medium regional companies, this result supports the observation that
large companies have a higher long-term orientation of their business endeavours.
Strategic management business aspect is also most important to the packaging users, though
the difference between packaging producers is relatively small. It is also understandable due
to reasons exclaimed above – packaging users introduce their products to the market –
therefore the potential contact of next generation plastic packaging with next participants of
packaging value chain finishing at end consumers is much more complex than producing
packaging and directing it to packaging users, therefore the strategic orientation is more
profound.
The attitude towards next generation packaging is interesting when discussing the legislation
business aspect. The companies who are already using next generation packaging rank it as
the highest (4,09), therefore it can be concluded that they understand the benefits. It is also
notable to add that companies who plan using or those who do not have a clear opinion on
next generation packaging rank legislative importance similarly and considerably smaller than
those who already use them. This requires more research on the subject matter, however it can
be initially concluded that they do not understand the legislative benefits of those materials as
well as current users who discovered them in practice.
Trend of environmental protection issues and strategic management‟s aspect with regards to
companies attitude show that three abovementioned groups are equal. This contrasts
significantly with companies not willing to use next generation packaging, and therefore
serves as a perfect illustration of H3 acceptance. All other significant variances and
categorised means also portray that H3 can be accepted.
H4 - Polish plastic packaging producers / users connect benefits of next generation packaging
to their own understanding of packaging business aspects.
H4 will be tested by gamma correlation method of Likert scale ranked questions. According
to Zieliński (1999) gamma correlation produce more viable results than Spearman r and
46
Kendal Tau when the sampling population level is above 40 and in addition the ranks are tied,
which the case of the questions posed in the questionnaire.
Also Zieliński (1999) stated that the significant value of 0,5 and higher or -0,5 and lower
signify a strong positive/negative correlation. Therefore the discussed correlated results will
be both statistically significant at p < ,05 and have a value of more than 0,5 or less than -0,5.
This particular test expects the following pairs to be strongly and significantly correlated:
Importance of marketing with marketing strategy aspect of next generation polymers
Importance of logistics with processing knowledge and suitable characteristics of next
generation polymers
Importance of legislation with legislation aspect of next generation packaging
Importance of environmental protection with waste collection system benefits of next
generation packaging and environmental awareness of the society
Importance of strategic management with costs and availability of the next generation
plastic materials
Packaging business aspect: Marketing
Significant correlation with:
Variable
Gamma Correlations MD pairwise deleted Marked correlations are significant at p <,05000
Cost Processing knowledge Suitable characteristics Availability
Importance of marketing -0,21 0,3 -0,06 0,17
Importance of logistics -0,16 0,57 0,29 0,18
Importance of legislation -0,07 0,38 0,16 0,31
Importance of env. protection 0,11 0,4 0,11 0,39
Importance of strategy 0,66 0,21 0,23 0,73
Variable
Gamma Correlations MD pairwise deleted Marked correlations are significant at p <,05000
Legislation waste collection system
Environmental awareness
Marketing strategy
Importance of marketing 0,24 0,13 0,32 0,68
Importance of logistics 0,36 0,31 0,33 0,28
Importance of legislation 0,73 0,48 0,32 0,35
Importance of env. protection 0,43 0,63 0,71 0,31
Importance of strategy 0,24 0,42 0,35 0,12
47
Marketing business aspect of next generation packaging on a level of 0,68.
The excepted pair matches the test therefore H4 is proved
Packaging business aspect: Logistics
Significant correlation with:
Processing knowledge of next generation packaging on a level of 0,57. However the next
excepted pair (suitable characteristics) is only significant on the level of 0,29. Therefore the
H4 cannot be proved in the instance of logistics business aspect.
Packaging business aspect: Legislation
Significant correlation with:
Legislation business aspect of next generation packaging on a level of 0,73.
The excepted pair matches the test therefore H4 is proved
Packaging business aspect: Environment protection
Significant correlations with:
Waste management system business aspect of next generation packaging on a level of 0,63.
Environment protection business aspect of next generation packaging on a level of 0,71.
The excepted pair matches the test therefore H4 is proved
Packaging business aspect: Strategic Management
Significant correlations with:
Costs of next generation packaging on a level of 0,66.
Availability of next generation packaging on a level of 0,73.
The excepted pair matches the test therefore H4 is proved
Gamma correlations of Polish plastic packaging industry importance of five business aspect
of packaging with benefits of next generation plastic packaging show that H4 can be generally
48
supported. Almost all predicted correlations were statistically significant and exceeded the
correlation value of ,5. The lone exception to this rule was the logistics aspect where suitable
characteristics operational aspect correlation was not strong enough. Observing other
responses concerning logistics factor lead to conclusion that packaging producers / users are
not that concerned about this business aspect. The response to this observation may be found
in the population of the research – namely the primary packaging producers / users. As
discussed in the theory section, primary packaging is not the main actor of logistics supply
chain – i.e. primary packaging is packed in secondary and then tertiary packaging before
shipping and moving goods. While it is still important for the primary packaging to preserve
and protect the product, their fraction of significance is smallest (interview Nowakowski
2008). Therefore it is safe to assume that H4 can be accepted given the research sampling
decisions.
Result of RQ I
As all four sub hypotheses of H I were accepted given the tests requirements it can be
concluded that indeed the Polish packaging industry is ready and willing to use next
generation packaging. It is very important to add at this point that other stakeholders and
external forces need to be tested for their readiness to support such materials before
concluding whether Poland as a nation is ready for such solution. This is especially important
with regards to the waste collection system – namely the organic recycling infrastructure and
the awareness of the end consumers. Testing the Polish waste collection system preparation
requires significant amount of resources and many feasibility studies to be performed. This
task is beyond the scope of this report, but it is notable research field for the future
considerations. Other factor – the end consumers‟ awareness has been tested in Research
Question II.
49
THE END CONSUMERS
Testing Research Question II
Polish end consumers are ready for next generation plastic packaging.
Descriptive statistics
The following figures present the distribution of the responses of the Population II
questionnaire.
Similarly to the previous questionnaire are grouping questions are used, these specifically
concern:
Gender
Age group
Ownership of backyard composting bin and or disposal of organic waste
51
Question I - I rank my environmental awareness as high
Question II - I rank my awareness of new technologies as high
Question III - Packaging is important for my purchase decision
Question IV - I gladly choose innovative looking packaging when buying goods
Question V - I gladly choose packaging advertised as environmental friendly when buying
goods
Question VI - I gladly choose environmental friendly looking packaging when buying goods
Question VII - I take notice of the symbols and special markings on the packaging
Question VIII - I will pay more for product in innovative packaging
Question IX - I will pay more for product in environmental friendly packaging
Question X - When buying a product I think what I will do with used packaging
52
Results
RQ II - Polish end consumers are ready for next generation plastic packaging.
H1: Polish end consumers are aware of environmental friendly terms associated with
packaging.
The table below represents the answers given to the question concerning choices of most
environmentally friendly terms:
Environmental packaging terms that link directly to next generation packaging are
„biodegradable‟ and „from natural / renewable resources‟. As can be seen those terms scored
on the second and fourth place, with „biodegradable‟ term having most answers in total. It is
also interesting to note that Polish end consumers generally did not understood the term
Degradable.
End consumers have to be aware of various packaging environmentally friendly terms in
order to understand how to deal with potential packaging waste. As discussed above next
generation packaging has to be disposed differently than standard packaging materials. It has
53
to be placed in the organic waste disposal bins to be of any use for composting and to end the
circular characteristics of next generation polymers.
The H1 test was based on a similar American research done by Appendini for KRAFT
FOODS (2007) where random population have been asked about various terms associated
with packaging disposal. Polish customers responses show that two terms describing the
majority of next generation packaging (biodegradable and made from renewable/natural
resources) score subsequently on the second place and third place, which can be considered
very high, given the novelty value of such packaging. The reason for this may lay in the major
advertising campaign made by CARREFOUR hypermarkets who introduced next generation
carrier bags in the Polish market as of 8th
of June 2008 as the first major retail chain in
Poland. The sub hypothesis 1 is therefore accepted based on the results of the quota sampling
questionnaire.
H2: Polish end consumers are prepared for the disposal of next generation packaging in
terms of their awareness, knowledge and household organic waste management patterns
Even though the variances between responses of different end consumers‟ groups (gender, age
and organic waste disposal methods) are generally not statistically significant it can be
concluded that typically end consumers rank their environmental awareness as high (mean of
4,59 for female respondents and 5,15 for males), which is far above the middle point of seven
step Likert scale (3,5).
With regards to the innovation awareness, males tend to be much more aware of the new
technologies, and therefore should understand the next generation packaging better than
females.
Third question for this sub hypothesis - markings and symbols about the packaging waste
directions ranked lower than expected, however an interesting age trend can be observed. Up
to the 50 + category the younger the population the less it is interested in such markings, with
50 + population being interested in between the 26-34 and 35-49 category.
Surprisingly no statistically significant variances have been observed between the organic
waste disposal methods used in Polish households and the awareness about environment,
innovation and what to do with used packaging. This may signify that while many Polish end
54
consumers sort their organic waste and use backyard composting bins, they are not yet aware
of next generation packaging composting potential – i.e. they do not know that next
generation packaging needs to be disposed in organic waste bins and can be composted even
in their own households.
Therefore this hypothesis needs to be rejected even with relatively promising average
response rates to the testing questions.
H3: Polish end consumers are willing to spend more on innovative and / or environmental
friendly packaging
Results of questions prepared for this sub hypothesis show significant variance between age
and the importance of the packaging on the final purchase decision. It appears that young
populations from groups < 25 and 26-34 are most willing to base their purchase on the basis
of packaging, while older categories are less packaging conscious on the mean level of 3,95
and 4,1, which gives a potential signal to the packaging producers / users about their
packaging marketing decisions.
Variance between willingness to pay more for the packaging in innovative and environmental
friendly show a very interesting relationship with regards to gender. Male respondents are
more willing to pay more for more innovative packaging, while female respondents will pay
more for more environmentally friendly packaging. As next generation packaging is both
innovative and environmentally friendly it gives a wide strategic and marketing orientation
potential for potential producers and users of such packaging. This however is connected with
another very interesting finding in the MANOVA table for willingness to pay more for
innovative packaging and the organic waste disposal methods used by the respondents. It
appears that people who do not sort their organic waste and do not possess a composting bin
are willing to pay more for innovative packaging, which means that for more environmentally
friendly conscious consumers (in terms of waste management) the innovation aspect of
packaging is not important. This factor should be investigated in future research as it can
provide many insights on how to brand the next generation packaging in order to attract both
environmentally and innovation conscious populations, which as presented in the gender
comparison split between male and female respondents.
55
In general it can be concluded that Polish end consumers are indeed willing to spend more for
both innovative and environmentally friendly packaging, but the particular decisions depend
on gender. Therefore the H3 can be accepted.
H4: Innovative and / or environmental friendly packaging design influences the purchasing
decisions of Polish end consumers
Results of H4 show that again female respondents are more willing to buy products in
environmentally friendly packaging. The answer applies to both packaging looking as
environmentally friendly and advertised as such. Also the ownership of composting bin
influences the decision to purchase more environmentally friendly packaging. This hypothesis
once more shows the differences between genders in terms of purchasing decisions, and again
should to be investigated further in future market research.
As both males and females statistically significant variances show means above the middle
scale point of 3,5 it is safe to assume that H4 can be accepted.
Result of RQ II
While three hypotheses of research hypothesis II were accepted, the H2 about the preparation
for next generation disposal needed to be rejected. Therefore it can be concluded that while
generally Polish end consumers are ready for next generation packaging given their
innovative and environmental friendly value, they do not yet fully understand its potential and
they do not know how to dispose of it properly. This area presents the plastic packaging
producers / users with the marketing potential to achieve competitive advantage – i.e. the
Polish society needs to be educated about how to deal with next generation packaging.
As the requirement for accepting the H II was to accept all of four sub hypotheses, the H II
cannot be accepted, which means that Polish end consumers are not yet fully ready for next
generation packaging.
56
Chapter 7 –
Market Research II
Data about companies fulfilling the questionanire:
42 companies – packers, fillers and importers of packed products, fullfilled questionnaire.
They represent 23 % of the packaging put annually to the Slovenian market. They put
packaging of all sorts of material to the slovenian market.
Companies fulfilling the questionaire were small, medium and large enterprises. The majority
( 29 companies) were medium sized companies putting to the slovenian market from 100 to
1000 tonns of packaging annually. 27 % of largest slovenian enterprises were present, and
only 7 small companies ( 1% of all small companies).
All slovenian companies that put packaging on the market and are partners of Slopak were
invited. According to the presence at the seminar the most interested ones in the topic of
biodegradability were medium sized companies.
QUESTION 1: How do you in your company understand
sustainable development?
Results: 31 % of answers know the defintion of sustainable development and use it as
such in the companies strategies, 31 % of companies use the term sustainable
development more focused on their specific processes ( see examples in column specific
comments below), 38 % of the companies have no idea what the term sustainable
development means.
57
Summary of answers:
According to the
definition1
No answer Specific Comments
13 companies 16 companies All together 13 companies
Life today, tommorow
Separated collection of waste
Constant care for customers and lowering the
impact to the environment
Long term goals for improvemts defined
Increased produstivity, lower cost
Economy with as little waste as possible
Not developed yet in the world
Economy and environemnt work hand in hand
Waste managent and reuse of recyclates
Development of the company considering all its
points – employees, quality of products,
satisfaction of owners and partners
Increased competitvness, new technology, waste
management
Lower energy consumption
Waste separation and recycling
58
1Sustainable development is the development that fullfills the need of our generation without endangering the
future generations to fullfill the same needs. It is based on three pillars; economic, social and environmental.
QUESTION 2: Do you know the difference between below listed
plastic materials? Specify for which type of plastic you know
precisely which characteristics does it have?
Results: The responsible persons for packaging in companies know biodegradable plastics (
83 % of answers claim that they know the basic characteristics of bioplastics). The knowledge
about meaning of bioplastics is equal to knowledge of the Green Dot mark, which is
communicated intensivelly ( 83 %) and more intense than local branding Made in Slovenia (
83 % for bioplastics as opposed to 74 % of local brand production)
Type of plastic Knowledge about its characteristics ( in %)
biodegradable 83 %
sustainable 45 %
compostable 64 %
From renewable resources 64 %
With bio ingredients 43 %
With recycled content 50 %
With certificate Friendly to the environment 50 %
With lower weight, lower volume 45 %
With positive LCA result 9,5 %
With reduced CO2 impact 43 %
Produced in Slovenia 74 %
polyvinylchloride 57 %
59
polyethylene 52 %
Bearing the sign Green Dot 83 %
Produced from polymers 38 %
Produced from artificial substances 33 %
Other – name it BOPP, PET, LINLAM, PAILE,
LINTOP,7FORM, SMART PLASTICS,
OXOPLASTICS
QUESTION 3: What characteristics of the packaging materials are
important for you when deciding which packaging to choose?
Results: 32 % of companies value technical characteristics of material as the most important
factor when deciding about packaging. Most important characteristics of packaging are its
physical, chemical and mechanical properties, which should protect the packed product . 14 %
of customers require that the packaging material is suitable for food contact with legally
binding health certificate. Price is the third decision making factor ( 18%), ability to
recycle ( 15 %), environmental friendly ( 11 %), low weight of packaging is important to 5 %
of customers and 5 % of customers design their packaging as required by their customers.
60
Summary of answers:
Required characteristics No. of answers Detailed answers
SUITABLE FOR FOOD CONTACT
with legal certificate
9
Customer defined 3 As our customer wants it
Mechanical properties 20 Torsion, printing abality,
suitable for filling mashines,
functionalaty
Ability to recycle 9
Price 11
Low weight of packaging element 3
Environmental friendly 7
QUESTION 4: Which are the desicion making factors about using
sustainable packaging materials in your company.
Results: 40 % of companies see price as prevailing factor when choosing the packaging
material. Technological properties of packaging material are most important factor in 25 %,
wishes of the customer and environmental aspects are important to 15 % of decision makers,
only 5 % of decisions are based on legal requirements.
61
Summary of answers:
Deciding factor No. of answers
Customers wishes 3
Cost 8
Tecnological properties ( glue, stability of foil…) 5
Environmental factors ( CO2 emissions, 3
Legal requirements 1
QUESTION 5: Do you know which materials are defined as
sustainable and which criteria define them as sustainable.
Results: 83 % of answers were showing that people have no idea which packaging materials
are sustainable and what criteria should be fulfilled in order that the packaging material is
sustainable. Three persons thought plastic, including nylon is sustainable, other answers show
that reusable packaging is percieved as sustainable.
62
Detailed answers:
Answers No. of answers
Sustainable – cradle to grave approach 1
Plastic 3
Ability to be reused 1
Materials that do not endanger our health 1
Ability to be recycled 1
I have no idea 35
QUESTION 6: Does your company use biodegradable plastic?
Please specify reasons for using and not using it.
Results: 10 % use biodegardable plastics, maily because their clients require it. 64 % do not
use biodegardable plastics, maily beuse it is unsuitable for their application or because it too
63
expensive and because they have not yet considered the idea of using biodegardable plastics.
More than one quater of companies provided NO answer to this question.
Detailed answers:
ANSWER No. of answers REASON
NO 27 We are trade company and have no effect on choosing the
packaging material
Price too high
We promoted bioplastic but got No interest from our
customers,
No because we do not have enough information about the
properties of the material
No, it is not useful for us – we mainly use glass
No because it have bad properties when protecting the
products
No we use very little plastic
Not yet
No, our products are very simple and do not need complicated
packaging
No because it is not suitable for packaging the chemical
64
products
No, we have no idea why should we use it
No, we use PP
No, because the price is too high
No, we tested it but it was not good
No, we could not find the supplier
No, we have not thought about it yet
NO answer 11
YES 4 We use it because it good for the environment and we pay
less taxes
Yes we use it for labels
Yes, our client requested it
Our clients use it, we do not
QUESTION 7: Specify the importance of the following properties
of biodegradable plastics for the use in your company.
Results: The sum of importance show that companies value the most the following
properties of biodegradable plastics: availability and knowledge how to use biodegradable
plastics, almost equally important are suitable properties of biodegradable plastics, processing
knowledge, environemntal benefits, cost of material. The least important is the organisation of
biodegradable waste treatment.
65
Properties: Unimportant:
No. of answers
Little
important
No. of answers
Somewhat
important
No. of answers
Very
important
No. of answers
Cost of materials 12 22
Processing knowledge 13 11 10
Usage knowledge 3 16 16
Suitable properties 2 5 11 16
66
Availability 5 13 17
Current legislation 1 5 15 12
Organised waste collection systems 1 12 17
Environmental awareness of customers 2 14 18
Company strategy 2 17 14
Other – please specify:
No answers: 8 companies refused to answer
QUESTION 8: What cost, compared to conventional plastic, would
your company be willing to pay to use biodegradable plastic.
Results: The results show, that 55 % of companies would pay equal cost, 12 % is willing to
pay more ( up to 150 % ) and 33 % of companies expect lower cost. No company indicated
that they are willing to pay more than 150 % of conventional plastic price.
Interesting remark : it is not important how much the price of the material is, but it is
important how much we can charge for it, how high is the value of bioplastics in the eyes of
our buyers.
67
Detailed answers:
Prepared by:
mag. Barbara Tišler, september 2011
Lower –
Less than 100%
Same
100%
Higher
100%-150%
Higher
150%-200%
Higher
200%-250%
Higher
More than 250%
11 answers 18 answers 4 answers
68
Chapter 8 –
Market Research III
Company data:
28 companies – packaging producers, plastic producers, plastic users, and plastic logistics
industry enterprises fulfilled questionnaire.
Companies fulfilling the questionnaire were small, medium and large enterprises. The
majority (24 companies) were small and medium sized companies. 90% of companies were
Polish companies with no foreign capital.
1. QUESTION 1: How do you in your company understand sustainable development?
Results: In general Polish companies do not understand that term and its application fully.
Most of the answers are partial or do not have a clear orientation on environmental/social
issues focusing rather on legislation and company internal operations/marketing/HR.
Of all answers only 10% were correct according to the definitions provided in this report.
39% of answers were specific/partial, 35% definitions were incorrect and 16% did not answer
this question at all.
Stated below are some common answers to this question by Polish entreprises:
Typical answers:
Sustainable development is about producing goods according to all required legislation
Sustainable development in a company is about providing safe working environment
Sustainable development is about aiming to increase the safety and hygiene of work
environment up to the point of total elimination of random accidents and work related
disabilities
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Sustainable development equals fair development of personnel‟s qualifications
Sustainable development is achieved when both economic and environmental
decisions are respected and considered equally
Sustainable development is about decreasing the negative environmental impact of
products and company operations
Sustainable development connects with recovery of produced goods (recycling, reuse,
recovery)
Sustainable development concerns the selective recovery of waste in the workplace
Sustainable development is decreasing the energy and resource use in all company‟s
operations.
Sustainable development is an innovation strategy that has to do with increasing the
operational efficiency but with close relation to rational management and protection of
external environment
Sustainable development is about the creation and formulation of final consumers
demand and behaviours that takes into account the protection of environment
Sustainable development has to do with creating workforce awareness of external
environment
Sustainable development is achieved when ISO quality standards are implemented
2. QUESTION 2: Do you know the difference between below listed sustainable plastic
solutions? Specify for which type of plastic you know precisely which characteristics
does it have?
Results: Responses indicate that in Poland most of the companies are familiar with
biodegradable plastics (74%), but only 54% are familiar with term compostable which is most
often related to biodegradable. Polish companies also seem to have good knowledge about
plastics from recycled resources. Also another interesting aspect lies in the LCA and Carbon
Footprint knowledge. Only 12% of companies know of LCA as a tool of environemtnal
impact measurements, but more than 50% are familiar with carbon footprint methodology
which is interesting as the carbon footprint is a part of LCA methodology. In addition to that
many Polish companies are familiar with oxodegradable plastics and seem to regard such
plastics as a sustainable solution.
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Type of plastic Knowledge about its characteristics ( in %)
biodegradable 74 %
sustainable 35 %
compostable 54 %
From renewable resources 44 %
With bio ingredients 33 %
With recycled content 73 %
With lower weight, lower volume 44 %
With positive LCA result 12 %
With reduced CO2 impact 53 %
Other – name it Nano films – 2%
Oxodegradable – 25%
3. What factors influence decisions to use sustainable polymer material solutions in
your company? (you may choose more than one)
Results: Polish companies regard the market demand as the most important aspect with a
total of 23 companies replying in this matter. Price occupies the second place on the list with
21 companies replying in such way. The third place goes to physical and chemical properties
of the materials with 18 companies replies. Legislation issues resides on the fourth place with
12 companies share. Processing technology and costs related to processing also had 12
replies. The awareness of costumers and final consumers scored 8 replies. Next place in the
hierarchy was given to the existence of selective selection system and recovery infrastructure
of sustainable plastic solutions with 5 replies.
71
4. At which level your company makes the environmental decisions? (technical,
marketing/PR, strategy)
Results: Polish companies seem to regard the technical level as the most important one. 20
companies replied in this manner. Next on the list is the strategic level with 18 responses –
many companies cited that environmental decisions are debated during directors and annual
meetings. On the last place surprisingly is the marketing/PR level with only 4 responses. This
shows that in Poland the companies do not see the direct benefit of agreeing on environmental
decisions based solely on potential marketing advantages, the decisions are first debated from
the technical or strategic point of view.
5. Do you have a written environmental strategy/plan in your company? Does it include
the product?
Results: In Poland half (14) of interviewed companies have some form of a written
environmental strategy/plan. In many companies ISO quality certification procedures were
interpreted as such. Of this half, majority companies (12) had their policies extended to their
products as well. Other half did not have any official document written, but nevertheless 7 of
them regarded themselves as environmentally conscious.
6. QUESTION 7: Specify the importance of the following properties of biodegradable
plastics for the use in your company.
Results: Polish companies treat cost of materials and processing knowledge as most
important aspect of biodegradable plastics, both categories received the same amount of
votes. Properties of the material are up next, along with usage knowledge and availability.
Current legislation was deemed as the most often voted „somewhat important‟ aspect. This
clearly shows that while not the most crucial element of the mix, Polish companies do seem to
observe the legislation and act upon it respectively. Companies are not that interested in
organised and functioning waste collection system, which proves the point of the first
question of the questionnaire regarding the understanding of sustainable development
concept. Also one company pointed out that having had some experience with biodegradable
materials the knowledge about expiry date of materials is very crucial. Although this aspect is
72
already covered in the processing and usage knowledge, the company wanted to stress that in
some cases biodegradable plastics can degrade when stored long enough.
Properties: Unimportant:
No. of answers
Little
important
No. of answers
Somewhat
important
No. of answers
Very
important
No. of answers
Cost of materials 4 20
Processing knowledge 4 20
Usage knowledge 4 6 12
Suitable properties 2 8 14
Availability 12 12
Current legislation 2 16 6
Organised waste collection systems 1 11 10 4
Environmental awareness of customers 10 9 3
Company strategy 7 11 4
Other – please specify:
Demand, market pull 2
Best before date of some biodegradable
materials 1
7. QUESTION 8: What cost, compared to conventional plastic, would your company be
willing to pay to use biodegradable plastic.
Results: Most of Polish companies are not willing to pay for the material much more than
they are paying for the traditional materials. Two companies already use biodegradable
polymers and say that their costs are represented in the 200% - 250 % range. It is also
important to note that similar to the Solvenian results many Polish companies considered this
question unimportant as long as the company will be able to carry the additional costs to the
costumers / end consumers, which shows a market oriented approach to sustainability and
innovation.
73
Lower –
Less than
100%
Same
100%
Higher
100%-150%
Higher
150%-200%
Higher
200%-250%
Higher
More than 250%
14 answers 6 answers 2 answers (companies
already use biodegradable
materials and 200% - 250%
range covers their costs)
74
Chapter 9 - Conclusions As one can observe the cases of for both Slovenia and Poland yielded some interesting results.
In general it has to be addressed that while both Polish and Slovenian companies seem to
understand the principles behind the bioplastics market, they do not know understand the
concept of sustainability well. The term in itself is very vague and therefore open for different
interpretations. PLASTiCE project should clarify this issue and provide a standardised
definition through dissemination activities.
DETAILED CONCLUSIONS FROM MARKET RESEARCH I
Two main research questions have been translated into a number of hypotheses that aimed to
test whether Polish packaging industry and end consumers are specifically willing to accept
the next generation packaging.
Results indicated that the Polish plastic packaging industry is aware of the new technology,
knows its characteristics and market implications and is eager to invest in it. It also portrayed
that the Polish packaging plastic industry is generally aware of the five main business aspects
derived from the theoretical frameworks on this complex subject.
In contrast the hypothesis for Polish end consumers could not be accepted due to the fact the
Polish citizens do not yet fully understand the implications of next generation packaging in
terms of its disposal, which signifies that one of the main benefit of next generation packaging
– its closed circuit in the natural environment could not be realised to its full potential.
This however does not signify that there is a mismatch between the plastic industry
willingness to supply such packaging and end consumers to receive and accept them. The
disposal knowledge while essential for the appropriate functioning of the waste management
system is only a small part of packaging business aspects as described in the theoretical
section of this paper. In addition the next generation plastic packaging offers much potential
for the strategic and marketing business aspects of Polish packaging industry. Communicating
the knowledge about disposal of such packaging could be the driver for the advertising
campaigns presenting the both novelty and environmental friendly value. With skilful and
75
creative marketing strategy this may potentially lead numerous packaging companies to a
competitive advantage that will span and unify all five business aspects of packaging and next
generation packaging benefits in those fields – i.e. marketing value, logistics disposal
benefits, legal short cuts, environmentally friendly image in CSR and long term strategic
advantages.
DETAILED CONCLUSIONS FROM MARKET RESEARCH II
Most interested in biodegardable plastics are medium sized companies. Because 69 % of
companies does not know the official definition of sustainable development it is not
recommended to join in communication the biodegardable plastics and sustainable
development.
Knowledge about characteristics of biodegardable plastics seem to be high ( 83 % of
companies know it in theory). 64 % of the companies do not use biodegradable plastic due to
no expressed interest from their clients, too higher price of biodegaradble plastics and its
unsuitability for the purposes of the company.
When introducing biodegradable plastics into their products only 12 % would pay up to 150
% higher cost, 88 % would expect to pay equal or even lower cost for biodegradable plastics
compared to conventional materials.
The barriers when introducing biodegardable plastics are its poor availability, poor knowledge
of its processing and poor knowledge why should biodegardable plastic be used and its
properties which should protect the packed product as good as conventional plastics.
When introducing biodegradable material its waste treatment is seen as at least important.
Some interesting remarks were made. One of the companies stated that they would be
interested in using biodegardable plastic in the dypers which they produce. The other
company stated that if the perceived value of biodegradable plastic would be high in the eyes
of the consumer, they would be willing to produce more expensive products from
biodegardable plastic.
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DETAILED CONCLUSIONS FROM MARKET RESEARCH
III
As previously discussed, the term sustainable development is not understood well in Poland.
Only 10% of respondents gave a proper definition of sustainability, whereas 39% gave a
partial response.
In contrast Polish companies understand different terms linked to sustainable plastic material
solutions. Very often sustainability is linked to the „carbon footprint‟ of the product, but not
many companies understand that the level of CO2 equivalent emitted during the life cycle of
the product is only a small part of full environmental life cycle assessment. There are many
more other environmental impacts connected to human health, ecosystem quality and
depletion of natural resources which may have a big impact on products environmental
performance and therefore on sustainability as whole.
Polish companies are very market and competition aware. They seem to value their customers
opinion and demand the most, even more than the price of the material itself, taking a view,
that if a customer is willing to pay more for the offered sustainable solution, the actual higher
price is implied. On the other hand most companies would not want to pay more for
bioplastics than they are paying for traditional solutions.
Polish companies are also pragmatic with regards to the level of implementing innovation.
Most companies want to know the technical properties of material and processing before
agreeing to introduce a bioplastic to their offer.
Similar to Slovenia the organised waste collection systems are regarded very low, which
again shows the lack of knowledge in the field of sustainability.
78
Population I – The Industry
1) To which of the following groups does your company belong?
Small (up to 50 employees)
Medium (between 50 and 250 employees)
Large (more than 250 employees)
2) Your company is a: Packaging producer
Packaging user/goods packager
3) On the scale from 1 to 5 please rank the importance of following business aspects of packaging in your
company
Scale: 1 Most
Unimportant
2 Unimportant
3 Neutral
4 Important
5 Most
important
Marketing
Logistics
Legislation
Environment protection
Strategic management
4)a What is your company’s attitude towards biodegradable packaging/polymer? Our company is using these materials already:
Our company would like to use these materials in the future
Our company does not want to use these materials in the future
Our company does not have a clear opinion on the subject
4)b On the scale from 1 to 5 please rank your perception of market attractiveness of
biodegradable packaging Scale: 1
Most
unattractive
2 Unattractive
3 Neutral
4 Attractive
5 Most
Attractive
Market attractiveness of next generation packaging
5) What is the significance of the following factors for the decision concerning the utilization of
biodegradable packaging/polymer by your company?
Scale: 1 Unimportant
2 Somewhat
important
3 Important
4 Very
important
5 Most
important
Costs of material
Processing/Usage knowledge
Suitable properties of the material
Availability
Legislation
Organised waste collection systems
Environmental awareness
Marketing strategy
6) What price ratio of biodegradable packaging/polymer in comparison with classic plastics
packaging/polymers, your company would be willing to accept?
Lower –
Less than 100%
Same
100%
Higher
100%-150%
Higher
150%-200%
Higher
200%-250%
Higher
More than 250%
79
Population II – End Consumers
1. Gender:
Male
Female
2. Age group:
< 25
26-34
35-49
50 +
3. Do you own a backyard composting bin?
Yes
No
4. Do you sort your organic waste (food waste, leaves, grass, dried flowers etc.)?:
Yes
No
5. Rank two most environmentally friendly terms describing packaging from the following selection.
If any of the term is unclear, please state so in appropriate selection table.
First
selection
Second
selection
Definition is
unclear
Recyclable packaging
Packaging from recycling
Biodegradable packaging
Degradable packaging
Multi use packaging
Packaging from renewable / natural resources
Smaller packaging mass
6. Please rank the following statements on the scale from 1 to 7, (where 1 signifies ‘I strongly
disagree’, 4 signifies neutral answer and 7 signifies „I strongly agree‟):
7.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I rank my environmental awareness as high I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
I rank my awareness of new technologies as
high
I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
Packaging is important for my purchase
decision
I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
gladly choose innovative looking packaging
when buying goods
I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
I gladly choose packaging advertised as
environmental friendly when buying goods
I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
I gladly choose environmental friendly
looking packaging when buying goods
I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
I take notice of the symbols and special
markings on the packaging
I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
I will pay more for product in innovative
packaging
I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
I will pay more for product in environmental
friendly packaging
I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
When buying a product I think what I will do
with used packaging
I strongly
disagree
I strongly
agree
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Interview Notes
Company
name:_______________________________________________________________
1) To which of the following groups does your company belong? Small (up to 50 employees)
Medium (between 50 and 250 employees)
Large (more than 250 employees)
2) State the business of your company:
3) How do you understand the concept of sustainable development in your company8?
4) Is your company interested in any of the following sustainable polymer material
solutions for your products? (you may tick multiple answers)
Biodegradable polymer products
Compostable polymer products
Polymer products from renewable resources
Polymer products with bio-based content
Polymer products with recycled content
Environment friendly certified polymer products
Polymer products with less mass/volume
Polymer products with positive Life Cycle Assessment
Polymer products with reduced carbon footprint
Polymer products manufactured locally
Other (please elaborate):
5) What factors influence decisions to use sustainable polymer material solutions in your
company?
8 To use the traditional definition, sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs", in other words ensuring that today's growth does not jeopardise the growth possibilities of future generations. Sustainable development thus comprises three elements - economic, social and environmental - which have to be considered in equal measure at the political level. The strategy for sustainable development, adopted in 2001 and amended in 2005, is complemented inter alia by the principle of integrating environmental concerns with European policies which impact on the environment.
82
6) At which level your company makes the environmental decisions? (technical,
marketing/PR, strategy)
7) Do you have a written environmental strategy/plan in your company? Does it include
the product?
8) Please choose the importance of the following factors of biodegradable plastics
solution in your company
Scale: 1
Unimportant
2 Little
important
3 Somewhat
important
4 Very
important
Cost of materials
Processing knowledge
Usage knowledge
Suitable properties
Availability
Current legislation
Organised waste collection systems
Environmental awareness of customers
Company strategy
Other – please specify:
9) What cost of biodegradable polymer solution in relation to classical plastics
packaging/polymers solutions, your company would be willing to accept?
Lower –
Less than
100%
Same
100%
Higher
100%-150%
Higher
150%-200%
Higher
200%-250%
Higher
More than 250%
Notes: