Why is packaging systemically relevant?

We take them so much for granted that we hardly think about them. Do you perceive each package for a product separately? Probably like most of us, not. What matters to us is the contents. We dispose of the packaging and not infrequently perceive the packaging waste as burdensome. The system-relevant packaging pretends to be modest, but it is crucial.

Without it, you wouldn't be able to buy the contents of the packaging, get them delivered, or ship them yourself. Without packaging, nothing works in the modern cycle. Hardly any product could make its way into stores, to corporate and private customers. This trend has become even more apparent than in the past with the continued growth in online retailing and during the Corona pandemic.

That's why it's no exaggeration to call the packaging around the product systemically important. Learn more about the packaging industry and the key trends in this article. You will look at system-relevant packaging with different eyes.

Figures on the packaging industry in Germany

The numbers speak for themselves. In 2021 alone, total sales in the packaging industry in Germany amounted to almost 30 billion euros. An unimaginable figure. It is even more impressive when you look at the development of the previous ten years. In 2011, packaging sales in Germany were still around EUR 24 billion.

By far the largest share of these sales is accounted for by paper packaging. Paper and cardboard account for almost 50 percent of all packaging. The volumes of packaging produced and the production value also increased in 2021.

It is not only the absolute quantities and sales of packaging that play a role. For some years now, manufacturers of packaging have been subject to various legal obligations. The Packaging Act specifies, among other things, who must take back packaging, when and how, and what must be observed for recycling.

Companies must register in the public register LUCID under certain conditions. LUCID is administered by the foundation "Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister" (ZSVR). LUCID also shows the importance of the packaging industry: in 2021, 650,000 registrations were recorded in it.

The system participation rates have been showing increasing trends for all forms of packaging since 2017. The same applies to the recycling rates, which are reflected in the collection volumes from the private environment to the end consumer.

Packaging companies belong to an economically relevant industry that has been recording growing figures in terms of sales, production value and volume for a decade.

These developments demonstrate that efforts are being stepped up to recycle packaging. Equally interesting is the number of people working in the packaging industry.

In 2021, the figure was almost 118,000. Packaging companies are less visible to the public as significant employers - in contrast to heavy industry and similar sectors of the economy.

But is economic significance sufficient for classification as systemically relevant? Why is systemically relevant packaging coming more and more into focus?

Increase in systemic relevance due to the Corona pandemic

At first glance, the packaging industry, like many sectors, recorded minor losses at the beginning of the Corona crisis. However, these were quickly offset by rising figures in online retailing./p>

The crisis with lockdowns, delivery problems and the retreat of many people into the private sphere made the system relevance of packaging more than clear. Securing the supply of essential goods such as food, pharmaceuticals and some more is inconceivable without packaging.

If these had not been available during the pandemic crisis, another problem would have arisen in addition to interrupted supply chains and raw material shortages. This could have quickly proved to be the biggest hurdle in supplying the population.

The production of packaging materials must continue when many other areas of economic life are still at a standstill for the time being. A clear sign that the classification as system-relevant packaging is appropriate.

The paramount importance of packaging becomes particularly clear from another perspective: poorer countries in Africa, for example, often do not have a packaging infrastructure. This shortcoming has many negative effects.

Food is lost because it cannot be transported for lack of packaging and spoils beforehand. Economic growth is hardly possible under these conditions, as many perishable goods can only be offered and consumed directly at their place of origin.

 

Food loss due to a lack of packaging solutions is around 40 percent in developing countries. In Europe, this rate is around 3 percent.

Professional packaging, especially for food, can ensure a longer shelf life and further reduce the loss of perishable products.

The example of comparing food packaging between developing countries and Europe is just one point of view. If goods cannot be transported adequately, this slows down the entire economic development.

You may have occasionally lamented the "packaging madness" of our society. In fact, compared to developing countries, we have the opposite problem. We have to cope with the flood of single-use packaging and develop cycles to recycle it.

Even if the ecological question arises here, it does not change the fact that system-relevant packaging makes our modern life possible in the first place.

The packaging industry has been able to successfully meet the increasing demand for delivered products - whether food, delivery services or online retail. In 2021 alone, sales in online retailing of goods will reach almost 100 billion euros.

This is an almost 20 percent increase compared to 2020. System-relevant packaging has become even more established.

No delivery in online retail or pizza delivery service is conceivable without packaging.

Importance of growing online trade

Online retail is booming. What was initially understood to be an immediate consequence of the Corona crisis seems to be establishing itself permanently.

In the meantime, (almost) everything is delivered. From goods of daily use,
to clothing, technology, food and other products.

The main beneficiaries were the major players in the online business, such as Amazon. The goods shipper generates around 18 percent of total sales in German online retailing. Even recession and inflation could not change the rising figures for Amazon until the second quarter of this year.

Other online retailers are also benefiting from greater demand and growing consumer interest in goods ordered online.

As online retail grows, so does the demand for packaging. System-relevant packaging is experiencing new heights.
From the point of view of waste experts, packaging waste already reached one of its first peaks in 2017. At that time, still far from any crisis, a rising trend toward online retail and away from stationary shopping began. Many customers recognized the special convenience of online shipping. At present, there are no signs that the online business could suffer a massive slump in the foreseeable future. It is impossible to predict with any certainty how this will develop. It depends on general economic developments.

Whether the Ukraine war and increased energy prices will have a massive impact on consumer behavior will only become clear when the third and fourth quarters of 2022 are evaluated. Even with certain losses in these areas, system-relevant packaging will remain in focus.

Conclusion

System-relevant packaging is an issue that will continue to occupy us at the political, economic and social levels. More and more, sustainability aspects are pushing their way into the spotlight. System-relevant packaging Yes, packaging madness No.

This could be the motto for the coming years and decades. Our approach to the topic of packaging provides impetus for other economic areas in which recycling and sustainability are just as topical.

The packaging industry should be given the respect it deserves. Particularly in times of crisis, employees in packaging companies perform outstandingly well.

The next time you receive a delivery of goods privately or in the company, you could pay more attention to the packaging. It made it possible for you to hold the ordered product in your hands.

It is equally a prerequisite for keeping the shelves in supermarkets and other stores full. We cannot afford bottlenecks in packaging without jeopardizing the entire economic fabric and the goods cycle. System-relevant packaging, which is also convincing from an ecological point of view, is the key issue for the coming years.

FAQ

1. Why is system-relevant packaging a little-known topic?
   As consumers or entrepreneurs, many people are not aware of the importance of packaging for the goods cycle. In recent decades, packaging has become something that is taken for granted. They only come into focus when there is a shortage of resources and/or large amounts of packaging waste are generated.
2. What challenges will the packaging industry face in the near future?
   System-relevant packaging must become more sustainable. Legislators are taking packaging companies more seriously when it comes to avoiding single-use packaging and recycling. Here, the companies involved must themselves increasingly look for suitable solutions and innovations.
3. It is conceivable that system-relevant packaging is a phase-out model?
   With an economic system as we currently know it, such a development seems unlikely. Even with further refined recycling processes and reusable packaging, we cannot get around packaging with a view to a regulated economic cycle and desired growth.

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