MSU First University to Join Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Contact: Jessica A. Knoblauch, News Writer for Environmental Science and Policy Program: (517) 432-3823 or knoblau7@msu.edu

November 13, 2006

Michigan State University's School of Packaging (SOP) recently became a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), an organization that prides itself on bringing a "cradle to cradle" system to the packaging industry.

Founded in 2004, the SPC consists of over 50 members from Fortune 500 companies, one government organization, and now one university, Michigan State.

"It's important that MSU is a part of the organization because it shows that the university is concerned about environmental issues," says Rafael Auras, an assistant professor in the packaging department.

Auras adds that having a university in the coalition helps the organization's cause because the school can educate different companies on sustainable packaging. "It helps us to create the next generation of packaging professionals who have been educated in ways to decrease damage to the environment," says Auras.

Faculty in the School of Packaging have been working on designing sustainable packaging systems for many years. For example:

• Diana Twede's background is in business and supply chain management. She has been studying reusable shipping container systems used by the automobile industry and reusable pallets used by the grocery industry.

• Susan Selke works on diverse facets of environmentally responsible packaging, including plastics recycling, biodegradable packaging, and stability and recycling of package materials.

• Laura Bix studies the application of the Universal Design principles to packaging, which is geared towards designing packaging appropriate to users with diverse abilities and behaviors.

• Amar Mohanty's research is on nanocomposite materials, biocomposite/green composite materials, biodegradable polymers and development of new bio-based materials.

• Rafael Auras is investigating the environmental alternatives to packaging used by the nursery industry and mulch films used in agriculture, and has extensively studied polylactide biodegrabable plastics.

The depth of areas covered by the School of Packaging faculty will round out the goals of the coalition by bringing new insights into the field. "You must look at the whole system when dealing with the problem of packaging waste," says Auras. "The packaging industry needs to understand the need to look at the cradle to cradle system for different packaging materials."

The industry is now one step closer to implementing that concept with the addition of MSU's School of Packaging to the Coalition.