As the world’s leading independent testing, inspection and certification organisation, SGS contributes to the development of the new business model of single-use packaging reuse.

As the world’s leading inspection, testing and certification company with over 96,000 employees and a network of over 2,700 offices and laboratories worldwide, SGS Group is recognised as a global benchmark for quality and integrity.

The group is working on solutions and opportunities to reduce the ecological impact of industries on the environment, regardless of their sector of activity. The group is also looking at the food packaging issue, constant in our daily lives, multiplying and being regulated as a result of innovations and regulations. A reflection on both the content and the form in order to limit, or even erase, the problems of overproduction, as well as the disposal of this packaging, most of which is single-use.

The SGS solution: reuse of packaging

SGS assists its customers, distributors, plastics manufacturers, food and packaging manufacturers, through legislation such as the AGEC law and the 3R decree (reduce, reuse and recycle), to advise them on how to comply with the various standards set up to ensure the preservation of the environment. As a specialist in the field, SGS Group deciphers the decrees and assists its customers in choosing the right material for the right product, depending on its use, its specific parameters and foreseeable changes in terms of legislation.

Reuse yes, but not just any old way

However, this reuse of resources is done in a controlled way, by means of multiple questions, such as the relevance of reusing current single-use packaging or the reusability of the packaging. The question of which material should be preferred for reuse will also be considered. Finally, the SGS group also plans to anticipate the evolution of the AGEC and Climate and Resilience laws, in order to better advise its clients in a sustainable and respectful approach to the texts enacted.

SGS asserts that the answer to all questions lies in research, in order to best adapt the constraints and parameters conditioning the reuse or not of the packaging: these will indeed not be the same from the moment we talk about a ready meal, a yoghurt pot, or a water bottle.

These parameters influence the reusability of packaging. This is why SGS is fully committed to research programmes to find the best solutions for the realisation of this new economic model.

Colouring, dishwasher resistance, contamination, resistance, microwave and oven suitability, hot and cold filling, freezing and sterilisation conditions, dimensional variation, transport simulation, dropping and compression, food contact, heavy metals or mineral oils, organoleptic tests and even misuse by users… These are all elements taken into account by the SGS Group in order to provide its clients with the most exhaustive analysis possible with a view to implementing the most suitable and sustainable reuse solution.

Through this expertise and advice, the SGS Group makes its clients’ activities more reliable, while improving their social and environmental impacts. SGS is also a partner of R3PACK, providing expertise in chemical and physical analysis to assess the food safety of reusable packaging while ensuring that it meets all current environmental sustainability requirements.