2Sustain

The field of green packaging got a well-deserved boost last week when the Coca-Cola Co. awarded $400,000 to Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources to help establish a new Center for Packaging Innovation and Sustainability.

According to a press release, this new “think tank” will be located at the MSU School of Packaging and will serve as a research and education hub to measure and reduce packaging’s environmental impact.

The new Center will involve the MSU colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources (School of Packaging), Engineering, and the Eli Broad College of Business (Department of Supply Chain Management). Researchers hope to develop innovative packaging solutions that will both reduce production costs and improve sustainability.

“Packaging is ubiquitous throughout the food system and a critical component to the quality, safety and sustainability of the products we buy and eat,” says Jeffrey Armstrong, dean of the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, in the press release. “Coca-Cola’s funding commitment to establish the Center for Packaging Innovation and Sustainability will move us toward an unprecedented level of industry collaboration that will have global implications for improving packaging performance and sustainability.”

Here’s a piece of historical trivia that you might not know: the MSU School of Packaging was established in 1952, and it’s the first and largest packaging program in the U.S. Researchers there explore new opportunities in packaging and work to develop a scientific foundation for making certain packaging decisions.

It was exciting to read about this collaboration between Coca-Cola and MSU, and I’m looking forward to hearing more about the Center for Packaging Innovation and Sustainability as interest in green packaging and green shipping continues to grow.