The Flexible Packaging Association released its Corporate Sustainability Metrics for Flexible Packaging Manufacturers report on March 29, 2013, providing FPA member companies with consistent definitions and reporting methods for stakeholder sustainability inquiries. Packaging and Technology Integrated Solutions (PTIS) conducted the research commissioned by FPA.
The report addressed the most frequently requested manufacturing sustainability indicators: greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, water consumption, and waste management. By standardizing measurement boundaries and reporting formats, FPA aimed to reduce redundant audit questionnaires and enable more meaningful benchmarking across flexible packaging converting operations.
For converters fielding sustainability surveys from multinational brand owners during 2013, the metrics framework offered a reference structure for documenting plant-level performance without reinventing methodology for each customer audit cycle—a practical concern as retail and CPG procurement teams expanded environmental scorecards.
The March 2013 release arrived within a broader FPA sustainability initiative that would later include life cycle assessment case studies comparing flexible packaging formats across product categories and, eventually, dedicated research on e-commerce shipping economics.
Equipment buyers and plant managers reviewing capital investments during this period noted that documented energy and waste metrics were increasingly cited in justification memos for solventless laminators, regenerative thermal oxidizer upgrades, and inline process control systems that reduced scrap during startup and register adjustment.