At our Innovation Center, we’re working on innovations in numerous areas. Not necessarily to stay in the lead, but to support our clients as a knowledge partner and offer even greater added value. For example, we are currently working on a digital product passport (DPP) for packaging. Packaging technologist Rens van de Rakt explains.
Packed with data
“A DPP is an electronic file rich in data, such as material origin, production location and shelf life data. Consumers can use a QR code to see exactly what they’ve bought and the route their purchase took. It is currently mandatory for a number of product types under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). This is not yet the case for packaging materials, but we do expect this to happen in due course. As to when, exactly, it could take another five or six years, or it could happen next year.”
we’ll make it easy for our clients right away”
Full service co-packer
“If the DPP becomes mandatory, for example under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), we’ll make it easy for our clients right away, at least. After all, they will soon be responsible for providing DPP data. Since we are a full service co-packer and have the necessary knowledge and capacity, customers may submit this component to us. This provides Vetico with an additional benefit: we can use this data to run our own analyses on aspects such as the effectiveness of our supply chain, the use of plastic and the recyclability of our raw materials. That will enable us to improve our practices and enhance their sustainability.”
Pragmatic pilot
“However, it starts with filtering the right data from our sources. We are currently running a pilot with our ERP system behind the scenes, and we’re taking a pragmatic approach to this. We are encountering several issues along the way, including whether we can create the right fields, how to fill them in efficiently later on, and whether or not we need to link other software. Step two will only follow once we can collect the desired data. Then we will explore whether we can automate reports and how we will offer these to clients. So that means the DPP for our packaging is still under development. I don’t yet know how and when it will be complete. Watch this space!”
“By the way, we would like to invite customers and suppliers to help shape the DPP together with us. They would be most welcome, actually – after all, the more knowledge and insights, the better the results. This is a means for collaborating on ‘the knowledge of the future’, as we call it in our new strategy.”
