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The factors for the adoption of sustainable innovation: The case of sustainable packaging

Blin, Laurence
(2020)

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Blin_22821500_2020.pdf
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Details

Supervisors
Gailly, Benoît
Faculty
Louvain School of Management
Degree label
Master [120] en ingénieur de gestion
Abstract
In light of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s report (2016) stating that there would be more packaging than fish in the ocean by 2050, the packaging waste issue is introduced, and sustainable packaging innovation is advanced as a potential solution to mitigate the issue. As a first step, an attempt is made to clarify the concept of sustainable packaging innovation by defining first the two other concepts from which it originates, namely innovation and sustainable innovation. Subsequently, the peculiarities of packaging are exposed, and a definition of sustainable packaging innovation is proposed: “A sustainable packaging innovation is a firm’s introduction of a new packaging (or modification of an existing packaging) which has been designed so that market criteria for performance and cost are met and so that the environmental impact during the life cycle of the product-packaging system, spanning resource extraction, production, distribution, use, and post-use disposal, is significantly lower than existing packaging solutions for the same product”. Then, this paper builds upon the theory available on sustainable innovation and packaging respectively in order to bring forth a small piece of theory specific to sustainable packaging innovation, namely a theoretical framework gathering the determinants for firms’ adoption of sustainable packaging innovation. This new theory is then empirically validated through nine interviews conducted with experts in the field of packaging. The results indicate that regulations, market demand, logistic and supply chain optimization, marketing, R&D, collaborations and networks of knowledge sharing, experts recruitment, environmental measurement tools, business strategy and sustainability goals, cost savings, market share increase and new market opportunities, and reputation increase have all been confirmed to drive sustainable packaging innovation. Whereas regulatory barriers, the lack of infrastructure, the lack of financial resources, and low consumer acceptance all seem to hinder the adoption of sustainable packaging innovation.