Easily one of the biggest components on the path to sustainability is packaging. Without advancements in packaging, it would be extremely difficult for dairy processors to meet their future sustainability goals. 

Fortunately, the dairy industry is on a good path. Recyclable packaging, using less plastic, lightweighting, switching materials, and using post-consumer recycled content are the top ways in which dairy companies are making sustainable changes to packaging, Rebecca Marquez, director, custom research for PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing, tells Dairy Foods. “Consumers are demanding that the products they consume are packaged in materials which are sustainable. It is to the dairy processors’ advantage to listen to their consumers, not to mention the regulatory demands from industry and legislative bodies,” she says.