Talking Sustainability in Flexible Packaging with GSK – Insights

Start with a baseline assessment of your flexibles supply chain and implement a procurement framework which prioritizes recyclable materials and low-impact processes. Define concrete KPIs for recycled content, recyclability, and energy intensity, and establish quarterly reviews to keep projects on track without disrupting supply.

In collaboration with GSK, talking sustainability centers on practical outcomes for patients and the health system. Being explicit about material choices helps procurement teams reduce waste while preserving product performance.

Adopt a diversified supplier base and leverage data provided by partners to compare various flexibles options, including barrier coatings and substitutable polymers. This investment protects procurement continuity and creates operational resilience, with measurable impacts on cost, carbon, and waste at the bottom line.

Map cause-and-effect: identify the key causes of waste in packaging lines, then pilot changes with clear baselines and milestones. Track how each initiative affects operational efficiency and patient-facing packaging reliability.

Establish a cross-functional governance with your procurement, R&D, and sustainability teams, and ensure leadership communicates with them to align goals. Monitor baseline metrics, report progress, and adjust plans quickly. This structure supports transparent decision-making and keeps the focus on hard, measurable gains for the economy and the environment.

Key themes explored in the report

Adopt a clear scope and implement robust monitoring to cut hazardous materials from medicines packaging, targeting a 20% reduction by 2026 and a measurable boost in trust among patients, healthcare providers, and regulators. Make 80% of new packaging lines compliant with recycled-content goals within 3 years to demonstrate progress, and track this through dedicated metrics reviewed by senior leadership.

Establish a transparent map of packaging materials and the sources behind each supply node, then align supplier activities with sustainability targets. This clarity supports responsible sourcing and creates positive signals for procurement decisions and regulator reports.

Increase the number of packaging formats that incorporate recycled content to 40% by 2025 and raise post-consumer recycling rates by 10 percentage points. This target requires increasing the use of recycled feedstocks across supplier networks and packaging lines, while monitoring hazardous additives and emissions across the life cycle to ensure material reductions are materially realized.

Maintain a forward-looking risk dashboard that flags hazardous ingredients and tracks progress against KPIs, enabling rapid course corrections in design and supplier selection. Use this to reduce waste through smarter material choices and better end-of-life options.

Link packaging decisions to the economy by reducing packaging weight and switching to sustainable materials wherever feasible, delivering measurable cost reductions and a positive environmental impact. Use a simple framework to quantify savings and report a number in annualized terms to reinforce stakeholder confidence.

Build trust by sharing sources, data, and progress across teams, enabling cross-functional collaboration and setting an exciting, forward-looking agenda that keeps medicines safe while expanding sustainable packaging options.

Scope and Boundaries: defining what counts toward packaging sustainability in the GSK program

Apply a boundary that clearly defines which packaging elements are counted toward sustainability in the GSK program: include primary packaging (in contact with the medicine and the patient) and relevant secondary packaging, as well as flexibles used for product containment, if they affect emissions or waste. Exclude non-packaging materials and internal production aids that do not reach patients. This scope is about the packaging footprint, provided data will guide actions, and aligns with the program’s goal today for bottom-line improvements.

Identify boundaries across the life cycle: manufacture, distribution, use, and end-of-life, and apply a systems view that links packaging choices to pollution and greenhouse gas outcomes. The approach explores alternatives such as recyclable or reusable paths and compares their operational impact–throughput, cost, and waste–to established metrics. This helps show how progress moves through the bottom of the value chain. They should include what counts toward packaging sustainability: identifying data sources, what data to apply, and how these decisions lead to better value in the bottom line; we also outline the ways we measure and report progress, while excluding non-packaging items that do not belong in their product system.

Operational guidance for teams includes talking points with suppliers, documenting decisions, and maintaining a clear audit trail. Use this scope to lead conversations about alternatives and to support patients, good practices, and data-driven improvements.

The boundaries above allow teams to track improvements in the value they generate, while talking with stakeholders about how to reduce pollution and emissions through smarter material choices and better practice data.

Materials and Design: recyclable options, lightweighting, and barrier performance

Adopt mono-material recyclable designs that fit current recycling streams. The packaging is designed to be recovered in prevailing systems, and align with gsks sustainability programme targets. This means favoring PET or PP-based structures over multi-material laminates, selecting adhesives and coatings compatible with standard sorting, and using inks with low hazardous content. This approach improves recovery rates and reduces contamination in supply chains.

Lightweighting starts with a material design review that targets reductions in weight while preserving barrier and mechanical performance. Replace thicker films with higher-strength grades and optimize geometry (seals, corners) using process simulations to reduce material use by 15-25%. This improvement can be achieved with monomaterial formats that remain easy to recycle, including high-strength PP or PET films. Use lab tests to validate drop resistance, seal integrity, and printability, and apply the learning across the project to deliver working, hard-wearing formats at the same performance level.

Barrier performance is defined by maintaining product protection with minimal material. For recyclable options, consider thin barrier layers within a mono-material structure, such as EVOH in small thicknesses or alternative polymer-based barriers that stay compatible with recycling streams. Target gas and moisture transmission metrics that preserve shelf life under expected transport and storage conditions, while avoiding heavy or complex laminates that hinder recycling. Conduct side-by-side trials comparing standard versus redesigned formats, including measurements of permeability, seal strength, and optical quality, ensuring the approach supports the supply chain with predictable logistics and sustainability outcomes.

To support the shift, embed this work in a sustainability programme that coordinates human systems across procurement, packaging, and logistics. Define clear targets and a goal to reduce waste and improve recovery rates, and use a cross-functional project to align suppliers and internal teams. This means establishing the means to monitor accountability, track reductions, and report progress, while minimizing hazardous additives and advancing conservation of resources in working processes and the broader value chain.

Example steps for gsks supply chain work: define the defining requirements for recyclable options, run a pilot with a single product line, and assess recyclability uplift and barrier retention against the goal. Use an ordered sequence of trials and supplier engagement to improve sustainability, then scale if criteria are met. Document the results in the programme handbook, adjust governance accordingly, and maintain the same level of performance, aesthetics, and functionality throughout the order and rollout.

Supply Chain Transparency: traceability, supplier standards, and data sharing

Implement a centralized, auditable data platform for end-to-end traceability across your supply chains, with mandatory data sharing from every tier of suppliers.

• Traceability and data standards
  • Adopt GS1 Global Data Standard for item-level data, with fields such as product code, batch/lot, expiry, supplier ID, manufacturing site, recycled content, and chemical restrictions.
  • Require real-time data feeds via secure APIs to your network, increasing baseline visibility across chains.
  • Set a baseline to achieve traceability for 90% of spend with tier-1 suppliers within 6 months; extend to tier-2 within 12 months to cover most products.
• Supplier standards
  • Define minimum standards including ethical labor, chemical safety, and environmental stewardship; require certificates and quarterly self-assessments.
  • Audit cadence: 2x per year with unannounced checks; use third-party auditors where possible; when gaps appear, assign improvement credits tied to corrective actions.
  • Offer alternatives if a supplier cannot meet standards; shift to qualified partners to protect patients and consumers.
  • Incorporate chemical safety and formulation chemistry controls to ensure responsible sourcing and safer packaging chemistry throughout the network.
• Data sharing and collaboration
  • Provide secure data rooms with role-based access; protect IP while enabling traceability and supplier improvement; data sharing is the means to accelerate improvement across the network.
  • Share data with patients and clinicians via transparent labeling to promote confidence; data should be anonymized where necessary to protect privacy.
  • Use data to enable circularity: track recycled content, end-of-life streams, and credits for suppliers advancing recycling and circular solutions.
  • Talking with suppliers and stakeholders helps align on formats, expectations, and timelines, contributing to smoother implementation.
  • Support supplier improvement by providing data-driven feedback and targeted credits for timely data sharing and progressive actions.
• Metrics and impact
  • Baseline data: currently 60% of tier-1 suppliers share traceability data; aim to reach 85% within 12 months and 95% within 18–24 months.
  • Key metrics: data completeness rate, cycle time from manufacturing to customer, share of suppliers with verified chemical compliance, and percentage of products with recycled content.
  • Consumer-facing labels communicate origin and composition to build trust today; target zero data gaps across major product families.
• Time-bound actions
  1. 0-3 months: map supply chains, define data fields, select platform, and onboard core suppliers; establish data governance.
  2. 3-6 months: launch pilot with top five suppliers; implement credits to reward timely data sharing and improvement actions.
  3. 6-12 months: scale to tier-2 suppliers; begin reporting metrics to internal and external stakeholders; publish progress on consumer-facing channels.
  4. 12-24 months: achieve near-zero data gaps and demonstrate circularity improvements across major product families.

Circularity and End-of-Life: take-back schemes, reuse, refill, and recycling pathways

Launch a global take-back program pilot in a number of markets within 24 months; recover 40% of used flexible packaging and channel the material into certified recycling streams, with a 25% recycled-content target for new packaging by 2027–an ambitious plan. When they return packaging, they receive credits to reinforce participation.

To enable reuse and refill, design multi-use formats and establish retailer partnerships to collect, clean, and reload packaging, with streamlined logistics and a transparent information trail for end users.

glaxosmithkline has announced initiatives to pilot take-back in 12 sites and to invest in logistics and information systems that tie returns to manufacture data, with the goal of cutting packaging waste by 30% within five years and strengthening the change across their supply chains.

Share learnings with peers to build trust and enable their contribution; provide information on return rates, contamination levels, and recycling yields to industry groups and regulators.

Track progress with a number of KPIs: return rate, transport emissions, recycled-content, and cost per kilogram; align investment and manufacture to these targets and highlight the forward-looking, ambitious approach that benefits the planets.

Metrics and Reporting: baselines, KPIs, targets, and progress dashboards

Establish a baseline for residual waste per tonne of packaging, energy intensity, water use, and recycled-content. Then set a number of quarterly KPIs and annual targets to drive progress in the circular economy: residual waste down 20% by 2025, energy intensity down 15% by 2026, recycled content up to 45% by 2025, and heat recovery meeting 50% of site heating needs. Design the metrics to support better decisions, with data that is usable for supply-chain teams and used across programs to identify which activities deliver the greatest impact, whilst creating value and enabling creation of more sustainable, lower-impact packaging options and alternatives where feasible.

Implement progress dashboards that pull data from design, manufacturing, and supply activities. Use a number of KPIs across the lifecycle: residual waste intensity, recycled-content share, heat recovery rate, energy intensity, and packaging recyclability. Dashboards update monthly and connect to investment decisions, with color-coded status and trend indicators to show progress. Ensure which data fields feed the dashboards, including source, unit, and time stamp, are standardized to enable cross-site comparisons. The combination of vetted data and defined programs supports identifying hotspots and making better prioritizations across activities to make cross-site progress.

Assign a program owner to enforce governance and best practices; implement data-quality checks; align reporting with supply-chain activities; increase investment in data systems and automation; clarify the role of each site in delivering progress. Use packaging designed for recycling and explore alternatives that reduce heat and residual waste, whilst maintaining performance. These metrics fuel value creation across the supply chain and feed a continuous improvement loop.