CPT Packaging Sustainability & Environmental Impact 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which metric is used in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify the total greenhouse gas emissions of a packaging material expressed in CO₂ equivalents?
- Global Warming Potential (GWP) (Correct answer)
- Eutrophication Potential (EP)
- Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)
- Acidification Potential (AP)
Correct answer: Global Warming Potential (GWP)
Global Warming Potential (GWP) aggregates all greenhouse gas emissions into a single CO₂-equivalent score within LCA.
Question 2: A brand switching from virgin PET bottles to 50% recycled PET (rPET) content primarily achieves which sustainability benefit?
- Reduced demand for petroleum-based feedstocks (Correct answer)
- Improved oxygen barrier properties
- Lower bottle weight
- Better UV protection
Correct answer: Reduced demand for petroleum-based feedstocks
Incorporating rPET displaces virgin petroleum-derived resin, lowering fossil resource consumption and associated emissions.
Question 3: Under the US EPA's waste management hierarchy, which approach is ranked HIGHEST in preference?
- Source reduction (Correct answer)
- Recycling
- Energy recovery
- Landfill disposal
Correct answer: Source reduction
Source reduction (preventing waste generation) is the most preferred tier in the EPA hierarchy because it avoids impacts entirely.
Question 4: Which certification specifically verifies that packaging is compostable in an industrial composting facility within 180 days?
- ASTM D6400 / BPI Certification (Correct answer)
- FSC Chain of Custody
- How2Recycle Label
- APR Design Guide Approval
Correct answer: ASTM D6400 / BPI Certification
ASTM D6400 sets industrial compostability standards and BPI certifies products meeting those criteria.
Question 5: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs shift the cost of post-consumer packaging management from:
- Taxpayers and municipalities to brand owners and producers (Correct answer)
- Retailers to raw material suppliers
- Consumers to waste haulers
- Government agencies to recyclers
Correct answer: Taxpayers and municipalities to brand owners and producers
EPR policies make producers financially responsible for end-of-life packaging management, reducing the burden on public systems.
Question 6: The 'circular economy' model for packaging differs from the traditional linear model primarily by:
- Keeping materials in use through repeated cycles of reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling (Correct answer)
- Maximizing single-use packaging to lower unit costs
- Focusing exclusively on biodegradable materials
- Eliminating packaging altogether from the supply chain
Correct answer: Keeping materials in use through repeated cycles of reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling
A circular economy design keeps material value in the economy as long as possible rather than disposing after a single use.
Question 7: Which packaging design strategy can reduce both material use and transportation emissions simultaneously?
- Lightweighting and right-sizing packaging to minimize void fill (Correct answer)
- Adding tamper-evident secondary packaging
- Using thicker corrugated to reduce damage rates
- Increasing label coverage for branding
Correct answer: Lightweighting and right-sizing packaging to minimize void fill
Lightweighting reduces material consumption while smaller, denser packs improve truck cube utilization and cut transport emissions.
CPT Packaging Sustainability & Environmental Impact 2
Which metric is used in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify the total greenhouse gas emissions of a packaging material expressed in CO₂ equivalents?