But sustainability means many things to others, as this post from FastCompany.com shows.
The item, "Sustainability Faceoff: Coca-Cola vs. PepsiCo," does look at packaging, but that's just the beginning. How about issues like:
- Where does the company source its sweetener?
- How is its worker safety record? Do employees participate in wellness programs?
- Do workers own a share of the company? How much does the CEO earn compared with the worker bees?
- Does the company buy products from minority-owned and women-owned suppliers?
And the bottom line -- that's important to having a sustainable business, too. How profitable is the company?
It's interesting to see this big-picture approach. I expect most plastics companies will continue to have their customers like Wal-Mart or Procter & Gamble define what's sustainable -- but there's a lot more to the equation than a typical packaging scorecard.