A World of Plastic: Packaging practices amongst Icelandic food-retailers and suppliers.

Abstract

Background: There is extensive use of polystyrene (PS6), polypropylene (PP5) and other plastics in packaging practices in Iceland today, despite these materials being a threat to the environment. As Iceland is portrayed as one of the most environmentally clean countries in the world one cannot but wonder why the discussion on packaging practices has not arisen sooner. The research focuses on food-retailers and suppliers as well as their associated packaging companies within Iceland. It explores whether the participating companies are aware of the threat of plastic packages and if they are initiating actions to be more responsible and more sustainable in their production practices. Method: Six companies participated in this research and one or more representatives of each company were interviewed. Thematic analysis was applied to the gathered data in order to locate relevant themes that could shed light on the views and current standpoints of the companies on the subject of sustainable practices. The data analysis was fitted into a theoretical framework mostly relying on sociological arguments concerning production, consumption practices and corporate responsibility. Furthermore, stakeholder theory is used as a framework to strengthen the sociological arguments. Results: The research showed that environmental discourse is on the rise in Iceland and that environmental awareness does reside within all the companies that participated in this research. However, environmental policies within the companies were uncommon, and self-evaluation of their own adverse impact on the environment as well as the impact of plastic on the environment was nonexistent. Appropriate actions and changes in packages used have not been established amongst the companies, and plastic packaging materials are still dominant due to convenience, cost and physical qualities of the material. Conclusion: Amongst several companies within the food-retailer market in Iceland there is lack of proactive effort to increase the usage of more environmentally friendly packaging materials. Furthermore, almost none of them had a clear policy on their corporate responsibility in matters of environmental issues and solutions.