Driven by its corporate objectives to offer products that are better for the environment along their value chain, the Swiss multinational Nestlé also uses bespoke software tools for product and packaging design. Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Development and Introduction (EcodEX) tool facilitates the rapid assessment of the environmental performance of products in the design process, helping fact-based decision-making.
EcodEX evaluates five environmental impact indicators, representative of the food and beverage sector:
- greenhouse gas emissions,
- land use,
- freshwater consumption,
- abiotic depletion
- ecosystems quality.
Developed in conjunction with the Italian information technology company Selerant, the tool allows different scenarios to be compared using accurate data specific to the food and beverage industry and according to methodological guidelines following ISO requirements and the latest initiatives in the field of life cycle assessment.
Typical examples of its use might be:
- assessing the environmental impacts of switching the packaging used for instant coffee from glass jars to pouches,
- ingredient sourcing,
- source reduction of packaging materials
- end of life options available for packaging materials.
Although initially only focusing on packaging (using the PIQET – Packaging Impact Quick Evaluation Tool), since 2012 eco-design has been extended to assessing the impacts of the whole packed food product (using the EcodEX tool). Scenarios take into account every stage of the product’s supply chain from raw material production, product manufacturing to transportation, distribution and storage, and consumption up to disposal at end of life. According to Nestlé, almost every single product category has been assessed using eco-design tools during ‘innovation or renovation’ exercises.