Evaluating Returnable Packaging Systems for Sustainable Electronic Commerce Supply Chains

电子商务(e-Commerce)在加拿大发展迅速。在环境可持续性方面，电子商务中使用的大量包装材料一直是零售业的一个关键问题。环境可持续包装可以通过改进包装材料、结构和系统来实现。包装管理系统(例如，一次性处理包装系统和可回收包装系统)对于目标供应链应该是高效有效的。可重复使用/可回收的包装系统被用作许多行业，例如食品杂货和汽车行业，作为可持续的选择(Twede和Clarke 2004)。在过去的五年里，一些初创公司开发了商业模式，为电子商务零售商提供和管理可退货的包装系统。在他们的商业模式中，当最终消费者将可重复使用的包装退还给供应商或零售商时，他们可以从供应商那里获得奖励或折扣。这些商业模式表明，将可退货包装系统更频繁地应用于电子商务零售是可能的。许多研究报告说，与消耗性包装系统相比，可重复使用/可回收包装系统获得了更多的环境效益。然而，关于电子商务零售中的可回收包装系统在环境可持续性方面的信息很少。此外，目前缺乏关于加拿大电子商务供应链分销环境的知识(例如，关于冲击、振动、温度和湿度)。包装设计师和工程师可能会在没有关于分销环境的必要科学数据的情况下为电子商务市场制造过多的包装(Kipp 2008)。数据的缺乏导致了电子商务包装设计框架的缺失。信息的缺乏意味着现在是探索电子商务供应链中的包装设计和系统并减少其对环境的负面影响的合适时机。因此，这项建议的主要目标是：a)使用生命周期评估，调查用作加拿大电子商务零售供应链一部分的可回收/可重复使用包装系统的环境可持续性，b)进行实地研究，以识别和测量电子商务供应链中分销环境中的危险(例如，震动和振动)，以及c)为加拿大的电子商务分销制定装运前包装测试协议

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has being rapidly growing in Canada. The larger amount of packaging materials used in e-commerce has been a critical issue in the retail industry in terms of environmental sustainability. Environmentally sustainable packaging can be achieved by improving packaging materials, structures, and systems. Packaging management systems (e.g., the single-use disposal packaging system and the returnable packaging system) should be efficient and effective for targeted supply chains. Reusable/returnable packaging systems are used in many industries, such as the grocery and automotive industries, as sustainable options (Twede and Clarke 2004). Within the last five years, some start-up companies have developed business models to supply and manage returnable packaging systems for e-commerce retailers. In their business models, the end consumers can get rewards or discounts from the providers when they return the reusable packaging to the provider or retailer. These business models show that it is possible to apply returnable packaging systems more often to e-commerce retail. Many studies have reported that reusable/returnable packaging systems reap many more environmental benefits compared to expendable packaging systems. However, there is little information available on returnable packaging systems in e-commerce retail in terms of environmental sustainability. Moreover, there is currently a lack of knowledge about e-commerce supply chain distribution environments in Canada (e.g., concerning shock, vibration, temperature, and humidity). Packaging designers and engineers may create excess packaging for the e-commerce market without having the necessary scientific data about the distribution environment (Kipp 2008). The absence of data has led to the absence of a packaging design framework for e-commerce. The lack of information means this is the right time to explore packaging design and systems in e-commerce supply chains and reduce their negative environmental impact. The key objectives of this proposal therefore are: a) investigating the environmental sustainability of returnable/reusable packaging systems used as part of e-commerce retail supply chains in Canada using life cycle assessments, b) executing field studies to identify and measure hazards (e.g., shock and vibration) in distribution environments in e-commerce supply chains, and c) develop preshipment packaging test protocols for e-commerce distribution in Canada