How does sustainable innovation become a success story?
The answer lies in a study that CONAI commissioned to the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, with the aim of investigating how an idea of packaging innovation is conceived and developed. To this end, a number of winning companies of the Conai Competitions between 2019 and 2022 – Eurovetrocap spa, Fiorini International spa, Henkel Italia Operations srl, Manetti&Roberts, Venegoni srl - were selected, on the basis of the material treated, the market sector and the ecodesign levers activated. Following the case histories published in issues no. 10 and 11/12 2024 of ItaliaImballaggio, we are now offering the cases of Henkel Italia Operations srl and Venegoni srl.
Case study n.4
Venegoni Srl (Fanti Group) - 99x55 tin for butter. Winner of the 2021 edition
Venegoni Srl, part of the Fanti Group since 2018, is specialised in the production of cans for the food & beverage sector. Its activity integrates synergically into the group’s core business, mainly focused on the “metal packaging segment” (tins for paints and similar) intended for the chemical industry. Over the decades, the company has constantly grown through international expansion and the acquisition of different businesses that have contributed to consolidating its position in the market. Today Fanti is present in over 50 countries and more than half its turnover comes from exports.
Conception and work model
The 95x55 tin developed by Venegoni for clarified butter is aimed at significantly reducing production costs through sustainable practices and measures.
In the case in question, the thickness of the 250-gram tin was reduced, taking action both on the tin body and on the seamed easy-open, lightening the weight by 13% with a consequent saving in raw material.
In parallel there was an improvement in logistics for the transport of the product through a review of the palletising system: a new configuration that made it possible to increase the load for each pallet by a tier of tins, reducing in this way the number of lorries necessary for each shipment.
Development of the innovation
The efficiency-improving process is normally pursued by the company on all fronts on all products, intervening on the thickness of the body and of the bottom, or both, using a ribbing system to give greater resistance to the tin following the reduction of its thickness.
The greatest difficulty in implementing the innovation lies in the regulation of the machines for the seaming of thinner thicknesses. It becomes necessary, therefore, at the time of purchase, to have new production lines or to replace obsolete machines, taking account of tolerance ranges for seaming also tins with thinner sheet metal.
Communicating sustainability: few words and many facts
The Fanti Group’s point of strength lies in its capacity to innovate and make products and processes more efficient, automatically developing a less impacting and therefore more sustainable product. The saving and efficiency-improving criteria that guide the Group’s strategy, paradoxically, are implemented in interventions that reduce overall environmental impact (an example is the installation of solar panels to reduce costs linked to the procurement of electricity). The driver is not just the reduction of CO2 or the need to transmit a certain image of the Fanti Group to a series of stakeholders, but rather, an increase in the Group’s efficiency and profit margins. Strategies are under way to “communicate sustainability” in a structured way, such as organising the ESG context inside the organisation chart of the AFC department as a consequence of the 2022/2464 European Directive that establishes the requirement for a sustainability report.
Conclusions
In the future, the Group aims to continue its efficiency-improving path and develop increasingly thin and light packaging without compromising on mechanical resistance standards. The constant search for improvement makes it a “silent” operator but at the same time at the cutting-edge in the packaging sector.
Case study no.5
MANETTI&ROBERTS – BOROTALCO AND NEUTRO ROBERTS DEODORANT SPRAY IN 150 ML CANS. WINNER OF THE 2019 EDITION
MANETTI&ROBERTS belongs to the Home and Personal Care division of Bolton Group which also includes the Food, Tuna Supply, Adhesives, Beauty Care B.U.s and the Bolton International Division. The company operates in over 150 countries with over 60 brands distributed and around 11 thousand employees. Bolton Group’s strategy for promoting a circular economy is based on three pillars: developing more sustainable formulas, implementing more sustainable packaging, and ensuring a responsible waste management.
Conception and work model
The Borotalco and Neutro Roberts deodorant spray in 150ml cans was awarded by CONAI for the lower quantity of aluminium used in making the packaging and forms part of the Group’s For Nature strategy oriented towards reducing resources and the environmental impact of packaging. The company has, in fact, replaced aluminium packaging with a solution which is 13% lighter using a bottle with 15 bar resistance instead of 18 bars.
Development of innovation
The key passages of the process for the development of the new packaging were conception, research, prototyping and implementation.
The first step involved extensive brainstorming which led to the decision to reduce the weight of the spray cans and the subsequent search for a supplier with which to study possible solutions.
The prototypes were then developed and used for laboratory characterizations as well as for tests on consumers.
The last phase, that of industrialisation, was characterised by a gradual scale-up process: from validation tests on production lines of the new spray can and the new refilling process, to the launch on the national and international markets.
In the case of the deodorant spray, most interactions occurred in the production part because, in reducing the weight of the spray cans, it was necessary to manage the impact on the production lines, including problems linked to any damage of the spray cans during the refilling, handling and de-palletising phases.
The contribution of the R&D department was equally fundamental for validating the new packaging with respect to the previous one, especially in consideration of the lower pressure of the LPG.
Commitment to sustainability
The sustainable development team of the Home and Personal business unit works in close contact with all the other departments to guarantee that sustainability is integrated into day-to-day work and in the Group’s value chains. Actions on the theme are taken on specific priority areas, defining objectives, innovation trajectories, forming strategic partnerships and collaborations. In a group logic, commitment is oriented towards a circular economy model in order to slow down the use of natural resources, reduce the alteration of ecosystems and contribute to limiting the loss of biodiversity and pollution from waste, besides lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Bolton Group’s strategy for promoting a circular economy us based on three guidelines: developing more sustainable formulas, implementing more sustainable packaging and ensuring a responsible management of waste.
Communication and marketing
The innovation applied to the Borotalco and Neutro Roberts deodorant spray cans was the subject of a product claim directed to consumers.
Lorenzo Bionda, Global Category Marketing Director for Personal Care in Manetti & Roberts: “We are moving towards more advanced frontiers that we believe are more important for the consumer, such as the search for supplies of 100% recycled aluminium”.
Conclusions
The innovation applied to the Neutro Roberts and Borotalco deodorant spray cans is therefore the result of Bolton Group’s commitment to sustainability and the objectives established for the company’s sustainable development strategy. The innovation process was carried forward thanks to the fruitful collaboration with suppliers and between the different company departments that ensured that all the challenges were overcome. The prize awarded by CONAI for Prevention derives from the resulting savings of raw materials which, in turn, allowed for savings in water, energy and climate-altering emissions.
