Today?s post is by Mark Davis; Sr. Vice President of Operations and CTO at SafeSourcing.?

Recently GreenBlue, a nonprofit organization that helps organizations develop more sustainable products and packaging released their ?Guidelines for Recycled Content in Paper and Paperboard Packaging? report which outlines the best ways to use recycled content in over 20 types of packaging.

This 31 page report delivers technical details and cost related information to help companies make the best decisions possible for their packaging strategy and is one of the areas we will be touching on today in discussing the types of tools and resources companies have to make their recycled packaging decisions.

The Consultants ? Independent consulting groups such as GreenBlue were created to help organizations develop stronger recycled packaging decisions that meet the ?Green? needs of the company without negatively affecting the company?s bottom-line.? Organizations like these can meet one-on-one with your company to discuss your strategy but they can also provide valuable publications and events that are equally valuable to your company to help you make recycled packaging decisions.

Existing Partners ? You may not know it but you are likely partnering today with companies like SafeSourcing that can provide you additional assistance in finding vendors that can either improve the packaging you are using today or can help you find vendors who excel in providing products with industry-recognized recycled packaging.? Your eProcurement partners should be able to provide you with a good clear picture of the best companies to be doing with when looking at these criteria.

Organizations? Government and standards organizations are terrific sources of information and current trends.? New trends such as the one where dairy-based films as opposed to petroleum based packaging are just one of the emerging trends that organizations such as the Agricultural Research Service ( an in-house research agency of the U.S Department of Agriculture) can provide, but there is much more.? Almost all of these organizations have certifications and standards that they offer companies and will generally make the companies that have earned these available so that you know which companies are taking the steps to be ?greener? in what they do.? These same certifications may also be something that your company may be interested in pursuing and marketing as well.

For more information on finding vendors or organizations who can help you become an industry-leading recycled packaging company, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative.??

We look forward to your comments.