COMPASS (Comparative Packaging Assessment)
Developed by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition at the request of member firms, COMPASS is described on their About page as follows:
“An online software tool for packaging designers and engineers to assess the human and environmental impacts of up to four package designs side-by-side...based on metrics such as fossil fuel consumption, water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, [resource consumption, emissions and attributes such as material health, recycled or virgin content, sourcing and solid waste], and human and aquatic toxicity. Visit the FAQ page for more information…Its development was inspired by MERGE™, a software tool created by Environmental Defense Fund in the 1990s. Learn more about the project’s history…[It] uses production-weighted, industry average data in its calculations. For this reason, it is best used as a guidance tool or industry benchmark to ask “what if” questions - not to calculate definitive answers or substantiate marketing claims…The reporting metrics within COMPASS include both life cycle metrics and packaging attributes. The set of metrics was developed through a stakeholder process [including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency], using the SPC Definition of Sustainable Packaging and ISO 14044 to guide the process.”
Additional Content in brackets [ ] above come from this Packaging Digest article, from which I’ll lastly quote:
“There are an average of 1,500 different links between systems for any given industrial production activity, meaning that no industry is an island, and that activities in one area affect all connections. This inter-relatedness of systems makes a case for understanding environmental trade-offs tied to different material selections in packaging design.”
