DELL AND ITS SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

Dell is leading the way with sustainable materials and innovative processes for their packaging

Dell and its sustainable packaging – Dell is ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing sustainable initiatives across all aspects of its business, including its product packaging. In 2017, they updated their Legacy of Good Plan, announcing that they successfully hit their goal of 50 million pounds of eco-friendly materials built into Dell products. 

Since then, they have experimented with product packaging made from bamboo, mushroom, and ocean plastic resources. Dell’s new goal is to achieve 100% sustainable, waste-free packaging by 2020. And they’re well on their way. 

First off the mark

In December 2008, Dell Computers paved the way with sustainable packaging made from bamboo for their mobile electronics. Bamboo is durable and fast-growing, which make it an ideal resource for packaging: recyclable, reusable, and renewable. “The use of bamboo for electronics packaging is pretty new,” Oliver Campbell, Dell’s Senior Manager of Packaging explains to Packaging Digest, “but it’s viability as a great packaging material can’t be ignored.”

More than a decade ago, Dell began shipping Inspiron Mini 10 and Mini 10v netbook products in sustainably sourced packaging using renewable materials and environmentally sound practices. By 2012 Dell successfully replaced Styrofoam and unsustainable packaging materials with bamboo for two-thirds of all of their portable devices. From then on, the major electronics company remained at the forefront of business sustainability, pioneering several innovative, eco-friendly packaging materials for their products.

The importance of innovation 

Dell Computers turned to innovation to improve their sustainability and advance their solutions for the future. They emphasize the “3 C’s of Packaging Design”: the Cube, the Content, and the Curb. The Cube relates to the idea of reducing the volumetric size of their packaging, enhancing its efficiency and cutting down waste. Dell also focuses on the content, or the material itself, ensuring that all of their packaging designs utilize environmentally friendly and sustainably sourced materials. Lastly, the computer giant emphasizes the Curb, ensuring that their packaging solutions are curbside recyclable and as easy as possible for consumers to dispose of sustainably.

It is important to constantly look to the future for new and better solutions capable of improving sustainability and competing in the modern marketplace. In addition to using bamboo packaging, Dell turned to mushroom-based packaging materials as sustainable alternatives to traditional methodologies. 

“By injecting mushroom spores into a mold with agricultural wastes for a food source, [Dell] is actually growing cushions that serve as an organic, compostable alternative to foams for certain larger shipments.” The Dell PowerEdge R710 server became the first product shipped with packaging powered by mushrooms. Dell expanded its usage of mycelium packaging technology to most of its heavier products, mainly servers and desktops – with bamboo protecting their lighter items.

Clean the planet as you ship

Dell’s most recent commitment to sustainability includes a goal to clean and protect ocean resources. They created a “commercial-scale global ocean-bound plastics supply chain,” designed to recover plastics from beaches, streams, and coastland and utilize them for product packaging. The project started with packaging for the XPS 13 2-in-1 laptop, which right off the bat prevented an estimated 16,000 pounds of plastics from flowing into the ocean. 

Their goal is to design a packaging system that simultaneously assists in environmental preservation while providing a sustainable packaging solution. Dell stresses the importance of establishing green processes, designing and sourcing packaging that is “more than 93 percent recyclable by weight so that it can be reused as part of the circular economy.” 

The sustainability mission 

Some companies dabble with sustainability, announcing sustainability initiatives and presenting eco-friendly side projects. Then there are companies that reposition their core values and mission to include a deeper commitment to the environment. They take the time and allocate the resources to truly become a catalyst for positive environmental change. For any company looking to improve its sustainability, the first step is to reduce the environmental impact of its packaging. 

EPE USA helps companies achieve a substantially lower environmental impact by enhancing their packaging solutions with better materials and sustainable processes. EPE, like Dell,  emphasizes the circular economy and has successfully established closed-loop ecosystems in which we recover and reuse all materials within a supply chain. No matter the product size or fragility, our packaging solutions and global positioning allow for circular, sustainable packaging solutions that eliminate packaging waste. 

Our optimized solutions replace unsustainable materials with reusable and 100% curbside recyclable solutions, eliminating waste from the transit process. We design solutions that allow companies to boost their sustainability and future-proof their packaging. 

Talk to one of our packaging professionals today about improving your product packaging with better, more sustainable materials.

 

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