STG moves to sustainable packaging

As the aerospace sector strives towards greater sustainability, there will need to be some significant strides to hit net zero by 2050. However, no less important are the myriad of smaller steps that feed into the bigger picture. One such element is packaging.
We spoke to Junior Product Design Engineer Ryan Vincent who led STG Aerospace’s journey towards sustainable packaging for the firm’s emergency floor path marking product range.
Eco packaging for an eco product
Towards the end of 2023, whilst in the final stages of testing the world’s first sustainable floor path marking system saf-Tglo® eco E1™, STG’s experts looked closely at every aspect of its sustainability credentials, including a review of its packaging. Whilst the packaging needed to protect the integrity of the product as it is shipped globally, we quickly realised that our current packaging didn’t match the ethos of our new eco product and it became a priority to explore a more sustainable solution.
Ryan explains: “A review of our existing packaging solution for our floor path marking range showed that it had quite a negative environmental impact. The packaging came in the form of long, heavy cylindrical tubes, made of cardboard reinforced with a layer of plastic and with plastic end caps. The tubes had a large diameter and, when empty, weighed around 7kg or 8kg. I was assigned to lead a project to research an alternative, more sustainable solution, that still was robust enough to keep our products safe and secure.”
Size matters
Using oversized packaging is heavier, requires more filler materials and takes up more space in transit, all of which come with a higher environmental footprint and cost. STG’s packaging solution also needed to be more than just sustainable. It needed to be resilient and able to securely hold large quantities of floor path marking, as they are shipped across the world and potentially stored for long periods of time before being installed.
Ryan says: “I did a lot of research into suppliers that specialised in sustainable packaging and found Priory Direct, a certified B Corp planet friendly packaging company based in the UK. Their ethos and sustainability credentials fit perfectly with what we were looking for.
“They came to the STG HQ in Cwmbran to look at our product, understand our supply chain and how we operate. We spent the next few months working through quite a rigorous process alongside Priory Direct to design prototypes and try out several possible solutions, mostly cardboard based, including boxes.
“In the end, we found the most suitable design was the cylindrical shape that we were using before, however, our new supplier was able to produce a bespoke design in a size fully customised to our product, without any use of plastic and with a 4kg weight reduction. This lighter packaging is also much easier to handle and carry, as well as being made of 100% recycled material and 100% recyclable. By removing plastic and using sustainably sourced materials we have reduced the administrative burden around international packaging regulations and the packaging is also certified to international environmental standard ISO 14001.
“Recyclability was important to us, because we cannot control what happens to the packaging once it leaves our warehouse. By ensuring it is 100% recyclable we know that wherever it ends up, even in landfill, it will ultimately break down.
“Whilst this new cylindrical packaging design still takes up quite a lot of space, we’re able to do a rolling order of the amount we expect to use each month, and our supplier also keeps a quantity on site so they have it manufactured and ready on demand, if we need more in a short space of time. This way we’re not storing large volumes of packaging that we won’t need for many months but are still shipping in bulk which is better in terms of carbon footprint.”
Due to the similar size dimensions of all the floor path marking products, the packaging solution has been adopted for STG’s entire photoluminescent floor path marking range.
A steep learning curve
For Ryan, the project was the first that he led from start to finish at STG, not long after joining the firm’s Research & Development team as a Graduate Design Engineer last year.
He says: “I started the project about six months after joining STG and it took about six months to complete. It was a big learning curve and a nice transition project for me, from my graduate role into my new Junior Product Design role.
Ryan talks more about his experience of joining STG straight after completing his Master in Science (MSc) degree in Product Design in an STG Bright Lights.