A new non-profit packaging data sharing platform, GING, launches today. Its cloud-based software aims to enable users to store and share data on packaging along their supply chains in a fast, user-friendly and secure way.
It is built around the free-to-use Open 3P data standard for the packaging sector, launched earlier this year.
Both solutions have been developed with a consortium of industry partners, input from over 100 packaging sector stakeholders and funding from UK Research & Innovation’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK. The partners involved include Dsposal, Ecosurety, Open Data Manchester, OPRL and RECOUP.
GING enables companies to share accurate, up-to-date, granular packaging data with their supply chains, both domestic and international, in an effort to enable every organization along the chain to easily and quickly access better quality data when it is necessary.
Data flows through the system, from suppliers of packaging materials to the point where the final package formats are marketed. It also facilitates key data flowing back down the chain from retailers and brands and streamlines data sharing with compliance schemes for regulatory purposes.
The new platform comes online at a critical time for the packaging value chain as regulatory frameworks, including extended producer responsibility and the UK Plastic Packaging Tax, impose greater data capture and reporting obligations. But according to the consortium partners involved, it is designed to help with much more than just compliance.
Users of the platform will be able to protect commercially sensitive or proprietary data and will have complete control over what data they share and with whom.
GING will also enable integration with a variety of software and data services, allowing users to make the most of their existing software systems and new innovations without having to manually transfer data, reducing double-entry and associated errors, and streamlining workflows.
A new non-profit entity to run GING has been incorporated. It is a company limited by guarantee with an asset and profit lock and a clearly defined and protected mission statement, overseen by “Mission Guardians” who will report on the company’s performance against its mission and have specific veto powers.
“Mission Guardians” – Paula Chin, Senior Policy Advisor at WWF-UK and Professor Michael Shaver, Director of Sustainable Futures at the University of Manchester, have been appointed to ensure GING’s mission to “improve the quality and availability of packaging data for the entire packaging ecosystem for the benefit of people and the planet…”
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:
L’Oréal’s approach to packaging sustainability
The way we talk about plastic needs to change – here’s how to get it right
What steps is Apple taking to make its packaging more sustainable?
Danone’s approach to packaging sustainability