Helping purchasers and account managers understand the benefits and tradeoffs between food packaging choices

For the Understanding Packaging (UP) Scorecard, we plan and implement the Scorecard’s LCA modeling, and we also manage development and maintenance of the calculation architecture.

The UP Scorecard includes 6 metrics. Three are quantitative life cycle indicators - Climate impact, Water use, and Plastic pollution. The other three metrics are qualitative - Chemicals of Concern, Sustainable Sourcing, and Chemicals of Concern.

This mix of quantitative and qualitative metrics add a level of breadth that is missing from many online environmental calculators. However, it also presents challenges to maintaining harmonization between the LCA model and the other user-adjustable parameters within the Scorecard. Our technical capabilities allowed the definition of a building-block LCA model with ~800 pre-defined activities that are combined in different amounts and proportions to make a medium-complexity life cycle model of each product.

Since the Scorecard considers both the product, and the circumstances under which it is used and disposed of or recovered, the LCA model is dynamic to adjust, based on recycled content, availability of local recycling or composting infrastructure, amount of plastic leakage, and many other parameters.

In version 1.0, we updated the background data, added materials, and enhanced the capability to compare different portfolios of products.

The UP Scorecard is is free to use, and is managed by the Food Packaging Forum. Version 1.0 was released in 2025. It gives you the ability to compare individual products, to rate portfolios of products, or to provide a benchmark against which to compare past performance with future possibilities.