Sustainable Packaging Challenges: The Role of VOC Gas Analysers

Sustainable packaging development is an increasingly complex challenge — likened by experts to a “whack-a-mole” game — where progress in one area can inadvertently cause issues in another. Packaging manufacturers are under mounting pressure from ESG policies, consumer demand, and new regulations such as the UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) to produce recyclable, reusable, and circular products. However, ensuring sustainability goes beyond waste reduction and material circularity.

VOC Emissions: An Overlooked Hurdle in Packaging Sustainability

During various production processes, packaging materials emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), harmful pollutants regulated due to their environmental and health impacts. Materials like plastics, resins, and adhesives release VOCs during polymerisation, heating, and coating stages—for example, in applying plastic membranes to cardboard packaging.

Continuous VOC monitoring is critical because a product cannot legitimately be labeled sustainable if it leads to increased VOC emissions. Monitoring also assists in controlling industrial abatement technologies such as Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTOs), which oxidize VOCs into harmless substances like CO₂ and water vapor.

Advanced VOC Monitoring Technology by Signal Group

Signal Group, a UK-based gas analyser manufacturer, reports growing industry demand for continuous VOC measurement instruments. Their Flame Ionisation Detector (FID) technology forms the gold standard for VOC detection by selectively measuring carbon-hydrogen bonds typical in VOC emissions.

The company offers fixed FIDs for permanent emission monitoring and portable FIDs for spot checks, with many models certified to stringent European and UK standards (e.g., MCERTS certification, EN 15267 series, and EN 14181). Their flagship SOLAR CEMNEX analyser recently passed rigorous TÜV certification, demonstrating compliance with regulatory performance and uncertainty criteria vital for industrial emissions monitoring.

Balancing Sustainability Metrics

According to James Clements, Managing Director of Signal Group, packaging companies must balance multiple sustainability factors—not only reducing waste but also lowering carbon footprints and avoiding increases in emissions like VOCs. This multifaceted challenge explains the rise in demand for continuous VOC analysers, enabling companies to verify their packaging innovations truly achieve overall sustainability goals without unintended environmental trade-offs.

Industry Insight

A recent McKinsey report echoes this trend, highlighting sustained industry growth and rising interest in piloting sustainable packaging driven by cross-value-chain commitments to reduce material use, enhance circularity, and increase recycled content.

Key Takeaway:
Sustainable packaging is not solely about recyclable materials or waste reduction; it requires holistic environmental performance assessments. VOC emissions are a critical and sometimes underestimated factor. Continuous, regulatory-compliant VOC monitoring through advanced gas analysers like Signal Group’s FID-based systems provides necessary transparency and control, ensuring that new packaging developments deliver genuine sustainability benefits.

Sources:

• Signal Group official statements and product certifications (MCERTS, TÜV)
• McKinsey & Company packaging sector sustainability report, 2025
• UK Environment Agency Guidance on Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS)

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