What does photovoltaic investment tax credits have to do with greener packaging?
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sean sabre
Hello All
So, what do photovoltaic investment tax credits have to do with greener packaging? Well, quite a bit. If you have been using the Wal-Mart scorecard you will have noticed that ever since the beta there has been a question regarding the use of renewable energy. While everyone has placed a considerable emphasis on biopolymers, recycled content and recovery (very important topics) I haven't seen a lot of dialogue on renewable energy.
Photovoltaic (solar), wind and geothermal investment tax credits have been around for a while. Unfortunately a lot of firms either aren't aware of existing and pending legislation along this front or they feel a realistic ROI is beyond reach.
Believe it or not there are heavy incentives out there for material OEM’s, converters and co-packers to harvest up to 30% state credit and 35% federal credit for renewable energy system investments. There is also a slew of state and federal legislation pending to modify the feedback rate a firm can get for selling renewable energy back to their local grid which could bring 50-100% premiums on their buy rate. These fiscal incentives can yield an ROI of <3years in some cases.
What is really interesting is the legislation on the books that would shift from tax credits to grants and pushing the energy conglomerates to increase the % of renewable energy they procure from its base.
We are coaching our packaging suppliers on what incentives are available and asking them to consider the sustainability benefits in addition to vetting system investments around the globe within our own footprint. Are you building a knowledge competency within your firm regarding the viability of renewable energy investments to communicate to your suppliers?
Regardless of whether you subscribe to the 7 R's concept or the SPC definition of sustainable packaging, a sincere approach to renewable energy within your facility or your supply base is and has always been there.
Maybe it's time we build a dialogue on best practices regarding learning about and promoting renewable energy within the packaging community.
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