The BRC/IOP packaging standard is now well-established in its second edition and has been a real success in bringing together the differing demands the large food retailers make on their packaging suppliers both in the UK and overseas. In increasingly litigaceous times, adhering to a well-established packaging hygiene standard is not only good practice, but also makes good business sense.
However things do not stand still, and we at IOP: The Packaging Society and our colleagues at the British Retail Consortium are seeking ways we can further promote the standard and ensure that companies that achieve accreditation receive the recognition they deserve. One way this will be done in the future is through the BRC’s publication of its own directory of certified suppliers. This will feature all businesses that have achieved accreditation for the BRC/IOP global packaging standard (and the BRC’s two other standards for food and consumer products). It will also be available on-line and enable buyers to see at a glance who the certified companies are. Over the years the standard has been in existence, I have been approached on many occasions by companies wanting to source their packaging from certificated suppliers and, when the directory goes live later this year, that information will be easily accessible.
This directory will be very different from our own PackSource Directory and Review (the new edition of which will be available in July) because it contains only the details of those companies that have achieved BRC certification from different industrial sectors and not just packaging.
PackSource will continue to be the only comprehensive packaging directory and along with its review is an essential source of information both for members of IOP: The Packaging Society and the wider packaging community, whilst the role of the BRC’s directory will be to reflect the progress being made by our standard and the others that have been developed by the BRC.
The BRC is an increasingly prominent organisation gaining an international profile. Working together with it we have been able, for the first time, to establish an international standard which is broadly recognised and welcomed not only in food packaging but increasingly in other areas. If you work for a company that is yet to achieve certification and would like more information about the standard and how to achieve recognition, please contact me on: +44 (0)1780 759200 or view our website: www.iop.co.uk
