Packaging EPR Data: 5 Key Hidden Opportunities
Across the globe, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws are reshaping how companies handle packaging. These regulations compel producers to gather, organize, and report detailed information about the packaging that accompanies their products.
Let’s be honest—collecting packaging data for EPR compliance can be a long, cumbersome process. It often demands months of coordination, cross-department input, and attention to detail. But while compliance itself isn’t optional, how you use that data afterward is entirely up to you.
From Compliance Burden to Strategic Asset
Once collected, your packaging data can do far more than sit idly in spreadsheets. Treated well, it can:
- Reveal opportunities for cost savings and efficiency.
- Showcase your company’s sustainability progress.
- Strengthen investor and consumer trust.
- Prepare your team for future policy shifts.
Think of your packaging data as a battery. Fully charged, its energy can power improvement across your organization.
But here’s a crucial point: the data must be accurate, complete, and “healthy.” Decisions based on bad data lead to poor choices, and regulators are raising the bar for data quality and accountability.
Not sure whether your dataset is reliable? You can explore RLG’s Packaging Data Health Assessment Guide to benchmark your data accuracy.
Once you’re confident in the reliability of your data, here are five strategic ways to transform packaging data into lasting business value.
1. Analyze Data to Cut Costs
Through eco-modulation policies, sustainable packaging can dramatically reduce EPR fees. Even minor changes, such as a few grams of packaging removed from a single product sold across multiple regulated states, can lead to thousands in savings.
Use data tools, like RLG’s Data Insight Platform, to:
- Identify the packaging types driving the highest fees.
- Drill down into product-level details for cost-heavy components.
- Benchmark packaging design against millions of SKUs to find the most efficient design solutions.
Regardless of whether your company builds an internal system or partners with a vendor like RLG, your data tools must be capable of filtering and analyzing information efficiently. That’s the key to turning compliance data into cost-saving intelligence.
2. Use Data to Strengthen Sustainability Messaging
Some brands “greenhush,” meaning that they understate their environmental progress out of fear of being criticized. But transparent, verified data can help your business confidently communicate real progress.
Reliable packaging data supports:
- Substantiating claims about reduced materials and circularity.
- Building credibility during audits or external reviews.
- Demonstrating accountability to regulators and customers alike.
With the right information in hand, your sustainability story becomes both measurable and trustworthy.
3. Integrate Packaging Data Into Broader Compliance
EPR compliance is just one tile in a growing mosaic of environmental reporting. Packaging data, as well as the systems and processes that support its management, when reliable and well-optimized, can easily expand to support other requirements, such as:
- PFAS reporting
- Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content disclosures
The key insight? Today’s EPR data systems are a foundation, not a finish line. Ensuring flexibility today prepares your organization for future regulations and streamlined reporting across the board.
4. Drive Waste Reduction Through Insights
Smarter data leads to smarter design. By comparing product weights, materials, and regional impacts, companies can refine their packaging to use fewer resources, reducing both waste and emissions.
Remember: efficient packaging design balances durability, aesthetics, and minimalism.
Data-guided strategies allow you to pursue all three, while reducing resource use without guesswork.
Takeaway: Every gram you save today helps safeguard the future—of your business, of community, and of the planet.
5. Strengthen Investor and Stakeholder Trust
Investors, consumers, and partners now expect credible evidence of environmental responsibility. Comprehensive packaging data provides:
- Not promises but a solid proof of your circular economy goals.
- A clear narrative about progress and accountability.
- Opportunities to differentiate your brand in the market.
Ask yourself: What story does your packaging data tell, and what story could it tell if fully optimized?
Enhancing Data Accuracy
Using inaccurate data to guide corporate strategy is like constructing a building with uneven bricks—it’s bound to lean. But how can the quality of the data be improved?
- Schedule regular internal audits (e.g., component checks and weight verification).
- Employ third-party benchmarking, for instance, through RLG’s 66 million+ SKU database.
- Implement automated data validation within your reporting systems.
Whether you collect data manually or through digital tools, a consistent quality-assurance process is non-negotiable.
The Road Ahead
With more U.S. states and global regulators adopting EPR laws, packaging data will only grow in importance. Those who refine and leverage this data now will face smoother compliance transitions—and unlock powerful opportunities along the way.
EPR compliance may be complex—but with the right tools and approach, it can become an engine for smarter design, clearer communication, and real financial return.
Book a confidential, fifteen-minute discovery call with our experts to your organization’s packaging data can be turned into a strategic advantage.
Where there’s EPR, there’s RLG.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Laws are subject to interpretation and change without notice, so always consult with professional advisors and refer to primary sources. Content is accurate as of publication date but may not be regularly updated.
