Software designed to radically reduce the overuse of packaging, has been developed in a pioneering partnership between Macfarlane Packaging, the UK’s largest protective packaging supplier, and Lancaster University.

The software was developed with backing from a UK Government Applied Research Collaborations (ARC) grant and is the backbone of a new Packaging Minimiser service which is available exclusively to Macfarlane customers.

It uses an advanced algorithm to pinpoint exactly where businesses are shipping empty space and using too much packaging, or the wrong kind, in the process. This allows Macfarlane to recommend solutions that cut costs, material weight and carbon emissions in a single move, significantly reducing the amount of time required and enhancing accuracy.

The service is expected to reshape how manufacturers, distributors, third party logistics companies (3PLs) and retailers with multiple packaging needs and high-volume, complex packaging requirements ship their products.

Results from Macfarlane’s Innovation Labs indicate that the company’s Packaging Minimiser service can reduce packaging material use by an average of 15%, cutting empty packaging space and costs. UK packaging producers reported supplying around 6.8 million tonnes of paper, card and plastic packaging in 2024 {Source: National Packaging Waste Database and Reported Packaging Data). Were this reduction to be achieved across that volume, it would represent more than one million tonnes of packaging material avoided.

Deploying this new unique software tackles businesses’ overuse of packaging head-on and helps them minimise the shipping of fresh air. Other benefits include:

• Parcel weight reduction
• Reduced transportation carbon emissions
• Cutting the number of packaging products used
• Packaging that’s easier to store and frees up warehouse space
• Compliance with UK and EU packaging waste regulations, like EPR and PPWR
• Lower overall packaging costs

Dr Jamie Fairbrother, lecturer in operational research (optimisation) at Lancaster University who led the team that created the software, commented: “This software optimises packaging options for dispatching orders which helps businesses reduce their packaging and courier costs, and in turn is good for the environment. Macfarlane Packaging’s extensive expertise in this field will enable them to maximise these benefits for their customers.”

Rachel Fellows, sales director at Macfarlane Packaging, said: “This is a gamechanger for customers shipping at scale. With our new Packaging Minimiser we can now assess their needs in days, not weeks — saving them money, cutting their carbon emissions and helping them to stay compliant with every relevant regulation.”