EXCLUSIVE: Blu outlines sustainability challenge

Imperial-owned vape brand Blu has outlined the efforts it is making to ensure its products are as sustainable as possible and that further steps are taken in the future.

The company says it has completed full Lifecycle Assessments for its myblu devices, pods and packaging. This widely-recognised ‘cradle to grave’ assessment is a cornerstone of sustainable manufacturing, allowing businesses to understand and mitigate the overall impact of their products

Duncan Cunningham, corporate affairs director at Imperial and Blu said: “This has enabled us to build a real-time comparative tool based on the LCA data model to ensure we can evaluate future roadmap choices and reduce our environmental impact. Reducing single-use plastics is a key area of this on-going work.”

Privately, senior industry figures have pointed to sustainability and recycling as one of the major challenges facing an industry whose capacity for public good (by reducing smoking rates) is otherwise significant.

Cunningham said: “The Lifecycle Assessment has highlighted areas in our vape business which we will continue to focus on. These include longer term initiatives around material choices and product design to improve recyclability, as well as looking at changes to supply chain logistics and the use of renewable energy in our manufacturing processes, and reducing packaging waste.”

The company already provides on-pack advice to consumers of how to responsibly dispose of products “in line with EU WEEE Directive governing electronic waste”.

Vape Business contacted other major vape manufacturers for this story.