April 7, 2008 - With Wal-Mart's Packaging Scorecard in effect and tighter U.S. environmental regulations around the corner, some movie studio execs say it's time the industry worked together to develop more resource-efficient, cost-effective packaging for DVDs. At last week's Green Media Summit in Los Angeles, representatives from Disney, Warner Bros, Universal, and Fox, among others, discussed the opportunities and challenges of designing a greener DVD case, Video Business reports.

Execs agreed that the industry's best bets for improving environmental performance include redesigning manufacturing processes for greater energy efficiency, using more recycled-content materials and minimizing packaging, and optimizing product transport by reducing air shipments and sharing shipments to retail outlets.

Unfortunately, execs also agreed that switching to new packaging materials requires expensive retooling of manufacturing processes.

“There should be the development of cross-studio standards to help compare information, because if there are different approaches, that will cost more and take more time,” said Larry Wilk, VP of worldwide operations at Disney.

Bill Sondheim, president of entertainment and worldwide distribution at Gaiam, agreed: “We have taken it on the chin with eco-packaging, and I’m not going to tell you it’s cheaper,” he said. “Let’s get the [Digital Entertainment Group, a DVD trade organization] to help us get to packaging standardization so we can move toward automation. Hand-loading by the thousands is do-able, but it is not fun. Our studio brethren have started embracing experimental packaging, but we need more volume to drive this,” he said.

There's also the issue of competition in a notoriously cut-throat industry, Sondheim pointed out.“The reality is that we talk about combining shipments, but there is some bravery involved in saying 'OK, I’ll put my stuff in with Disney' to limit freight weight. We need to bring these issues to the forefront.”

Studios have a big reason to work together, however: Wal-Mart's Packaging Scorecard, which rewards vendors who package their product more efficiently. Maria Harris, an Environmental Defense Fund project analyst who helped develop the scorecard, said DVD vendors should look for opportunities to innovate because Wal-Mart "will buy more product, feature it in endcaps, and provide more shelf space" if they find greener ways to box their discs. Big box retailers such as Wal-Mart currently account for the bulk of DVD sales.

Today's standard polypropylene Amaray DVD case scores 2.65 out of ten on Wal-Mart's packaging scorecard (a thinner version of the Amaray case earns a 4.25). The best-scoring packaging options are made from paperboard; the Soft Pak, similar to the packaging for Paramount’s An Inconvenient Truth, scores a whopping 9.8.

Currently, greener DVD packaging costs between 40% and 70% more than a standard Amaray DVD case, the studios estimate.

In October, Universal Studios released its DVD of the comedy Evan Almighty in a cardboard sleeve. Lionsgate recently unveiled a new DVD case made from 100% recycled materials.