Eliminate Polystyrene Foam Packaging for Large TVs Using enviromentally concious biodegradable biopolymer

Members, their roles, and reason for cooperation

- Sony Corporation, Sony Global Manufacturing & Operations Corporation: Design of cushioning material for large TVs using new materials, conducting packaging simulations and reliability evaluation tests, and developing marketing plans.

- Kaneka Corporation: Research and development of Kaneka's biodegradable bio-polymer, Green Planet, for foam bodies, and manufacturing of raw materials.

- Kaneka Foam Plastics Corporation: Mold design for cushioning material made from Kaneka's biodegradable bio-polymer, Green Planet, and manufacturing of cushioning materials (molding).

Time started (or to be started)

Apr. 2024

Technology and business model

Sony has been transitioning from plastic packaging to paper packaging for small products. For larger and heavier products like TVs, polystyrene foam has remained the primary cushioning material due to it robust resistance during transportation.

Now, Sony has started to transition from polystyrene foam to Kaneka Green Planet, a biomass-derived biodegradable biopolymer made by Kaneka Corporation.

This material is derived from biomass and contributes to the reduction of petroleum-based plastics. And this material has biodegradability in a variety of environments, decomposing and returning to CO2 and water not only in soil but also in seawater, thereby contributing to solving the problem of environmental pollution caused by plastic.

To implement, Sony optimized the mold structure and cushioning design to align with this new material which differs from polystyrene. This adjustment maintains the necessary impact resistance and productivity.

Achievements and goals

Reduced foam polystyrene usage per TV by 1.98kg compared to the conventional model.

Reference URL

https://www.sony.co.jp/corporate/information/news/202404/24-013/