Bio-plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) have been investigated as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. In this study, the carbon footprint of packaging films made from LDPE, PLA, and PLA/PBAT blends was measured with three different waste scenarios based on the database of South Korea using life cycle assessment (LCA). The LCA followed ISO standards, and was a cradle-to-grave analysis. The functional unit was defined as 400,000 pieces of a film of 300 × 250 mm with thickness of 0.06 mm for packaging bag manufacturing. The waste treatments considered were incineration, landfill, and recycling applied with the present conditions of South Korea. Under the present analysis conditions, the PLA film with landfill was the most effective for reducing carbon emission. The PLA/PBAT with incineration was the worst case among the packaging films tested. Incineration was the worst choice of waste treatment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. Generally, landfill may not be the best option in terms of sustainability but landfill was a better option for waste treatment than incineration. In addition, before bio-plastics are blended with other material, the blending material should first be evaluated for its environmental impact. The blended bio-plastics with PLA, such as PLA/PBAT, can be more inimical to the environment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions than existing materials, such as LDPE.

This study examines UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) delivery services using metropolitan subway tracks in South Korea. The aim of the study is to enhance the usefulness of UAV delivery services in urban areas, evaluating what kinds of UAVs are more environment friendly than freight trains, with regard to particulate matter emissions and global warming potential. Under evaluation conditions, freight train delivery was a significantly better alternative in terms of particulate matter emissions, regardless of the size and energy source of the UAVs. However, despite freight trains being a well-known eco-friendly mode of transportation, it can be seen from this study that small UAVs satisfied a few conditions that could potentially provide a good transportation alternative, with low global warming potential. This paper provides important insights into the comparison of UAVs and freight trains with regard to carbon and particulate matter emissions, highlighting the implications that, in some situations, UAVs can be a feasible alternative for policymakers who prepare policy measures of an activation plan for UAM (urban air mobility).

With the growing participation by diverse stakeholders in the total flow of products, as seen with supply chains and logistics, it is becoming increasingly complicated to decide what information is to be shared and who is to be a partner. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of packaging as an offline method to share information in the total channel. This is because packaging improves communication among stakeholders and is normally part of the first contact between them and the product. Thus, it has the strategic potential to share product information that meets stakeholders’ needs. To accomplish this objective, we built a research framework that depicts four hypotheses and tested it with structural equation modeling (SEM). Data were collected by surveys and measured for statistical analysis. After identifying the role of packaging, we showed nine specific related variables and the information’s perceived effects on stakeholders and their directions and relative values. This will help future researchers to discuss packaging’s extended roles, the needs of information separation, and its priority to be shared to help executives develop packaging strategies as an offline means to share information. Additionally, as packaging is considered to be an information generator, it gives participants the opportunity to extend its roles and to assign additional information to the product along the offline flow of goods from manufacturers to end users.