Green research into CD packaging.

Environmental group Julie's Bicycle is about to undertake another major research project to help cut back the industry's carbon emissions.

The new study will focus on the carbon emissions profiles of different types of CD packaging.

Director Al Tickell says there are basically three types of CD packaging - the jewel case, digipak and card - and the research study needs to identify the range of manufacturing processes. She adds that the remit will also examine what is being done in the sector that is innovative and also which processes take environmental impacts into account.

Tickell and a team from the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University will be approaching leading manufacturers across Europe and the UK, including AGI, Transcontinental Group, JakeBox, Key Solutions, Pozzoli, Topac, Arvato and Key Production, in a bid to find out more about the production process.

The area of research, which was highlighted as an area of "potential concern" in April's Greenhouse Gas Emissions report, will focus initially on a 20-point packaging survey asking a number of questions from manufacturers, ranging from turnover to the type of environmental accreditations gained or being worked for.

It also considers which packaging formats manufacturers consider as environmentally friendly and how they compare against the current products on offer.

"CD packaging emissions are not too high, but we want to find out a lot more about them," says ...