DS Smith partners with Carlsberg Poland on carbon-reducing multipacks

27 Jun 2024 --- DS Smith has partnered with Carlsberg in Poland to introduce DS Smith Round Wrap to selected product lines.

DS Smith Round Wrap is a multipack packaging solution that rounds corners, designed to reduce CO2 emissions when compared to standard corrugated multipacks. The product solution is fully recyclable and the curved corners work to reduce the use of shrink film on the pallet.

The solution is anticipated to save up to 224 metric tons of CO2 annually for Carlsberg, Poland. This “simple but innovative” new shape helps to protect the corners of the packaging solution and keep them intact during transportation.

“This sustainable packaging innovation was developed using our Circular Design Metrics, offering durability, supply chain advantages and branding opportunities,” says Reinier Schlatmann, regional managing director, Packaging Division, East Europe, DS Smith.

“This is aligned with our company wide commitment to Redefining Packaging for a Changing World and our Now & Next Sustainability strategy and mission as we help our customers to design out waste and move toward a circular economy.”

Rounding up branding opportunities
The rounded shape of DS Smith Round Wrap packaging solutions also has notable additional benefits for Carlsberg Poland in relation to branding and design, highlights the supplier. 

There are opportunities to place brand identity and illustrations on the rounded corners and across the entire 360-degree side surface of the packs.

The DS Smith design team used DS Smith’s “unique” Circular Design Metrics tools to measure the impact of the new packaging solution.

The process involves the use of eight key indicators including carbon footprint, design for reuse, supply chain optimization and materials utilization. The indicators reveal the performance of a packaging design and allow designers to measure its sustainability performance with enhanced accuracy.

DS Smith Round Wrap utilizes Arcwise technology to create its corrugated wrap-around multipack. Last month, the company invested €6 million (US$6.5 million) in its La Chevrolière facility in France, to expand the plant’s production space by 4,000 square meters, responding to the region’s increasing demand for sustainable corrugated cardboard.

International Paper acquired DS Smith for £5.8 billion (US$7.3 billion) last April.

Paper pushes forward
Carlsberg Poland is currently trialing the packaging solution for its Carlsberg, Garage and Somersby beer product ranges.

In other recent activities, DS Smith supported global snacking company Pladis to reduce plastic in its iconic orange Jacob’s Cream Crackers box by 78% while delivering a tamper-proof pack with “impactful branding.”

The fiber-based specialist announced in May that it has replaced more than one billion pieces of plastic in partnership with major FMCG brands. Plastic items that have been replaced include fruit and vegetable punnets, plastic carriers and shrink-wrap on soft drink bottles.