Mondi reveals greenhouse gas emissions targets as reductions race heats up

02 Mar 2020 --- Global consumer packaging leader Mondi has announced science-based targets to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The supplier will target a 34 percent reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions per metric ton of saleable production by 2025 and 72 percent by 2050, from a 2014 base year. Mondi has also set a 39 percent reduction per megawatt (MWh) goal in scope 2 GHG emissions by 2025, rising to 86 percent by 2050, also from a 2014 base year.

Mondi’s targets have been set in collaboration with WWF’s Climate Savers program and are approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The initiative defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption and independently assesses and approves companies’ targets.

Scope 1 emissions are the total GHG emissions from sources owned or controlled by Mondi and its subsidiaries. This includes CO2e from fossil fuels and processes, company leased or owned vehicles, waste and waste water treatment, make-up chemicals and other GHGs. Scope 2 emissions constitute the total GHG emissions from sources that are related to the generation of purchased energy outside the company boundaries.

Mondi considers the setting of a science-based GHG reduction target as “an important step” in supporting the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 Climate Action.

“The climate crisis is one of the greatest threats facing society and businesses must play a key role in mitigating its impact. Mondi has already made progress – by reducing its specific GHG emissions by 15.5 percent since 2014,” notes Gunilla Saltin, Mondi Group Technical and Sustainability Director and CEO Uncoated Fine Paper.

“In 2019, we decreased our mills’ absolute scope 2 emissions by 21.7 percent through increased self-sufficiency and purchase of renewables compared to 2018. Yet, we recognize that much more needs to be done and Mondi’s new science-based targets are our next step in the move towards a low carbon economy.”

“It is essential that science-based targets become embedded in standard business practice and businesses like Mondi are central to this transition,” adds Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, leader of WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Practice.

Mondi has made strategic energy-related investments across its pulp and paper mills and has invested more than €700 million in modernizing energy plants and improving energy efficiency since 2013. It generates most of its energy in on-site energy plants and its pulp and paper mills are net electricity self-sufficient.Mondi recently partnered with Cartro to bring shelf-life-extending packaging to fresh produce in Mexico.

Mondi is also increasing its use of biomass to reduce its production-specific GHG emissions to levels recommended by climate scientists to keep global warming in line with a 2ºC trajectory.

Combating food waste in Mexico
If food waste was a country, it would be the world’s third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter behind China and the US, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It is an environmental, economic and moral issue of global proportions and one that the UN singled out for special attention in 2015 in its SDGs. The UN’s target is to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains by 2030 (SDG 12.3).

With food waste reduction in mind, Mondi recently partnered with Cartro, a leading provider of corrugated packaging in Mexico, to enter the fresh produce segment with an avocado box that is sustainable by design. The box is strong, sustainable and humidity-resistant, achieving extended produce shelf-life over long-distances. The new packaging also weighs 18 percent less than the existing solution and is completely paraffin-free and recyclable.

“To meet this [food waste] challenge, Mondi and Cartro opted for Mondi’s high-quality paper grades, one of which was ProVantage Aquaflute. It was chosen for its strength and water-resistant qualities, perfect for packaging used in humid environments,” Julia Madeleine Rohracher, Internal Communication Manager, Mondi Corrugated Packaging, tells PackagingInsights.

“Although there were no technical concerns, keeping the costs low whilst ensuring the corrugator settings were adjusted to suit ProVantage Aquaflute paper proved to be a challenge. Changes were required to the temperature conditions and wrapping and gluing speed in the corrugator to achieve the best possible result.”

By Joshua Poole