Packaging consultancy and carbon data specialist combine on sustainability initiative

08 Apr 2024 --- Packaging sustainability consultancy Aura and carbon management data specialist CarbonQuota are partnering to provide brands and retailers with a “holistic view” of sustainability within their packaging by integrating CarbonQuota’s carbon calculator into Aura’s e-halo platform.

This integration empowers organizations to determine the carbon impact of their packaging while leveraging e-halo’s existing functionalities, such as recyclability assessment, all in real time.

“Integrating the carbon calculator into e-halo enables multiple assessments, all generated from the same core data, including recyclability by country and legislative compliance of at-risk and banned packaging attributes, plus carbon emissions at a component and material level,” Gillian Garside-Wight, consulting director at Aura, tells Packaging Insights.

“This typically would be performed by multiple teams of consultants spanning several weeks of activity, compared to an instant (less than 0.5 seconds) response covering all e-halo evaluations — saving cost and resource and increasing speed to market.”

Due diligence
The CarbonQuota integration with e-halo, which already tracks various metrics, including recyclability, tax liabilities and legislative compliance across different regions, enhances the platform’s capability to offer a comprehensive sustainability solution for packaging.

The CarbonQuota integration with e-halo enhances the platform’s capability to offer a comprehensive sustainability solution for packaging.“We see the relationship expanding rapidly into areas such as enabling full lifecycle assessments for our clients and the EU’s regulation on deforestation-free products,” shares Garside-Wight.

“The deforestation-free regulation makes it illegal to place certain commodities (for example, paper, wood, cattle, soy, palm oil, coffee and rubber) on the market without proving that a due diligence process exists to identify the geographical source. This is at a product level and affects every actor in a value chain entering Europe.”

Dominic Harris, co-founder of CarbonQuota, underscores the significance of carbon reporting in addressing businesses’ Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) requirements. “As more businesses solidify their net zero goals, this partnership will provide them with the data they need to ensure their sustainability journeys are accurate and effective,” he says.

Garside-Wight further tells us that carbon measurement is the universal way to ascertain environmental impact, allowing clients to understand the carbon emissions across the product life cycle. 

“This evaluation, along with recyclability and legislative compliance, enables proactive packaging development and selection to meet and maintain sustainability goals across the value chain,” she says.

“CarbonQuota’s underlying carbon calculations follow its defined methodology, aligned to all the relevant international standards (GHG Protocol and various ISOs). Experienced external LCA practitioners verify this methodology and any specific assessments as part of the governance process.”

Transparent reporting
According to Garside-Wight, the partnership between Aura and CarbonQuota is “more than just a blending of technology.” 

“Aura provides businesses with in-depth strategic consultancy on how to make their packaging more sustainable from both a commercial and environmental standpoint, and we share that way of thinking with CarbonQuota,” she continues.

“By partnering with the market leader, we can add carbon into the e-halo proposition, driving further transparency into the sustainability credentials of the packaging value chain. Not only does this allow honesty and transparency, but it also enables our clients to educate the entire value chain, including consumers.”

“Many clients have committed to net zero pathways and need to disclose progress annually. Disclosures are made via multiple pathway initiatives such as CDP and SBTi.” The emerging regulatory landscape is beginning to mandate reporting in certain markets, specifically on scopes 1, 2 and 3.

The emerging regulatory landscape is also beginning to mandate reporting in certain markets, specifically on scopes 1, 2 and 3.

“For example, in the UK, the UK Procurement Policy Notice (PPN06/21) requires government suppliers (for contracts > £5 million) to disclose carbon emissions and demonstrate a reduction plan to be considered,” says Garside-Wight.

“In the EU, starting 2025, the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive incorporating the Sustainability Reporting Standard will require large organizations and listed SMEs to report on sustainability in line with financial reporting.”

“In the US, the US Securities and Exchange Commission Climate-Related Disclosures requires climate risk and emissions disclosure from large US public companies. Specifically, scope 1 and 2, with scope 3 currently excluded.”

Using the latest science and the highest international standards to calculate carbon footprints and other environmental metrics, CarbonQuota works with leading global organizations in packaging, media, publishing, FMCG and print.

By Radhika Sikaria