Packoplock creates carbon-neutral e-commerce boxes using Stora Enso LCA

25 Feb 2021 --- Swedish packaging supplier Packoplock is launching three carbon-neutral shipping boxes to address Nordic consumers’ “dramatic” rise in climate change awareness over the past three years.

Packoplock has reduced the carbon footprint of its Climate Boxes to 0.06 kg fossil CO2 per box via life cycle assessments (LCAs) in partnership with Stora Enso.

Paper mailing bags will join the carbon-neutral portfolio “very soon,” Mikael Holmberg, CEO of Packoplock, tells PackagingInsights, with plans to gradually make the entire assortment carbon-neutral.

The Climate Boxes’ footprint was very low to begin with, he explains. “These boxes are produced with Scandinavian trees grown in FSC-certified forests and the paper is produced in a Scandinavian mill with climate-friendly energy.”

The remaining footprint is compensated through a Gold Standard project supporting Maasai communities in Kenya.

Handle-integrated boxes
Packoplock commenced its carbon-neutral project with high demand products. “We also wanted them to have some extra features,” marketing manager Susanne Stille tells PackagingInsights.

“For example, it is new to have boxes where the handles are incorporated in the actual box,” she notes. The carbon-neutral changes apply to:

• Climate Box CarryBox: With a carrying handle in two sizes, optimal for shipping clothing.
• Climate Box SealBox: A special closure guarantees the box is unbroken.
• Climate Box SafeBox: Has extra corner protection for sensitive edges, such as frames and books.

The company turned to Stora Enso to conduct an LCA – calculating emissions in every step of the boxes’ life cycle, from cradle to grave.

More than a transactional relationship
Stora Enso points out effective LCAs require time and expertise, which many small companies do not have the resources for.

The Climate Box Sealbox and its counterparts are made from paper produced in Scandinavian paper mills.“Since our customers have customized solutions and products are designed for their individual needs, there are many variables. The calculations take a lot of effort,” says Johan Lunabba, senior vice president of sustainability at Stora Enso.

“For me, it truly feels we have moved beyond a transactional relationship to something much more impactful, generating new opportunities for both companies,” Lunabba adds.

Connected through trees
Carbon offsetting investments are made in climate-neutral projects through Stora Enso’s compensation partner South Pole, whose projects are Gold Standard-certified.

Packoplock has contributed to a project distributing cookstoves to replace open fires in Maasailand, spanning much of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.

“We wanted to do something that had to do with trees, since that is where our boxes come from,” says Stille.

The cookstoves reflect traditional woodfire methods, but require 66 percent less firewood. This alleviates demand for firewood from the Mau Forest – the largest native montane forest in East Africa.

“In Scandinavia we have a lot of forests, so helping a country with [fewer of] these natural resources seemed like a good project,” Stille explains.Supported by Stora Enso’s compensation partner South Pole, the cookstoves require 66% less firewood.

The stoves reduce smoke emissions considerably, improving overall community health. “Also, the time spent by (mostly) women and children collecting the wood can be shortened, which means they can use that time for studying or working.”

Carbon-neutral journey just getting started
Holmberg hopes that 90 percent of Scandinavia’s e-commerce packaging will be carbon-neutral in the next two years.

“The fact that we sell products that are already carbon-compensated makes it easy for our customers to take another step toward more climate-neutral production altogether,” he continues.

“We believe carbon-neutral packaging adds huge value to our customers. It also encourages them to dig deeper and make other parts of their production carbon-neutral as well.”

By Anni Schleicher

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