Sustainability Report 2019: Elopak records sustained FSC-certified carton growth

13 Jul 2020 --- Carton packaging supplier Elopak has released its 2019 Sustainability Report. Notably, the company has seen an increase in the sales volume of FSC-certified cartons from 1 to 47 percent in the past decade. Moreover, the report highlights a 20 percent carbon footprint reduction in its cartons with closures since 2014 and the prevention of 12,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with renewable plastics in cartons and closures.

“Reduction targets need to be met regardless of volume growth,” Marianne Groven, Elopak’s Director of Sustainability, tells PackagingInsights.

“As a result, increased production means we have to work harder to reduce overall emissions across our operations. For example, increased production in our reporting sites since 2017 has put upward pressure on emissions from third party transport. In this case, securing reductions in internal transport and taking measures such as improving the fill rate on trucks has become important in mitigating its impact,” Groven explains. 

Click to Enlarge“Reduction targets need to be met regardless of volume growth,” says Groven.Elopak continues to push toward new environmental sustainability goals. These include:

• A sustainability evaluation of key suppliers by 2022. 

• A 70 percent recycling rate in the EU and Canada by 2025. 

• A 55 percent reduction of internal GHG emissions by 2030.

• A 16 percent reduction in emissions across the value chain by 2030 from a 2017 baseline, as approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.

“We are also supporting initiatives to drive increases in recycling rates, in line with our target of a 70 percent recycling rate in the EU and Canada by 2025. In this regard Elopak is a member of several industry associations that work with local authorities to improve collection rates and the recycling of cartons,” Groven adds.

Two of the main recycling organizations Elopak partners with are 4evergreen alliance and EXTR:ACT. The former is a cross-industry alliance created with the sole goal of making fiber-based packaging 100 percent circular to minimize climate impact. Moreover, Elopak is a founding member of EXTR:ACT, a European platform to increase the collection and recycling of beverage cartons and similar fiber-based multi-material packaging. 

Click to EnlargeElopak offers cartons that are both recyclable and made from 100 percent renewable materials.Are plastic alternatives really that eco-friendly?
In light of the EU’s looming Single-Use Plastic Ban, PackagingInsights explored Member States’ ongoing transposition of the Directive. Various EU-based environmental NGOs echoed a common sentiment: paper-based plastic alternatives are not as eco-friendly as they appear to be as they still contribute to single-use waste culture. Overall, reusable packaging provides a better option than paper-based plastic alternatives, the NGOs concur. 

Commenting on these suggestions, Groven responds: “An important factor that can be overlooked when weighing up the environmental credentials of different types of packaging is the use of renewable resources. Elopak offers cartons that are both recyclable and made from 100 percent renewable materials.”

Recently, Elopak modernized its Pure-Pak carton with the launch of Pure-Pak Imagine in what the company describes as its “most environmentally-friendly carton to date.” The new carton swaps the conventional plastic screw cap for a fold-back, top fin opening, which reduces the total plastic content by 46 percent. Pure-Pak cartons are made from renewable Natural Brown Board and a wood-based bioplastic barrier, using an estimated ten times less plastic than standard PET bottles.

Meanwhile, Elopak has also increased its R&D spending by a quarter between 2017 and 2019. Groven underscores the company is “heavily engaged” in researching plastics made from renewable raw materials and investigating the potential of new raw materials. “By using renewable materials, improving recyclability and designing out waste, we provide a packaging solution that is a natural fit within the circular economy,” she concludes. 

By Anni Schleicher

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