It set the goals of reducing CO2 emissions in its packaging materials plants worldwide by 40%, energy consumption by 35% and specific waste production by 25% by 2015.
In addition, it aimed to increase the proportion of carton packs carrying the label of the Forest Stewardship Council to 40% by 2015.
Rolf Stangl, CEO of SIG Combibloc, said: “We have focused on the points of adjustment that are demonstrably the most significant, so as to achieve the greatest possible benefit for the environment with our products and manufacturing processes. And we are on track with this. We have made marked progress thanks to focused environmental commitment at our various locations world-wide.”
Independent and critically verified life-cycle assessments by prestigious specialist institutions assist SIG Combibloc in analysing the environmental impacts of its carton packs and to make constant improvements. The results of up-to-date scientific life-cycle assessments for packaging for UHT milk (2012), non-carbonated soft drinks (2011) and long-life food products (2009) provide SIG Combibloc with a valid dataset including an assessment of carton packs compared to alternative packaging from an environmental perspective for each market sector in which the company provides packaging solutions.
All of these studies confirm that, compared to other packaging, carton packs generate significantly less CO2 and use less primary energy and fossil resources. The main reason for the good environmental performance of carton packs is the high proportion of cardboard used, which is made from wood, a bio-based, sustainable and renewable raw material.
FSC certification
By obtaining FSC certification for its carton packs, SIG Combibloc is making equally good progress toward its goal of increasing the proportion of FSC-labelled carton packs worldwide to 40% between 2010 and 2015. “At 16% by mid-2012, we were clearly in the target zone, still six months before the half-way point,” said Hecker. “Seeing the FSC logo on our carton packs reassures consumers that the raw cardboard manufacturer is processing the corresponding volumes of wood that are sourced from an FSC-certified, exemplary forest management system, and other controlled sources.”
The go-ahead was given in 2009 and by late 2009, SIG Combibloc was the first manufacturer of carton packs to have certified all of its production facilities world-wide in accordance with the FSC criteria for a continuous Chain of Custody (CoC), which it maintains to this day. This enabled SIG Combibloc to offer its customers world-wide carton packs that are allowed to carry the “FSC Mix” label (trademark license code FSCC020428).
Today, SIG Combibloc carton packs with the FSC label are on the market in Europe, Asia, North and South America and Africa, accounting for more than 1,600 different product packs in 21 countries.
WWF praises commitment
The FSC standards are recognised and supported by international environmental protection organisations, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature. Johannes Zahnen, in charge of forestry policy and business partnering at WWF Germany, said: “We believe that labelling carton packs achieved a particular result in terms of the perception of the FSC label and what it means, both in the food sector and among consumers.”
Recycling
SIG Combibloc’s commitment to developing and expanding national collection and recycling systems is also bearing fruit. Rolf Stangl said: “Recycling is a fundamental element in SIG Combibloc’s environmental sustainability strategy.
This is why we are actively committing to developing collecting and sorting systems and implementing the corresponding recycling technologies world-wide, for instance in China, Thailand, Brazil and the UK. The use of wood, as a sustainable raw material, means that used carton packs are a valuable source of material for high-quality paper products. This is resource efficient and saves raw materials.”
Source: SIG Combibloc
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