Product lifecycle of a carton pack

SUSTAINABLE development', 'eco-friendly', 'recyclable' have become increasingly powerful terms and provide companies numerable ways in terms of  protecting the environment, whilst making a positive difference. All these all terms, however, pose a challenge to most of businesses today to act in a  way that is responsible and sustainable in all environmental aspects.

For SIG Combibloc, this means taking effective action at those stages of the  lifecycle where the most far-reaching environmental benefits can be achieved  and conducted in accordance with internationally binding standards,  environmental performance analysis produce valid facts that enable companies  to make statements on the impacts that a packaging has on the environment. The focus here is on enhancements that address the key environmental impact factors: the production of greenhouse gases, the consumption of fossil resources and the responsible management of the sources of renewable raw materials.

CEO Rolf Stangl says that for SIG Combibloc, it means sustainable development in the original sense of the term, beyond just a short-term image boost. "Our goal is to further reduce the carbon footprint of our products and our  production processes. And to help us meet this challenge, we have all the information at a glance: the lifecycle of our packaging, from the acquisition  and processing of the raw materials, right up to the disposal or recycling of the carton packs after use. Independent, critically audited lifecycle assessments conducted by noted specialist institutes help us to precisely identify those parameters in the lifecycle of our carton packs where we can make changes to produce the greatest possible benefit for the environment. In  this way, we will ensure that our system of carton packs and the filling machines that go with them continue to provide the basis for one of the most environmentally- advantageous packaging solutions available for long-life foods," he explains.

In setting this ambitious target, SIG Combibloc is acting in ecologically advantageous and integrated and systematic management of a l l environmental considerations. Now, for the first time, the company is revealing its global strategy for caring for the environment, by bringing together all the environmentally relevant performance figures relating to the product processes around the world.

Key considerations: material and weight

Carton packs are composed of up to around 75% of pulp fibres, which are obtained from the renewable resource, wood. Added to this, are around 21% polymers as liquid and moisture barriers, and 4% aluminium to protect the product from light, oxygen and external odours. One of the key requirement is that raw paperboard is made from wood which is verifiably obtained from controlled sources and responsibly managed forests.

The findings of a 2009 Europe-wide lifecycle assessment for food packaging confirm that for a carton pack, it is primarily the material that affects the  environmental profile of the packaging in respect of fossil resource  consumption and CO2 emissions. The key factors impacting on the product's environmental performance are the type of material and the overall weight of  the package. Here, it is the extraction and refining of the three material components of the carton pack - raw paperboard, polymers and aluminium foil  - that make the biggest contribution to the overall output of greenhouse gases. Yet, throughout the entire product lifecycle, the extraction and refining of the material components also take the biggest sharAir Max 90 Fireflies