More than a Sustainable Packaging Solution

How sustainable is your packaging solution?

Can you measure your success? What’s the reduction on your environmental impact? How does your packaging solution contribute to your corporate social and economic goals? Could your packaging solution boost your environmental accreditation?

Could your packaging solution do more…….

• Reduce carbon footprint
• Lower packaging costs
• Increase recyclable content of your packaging
• Increased quantity per pallet so less space required
• Support your corporate social and economic goals

Through our packaging design and innovation, we worked with one customer to achieve all the above.

Like many of our customers we were working with a brand leader with a high value product and a quality brand image, The crucial nature of the product being shipped meant that, under no circumstances, could the robust performance of the existing solution be compromised.

Current Packaging Solution

The packaging solution used had multiple materials including EPS foam laminated to a corrugated pack. To produce this product the supply chain was complex and involved multiple manufacturing sites across the UK. This meant that the packs travelled 486 miles by the time they had arrived at the customer and were ready to have the product packed and start their onward journey. Over the course of a year given the number of packs this equates to the same milage as traveling around the world one and a half times!

Due to the lamination involved in the production of the packs the recyclability of them was costly and complex. The result was a pack which was expensive and did not fit the corporate and social sustainability goals for the customer.

The Solution

Through our design process we were able to create a corrugated only solution, removing all EPS foam. The pack is supplied flat packed to the customer, designed to be quick assembly so it does not materially impact the speed of packing compared to the assembled pack.

The removal of the foam allows for a more efficient supply chain and lower cost materials and a fully recyclable pack.

Going Beyond Sustainability

What did this mean for the customer and how sustainable is the solution?

• A milage reduction of 416 miles to 70 miles
• An extra 123 packs per pallet
• Fully recyclable pack giving a reduction in landfill by 23 tons per year
• 51% cost reduction
• Positive contribution to the customers sustainability goals including Ecovadis rating.

Protects against future cost implications from new EPRN legislation

Measuring Success

The packaging solution we provided gave a 23.3 tons CO2 reduction per year. This is the equivalent to 11.6 return flights from Paris to New York or a 58,250 mile journey in a Diesel Car.

The packaging solution also gave a reduction in landfill of 23 tons per year which is more than 3 african elephants or over 3 years waste generated from the average household in the UK.

Is your sustainable packaging solution working hard enough?