Elopak claims to have become the first packaging company to deliver over 1 billion fully renewable beverage cartons.
Elopak’s PurePak cartons are offered with renewable PE, helping to safeguard natural resources, and use a renewable feedstock instead of a fossil feedstock to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the cartons.
In 2017, Elopak improved its renewable offering by introducing new feedstocks for renewable PE. The company chose to change supplier base to widen its offering of renewable PE and now offers two different sources: one is derived from sugar cane while the other is based on tall oil, a residue from pulp and paper production.
The milestone is the first positive piece of news for Elopak’s new CEO, Thomas Körmendi.
“Reaching one billion fully renewable cartons is a major milestone for Elopak and a great contribution to reducing the use of fossil resources,” said Marianne Groven, interim environment director for Elopak.
“As a major global packaging company it is our responsibility to continue developing our renewable offering and lower the carbon footprint of our cartons. Elopak will always strive to provide packaging with a strong environmental profile to support our customers’ brands.”
Sourced from Nordic forests, the tall oil-based feedstock enables Elopak to offer beverage cartons based entirely on wood. Tall oil is a residue (also referred to as second-generation feedstock) from pulp and paper production, which is the main raw material in the beverage carton. The wood for both the paperboard and the renewable PE is sourced entirely from responsibly managed forests and other controlled sources, in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) certification system.
The alternative feedstock is sourced from Brazil, where sugar cane can grow in areas where other crops cannot. Sugar cane is one of the most efficient plants in converting sunlight to chemical energy, making it a sustainable and fast-growing renewable resource.
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