Packaging

Anuga FoodTec: carbon footprint and sustainability

Wednesday 11. March 2009 - Assistance in making decisions for sustainable business practices - the consequences of one's own actions for the climate and environment should become easier to measure

Everyone is talking about climate change, and the term “sustainability” has become one of the most important criteria in economic planning. Increasing numbers of consumers also want to know how products can help to protect the climate. One measure is the “carbon footprint”, a term which was coined in the UK when the first retail chains started to print the product’s “carbon footprint” on their product packaging. It is supposed to give information on the extent to which a product is harmful to the climate. The carbon footprint is measured by the CO2 emissions that are produced during the product’s entire life cycle from the production of the raw materials, manufacturing of the product, trade, delivery and use, right through to the disposal or recycling of the product and must therefore be reliably determined. For example, emissions of methane or nitrous oxide are converted into the equivalent amounts of the most important greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.

The Dutch packaging tax, which the manufacturers of packaging have to pay since May 2008, is based on the average CO2 emissions that are produced during the material’s manufacture. This means that for aluminium packaging €0.57 (2009: €0.876) and for plastic packaging €0.36 (2009: €0.43) will have to be paid per kg, carton packaging is priced at €0.06 (2009: €0.073) and glass at €0.0456 (2009: €0.066). Tax revenues of €365 million per year are expected, which are also to be used for waste management purposes. The scientific basis for this tax regulation comes from the life cycle assessments of the research institute CE Delft.


Harmonization of the necessary assessments
As one range of goods can comprise hundreds to thousands of products, and each product has to have its effect on the climate researched and stated according to comparable criteria, the cost of such a process is extremely high. What works well for different packaging materials becomes a real challenge for finished food products and is only effective for the researched product group. There is still no standardised definition of how to measure how environmentally friendly a product is. In France and the UK the trade has provided impetus by displaying the carbon footprint of the manufacture and packaging of the product for the consumers’ assessment. Until now, the life cycle assessment according to ISO 14040 ff. (LCA) has formed the basis for product-related life cycle assessments in Germany. In order to better understand CO2 emissions, and to gather experience in the calculation, reduction and communication of product-specific carbon footprints, the Institute for Applied Ecology, WWF, THEMA1 and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research launched the pilot project “Product Carbon Footprint”, in which several well-known companies such as FRoSTA, dm-drogerie markt and Tetra Pak are participating.

In spring 2009, the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) wants to present suggestions on which method should be used in the future to calculate the CO2 emissions related to a product. The research project will also address the matter of how the consumer can be informed of the CO2-relevant information without causing unnecessary confusion. However, there are currently no plans by market participants in Germany to add another seal to the product packaging, as some are already doing in the UK.

Reduction of material quantities, better recycling
The manufacturers of drink cartons provided the first life cycle assessments as early as 20 years ago. The CO2 contribution of a drink carton is significantly lower than comparable packaging made from other materials. The reasons for this are, among other things, that the manufacture of a drink carton primarily uses renewable raw materials, that it combines lightweight packaging with optimal use of space and the good recyclability of composite cartons. The central theme of sustainability is therefore the use of resources. For example, metal packaging is also increasingly using recycled material. For beverage cans produced in Europe this amount exceeds 50 per cent. In addition, the amount of material used is being continually reduced. In 1951, a 0.33 litre tinplate can weighed 83 g. Today, the weight has been reduced to 22.5 g, thanks to thinner walls. The relatively “new” packaging material PET has even managed to further reduce the weight per packaging unit. This means that the latest PET bottles weigh 30 per cent less than their predecessors. The amounts of material and energy used for manufacturing and transport are accordingly reduced. In total, every decigram of weight that is saved per packaging unit is reflected in the reduction in CO2 emissions.

The industry is facing up to its responsibility
One thing is clear – the sustainability trend has not only reached the trading companies and brand-name suppliers, but also the packaging industry, even though packaging is only responsible for one per cent of the world’s CO2 emissions. This issue will be one focus of the special area dedicated to sustainability at Anuga FoodTec 2009. The area will be designed in cooperation with Berndt&Partner Packaging Consultants, who belong to the leading specialists for packaging design and packaging development. In addition, the “Conference on sustainable packaging” will take place on 12th March 2009 as part of Anuga FoodTec.

Companies can also convert their sustainability activities into clear benefits in their marketing. Companies are already advertising that they only use “clean” electricity from regenerative energy sources in their business; or that energy consumption has been noticeably reduced through appropriate measures. The spectrum of companies who are differentiating themselves from the competition by positioning themselves as being sustainably managed ranges from the family run mid-sized drink manufacturer, right through to the international packaging company. CO2 emissions that can’t be avoided, for instance those created during the production of animal-based food, can be neutralised through compensating measures, such as investments being made in the generation of power from renewable sources of energy in order to reach a balanced life cycle assessment.