The results of the life-cycle assessment conducted by the IFEU have been monitored, critically reviewed and confirmed by independent LCA and packaging experts Hans-Jürgen Garvens, Dr Philippe Osset and Dr Mercedes Hortal.
Michael Hecker: “The results of the current life-cycle assessment show us that when it comes to environmental life-cycle assessments, the carton pack in its current composite structure has clear advantages over other packaging solutions for UHT milk. In its guidance documents the institute that carried out the study is recommending the carton pack to business and consumers as a packaging solution whenever environmental considerations are a factor in decision-making. But that doesn’t mean we can sit back and rest on our laurels − in fact, we’re working continuously to further improve the environmental performance of our carton packs for UHT milk, so that they continue to be one of the most environmentally friendly packaging solutions around. One possibility we’re looking into, for instance, is further increasing the fraction of the sustainable, renewable raw material used in the composite structure of our carton packs, so that we can improve the environmental footprint of the carton pack and at the same time offer consumers the convenience they have come to expect and value".
With the latest life-cycle assessment, SIG Combibloc now has an up-to-date, valid data set which covers the environmental life-cycle evaluation of carton packs compared to packaging alternatives from every market segment. Following on the heels of the Europe-wide life-cycle assessment for food packaging (2009) and the Europe-wide life-cycle assessment of NCSD packaging (2011), with the new IFEU analysis there is now a comprehensive, scientifically proven investigation of the environmental performance of packaging solutions for UHT milk products. The wider view across all studies shows that carton packs offer a significantly better environmental performance than the competing packaging systems. This applies above all for the key indicator CO2 and fossil resources categories, and for the consumption of energy category.
