How Corrugated Packaging Companies Are Tackling Global Warming In 2021

Corrugated Packaging

Climate change is (rightfully so) a hot topic at the moment. You only need to switch on the news to see Extinction Rebellion, David Attenborough, and Greta Thunberg talking about it and trying to raise awareness of something that is having disastrous effects all across the world. To try and tackle climate change many countries have put into place laws and actions.

Here, we will have a look at how corrugated packaging companies are taking steps to help reduce global warming in 2021.

How The Packaging Industry Contributes to Climate Change

The packaging industry has come under fire for the negative effects that certain materials, such as plastic, have on the environment. Plastic pollution endangers wildlife and spreads toxins. We’re all familiar with the haunting image of a straw stuck in a turtle's nose, and the plastic loops from a beer can packaging around animal necks.

Plastic Pollution

It’s not just the plastic packaging itself that contributes to climate change; the manufacturing process of plastic also has a hugely negative impact on the world around us. It’s thought to be responsible for as much as 5% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to research by Friends of the Earth.

Plastic is made from fossil fuels. Extracting these resources from the earth releases huge amounts of greenhouse gas, making it a significant contributor to climate change. Fracking, which is a way of extracting shale gas and oil, has become a huge part of the production of plastic across the world. The problem is that with fracking comes huge environmental risks to water and public health, as well as disruption to the local area.

Single-use Packaging

In the packaging industry, it’s not only plastic that contributes to climate change. Other materials, such as paper, have their own set of issues.

Paper is frequently lauded as the "lesser of two evils." The material doesn’t pollute the environment in the same way that plastic does because it biodegrades much faster and does not harm marine life. However, paper production causes deforestation when not produced sustainably and requires more energy to produce in general than plastic.

Net-Zero: The Paris Agreement

One of the biggest efforts being made towards reducing the effects of global warming is The Paris Agreement. This is a legally binding treaty that came into force in November 2016. 196 parties endorsed it, with only Iraq, Iran, and Turkey being the only large-scale emitters to not formally join the agreement.

The aim of The Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to 1.5°c, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible to reach a net-zero point. Packaging, as we have already seen, can go a long way towards helping with this.

What Are Corrugated Packaging Companies Doing to Help?

Despite the challenges that the packaging industry faces when it comes to being sustainable, recent years have seen packaging companies make significant efforts and develop sustainability initiatives to combat climate change.

Manufacturers have been cutting the amount of material used in packaging, switching to greener alternatives, and using more recycled materials, resulting in lower emissions not just from the packaging itself, but from transportation too.

In America, The Corrugated Packaging Alliance released the LCA - life cycle assessment, which shows the environmental progress of corrugated packaging. It explored a 1kg corrugated product produced in 2014 on seven things: the potential greenhouse gas impacts eutrophication, respiratory effects, acidification, ozone depletion, ozone depletion, and fossil fuel depletion. It also looked at the following four things: water use, water consumption, renewable energy demand, and the demand for non-renewable energy sources. Between 2006 and 2014, the greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 35%. This was down to using renewable energy sources, decreased overall fossil fuel use, and carbon-neutral biomass.

This shows that it can be done and that corrugated packaging companies are taking huge leaps towards tackling global warming in 2021 and beyond.

Introduction of Innovative, Sustainable Material

Because of their printable and configurable properties, paper and cardboard are the materials of choice for most businesses. The majority of consumers are aware that they can be recycled but they’re also biodegradable. So, even if cardboard boxes, paper bags and envelopes, and tissue paper end up in landfills, they don’t pose the same harm to the environment as plastic, metal and glass.

Utilising Recyclable Materials

Corrugated packaging is used, collected and recycled all across the UK and Europe. Paper and corrugated cardboard packaging have a very high recycling rate, on average over 80%. Fibres from corrugated packaging can be recycled between seven and nine times, and in some cases even more. Recycled fibres are used to make new corrugated packaging.

The main environmental benefit of packaging materials is that they’re made from a high percentage of recycled paper, such as cartons or newspapers, and can be recycled after use. Similarly, most corrugated packaging is manufactured without the use of dyes or bleaches, allowing it to be disposed of more sustainably than other types of material that contain impurities.

Efficient Packaging Design

Many businesses today are designing appropriate-sized boxes for their products to reduce material waste. This can also help to reduce your company's carbon footprint when it comes to shipping and transportation. Because boxes are typically rectangular, they can be easily and neatly stacked with little wasted space, allowing businesses to fit more products into a smaller space, making a much smaller carbon footprint.

Educating Customers

Many businesses fail to get customers on board with their own measures because of this. They fail to explain to customers how to manage their packaging at the point of disposal, leaving room for user error. You can avoid confusion by providing clear information on your customers' orders. It's a good idea to include a disposal instruction insert inside your corrugated box packaging. You can also encourage them to look at other ways to repurpose your packaging - H&M, for example, released boxes that could be repurposed into clothes hangers. It does not have to be as complex as that, though - flattened down corrugated packaging could be used to protect flooring when decorating or for children’s artwork.

Take The Next Step

Looking for the ideal corrugated packaging solution? See how DiamondBox can help by contacting our team via our quick and easy contact form below. You can also get in touch with a member of the DiamondBox team today on 0121 505 2211 or by emailing us at sales@diamond-box.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.