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Minimising carbon footprint

With increasing emphasis being placed on minimising the carbon footprint left by different products and business activities, it is essential to have the right perspective on the use of life cycle assessments (LCAs) as the basis for business decisions or public policy plans.

“We are delighted that the life cycle approach to doing business is being considered more seriously by a growing number of organisations in the retail and distribution sector who want to minimise the carbon footprint of their business operations throughout the supply chain,” said Anders Hildeman, Secretary General of the European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO). 

FEFCO has been using life cycle assessments (LCAs) for more than 16 years to help understand the overall environmental impact of corrugated packaging systems, thereby helping member companies design better product solutions. This fits in well with the sector’s philosophy of total concept engineering for corrugated packaging systems, looking at environmental as well as operational and technical performance.

“We have been thinking “life-cycle” in FEFCO for years and our industry is already looking to the future to see how things can be done even better,” adds Ludwig Anckaert, Technical Director of FEFCO.  “We are also confident that our existing customers and everyone else in the fruit and vegetable business will do the right thing when it comes to minimising the carbon footprint through the logistics chain. With global warming a top priority for consumers and policy-makers the world over, they don’t need us to tell them what choices to make!”

But a little wise advice may not go amiss. Experience shows that it is not possible to generalise the results of one particular LCA and apply them to any application of a packaging solution because each given situation is different (i.e. the precise type of produce shipped, the precise source and destination of shipments, the specific logistics options available, and, of course, the potential packaging solutions on offer)

This is why FEFCO encourages individual operators to base decisions on the LCA that is precisely appropriate for their specific situation. In this way they can be sure they have chosen the right packaging solution(s) for reducing their carbon footprint through the logistics chain.

“When retailers and distributors make decisions based on life cycle assessment, they must take care because there is no such thing as a single generic or “one-size-fits-all” LCA that covers all situations, you’ve got to work at it for yourself – but its worth it in the end because you can say hand-on-heart to consumers that you have chosen the optimum packaging solutions for the job,” concludes Anders Hildeman.