Pro Carton, the European association for carton and cartonboard manufacturers, said the industry has succeeded in reducing its carbon footprint by 24 percent since 2018.
The newly measured European industry average carbon footprint of cartons is now at 249 kgCO2e cradle-to-grave and 148 kg CO2e cradle-to-gate per tonne of cartons.
The Carbon Footprint of Carton Packaging 2023 study, carried out by RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) Bioeconomy and Health Unit for Pro Carton tracked both the cradle-to-grave and cradle-to-gate carbon impact of cartonboard from January to December 2021.
It took into account fossil and biogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, plus emissions from direct land use change (dLUC).
Pro Carton said the double-digit reduction of the cradle-to-grave carbon footprint to 249kg C02, and the cradle-to-gate carbon impact of 148kg C02 equivalents per tons of cartons have been achieved by improving resource efficiency during the converting process.
It has also been bolstered by significant investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources at the cartonboard mills and converting operations since carbon emissions were last measured in 2018.
