SWITZERLAND – Aseptic carton packaging supplier SIG has revealed plans to develop a full-barrier aluminium-free aseptic packaging structure with at least 90% fiber content by 2030, with an interim target of at least 85% by 2025.
SIG explained that increasing the FSC-certified fiber content of its aseptic cartons and expanding its aluminium-free solutions are key to the firm’s strategy of achieving higher recyclability of carton packs.
CEO Samuel Sigrist said: “Our carton packs have a low energy intensity, are produced with 100% renewable electricity, and consist predominantly of renewable resources from the forest.
“Now we want to take this even further by increasing collection and recycling of cartons through existing beverage carton recycling systems, and via paper streams.
“Increasing the proportion of fiber content in aseptic cartons opens this opportunity and aligns with the wider trend towards paperization in the packaging industry.
“The FSC-certified renewable paperboard used in our packs ensures that we are promoting responsible forestry practices that prioritize biodiversity conservation.”
SIG’s new commitments are an important step in the company’s journey to create packaging for better. Packaging that gives more to people and the planet than it takes out.
This means removing more carbon from the atmosphere than is emitted during the lifecycle of the packaging.
It also means packaging that is made from endlessly renewable or recycled materials and that is fully and easily recyclable anywhere in the world.
The packaging industry and wider society need to transition to a circular economy, as our planet’s resources are finite and its capacity to absorb waste is limited.
Growing consumer demand for more sustainable packaging is an important pull factor for food and beverage companies to transition to ever more sustainable packaging.
Last month, SIG received approval for its group-wide Net-Zero science-based target from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
The company has committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its value chain by 2050 – the most ambitious commitment available through the SBTi process.
Of the 2,000+ companies globally with a public net-zero pledge, SIG is among the first 325 companies to have its target validated by the SBTi.
SIG has set a new series of near and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets with the SBTi, committing to reach net-zero – the point at which a balance is achieved between emissions produced and emissions taken from the atmosphere – by 2050.
These targets are significantly more ambitious than the company’s previous GHG reduction targets, approved by the SBTi in 2018 and 2020.
The move sees SIG look beyond its own operations and commit to the decarbonization of its full value chain in line with climate science.
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