Sustainability Watch

ModusLink for Sustainable 
Packaging Design

MIAMISBURG, Ohio—As the supply chain evolves into a global, dynamic value chain—and sustainability becomes not just a social cause, but also an economic issue—product packaging has developed into a critical component of a sustainably designed value chain. With the help of EskoArtwork products, ModusLink Global Solutions is saving time and maximizing value for its clients through 3D virtual samples.

ModusLink Global Solutions, Inc. is a leader in executing value chain strategies to drive the supply chain, aftermarket, and e-Business processes of some of the world's largest technology and consumer goods companies. Its solutions span the cradle-to-cradle, multi-channel product lifecycle, from supply chain activities such as sourcing, configuration, and fulfillment; to revenue-generating e-commerce, customer service, and brand loyalty solutions.

In early 2009, ModusLink introduced its Sustainable Solutions Suite to help clients reduce the environmental impact of their supply chain processes, including sustainable packaging redesign. Using the Walmart Sustainable Packaging Modeling tool, COMPASS, ArtiosCAD, and other industry tools, ModusLink measures and analyzes the amount of carbon emissions of various packaging types and provides customers with feedback as to whether or not their traditional packaging is eco-friendly.

"We model current packaging along with multiple new variations for the client to consider that compare labor, material pallet density, and carbon emissions," explains Ben Sligar, global packaging engineer for ModusLink. "With the 3D design capabilities, we can email designs for review, and ask for a physical mock-up when we are close to the final design," he says.

"Many times, a customer will tell me that they need something as soon as tomorrow. I can design a package and set up a Webex presentation quickly," says Sligar. "Getting approvals is often 50 percent faster. While it depends how complicated designs are, prototypes are faster to make. Then we can easily go right into production, and speed up the production timetable."

ModusLink uses a number of tools to produce the most efficient packaging and to reduce greenhouse emissions. "We can create different structural styles, look at different boxes, look at the blank sizes, and reduce the amount of materials as we design the package," explains Sligar. "With ArtiosCAD, I can go through a sample library and design with less board, searching for the most efficient use of materials. Of course, when virtual prototypes are made, we save the cost of shipping prototypes and with online presentations, I can reduce travel expenses."

Kimberly-Clark Introduces 
Environmentally Responsible Wipers

ROSWELL, Ga.—Kimberly-Clark Professional has launched a new generation of environmentally responsible disposable wipers under the WypAll brand. Available as WypAll X60, WypAll L40, and WypAll L30 Wipers, the new WypAll 40 percent recycled fiber wipers:

• Are manufactured using 40 percent post-consumer recycled fiber, from sources including recycled cardboard boxes (seven are recycled to make one Jumbo Roll of WypAll X60) and recycled office paper (a ream is recycled to make one Jumbo Roll of WypAll L40).

• Contain up to 35 percent more sheets than standard packaging.

• Use up to 100 percent recycled fiber in the product packaging.

"In designing and manufacturing these new environmentally responsible wipers, we examined the entire life cycle of the product," explains Ron Cox, category manager, Kimberly-Clark Professional. "That includes everything from product design and the raw materials used, to how the product is manufactured, transported to customers and users, and eventually used and disposed of. We were able to identify ways to reduce the use and environmental impact of resources at every stage, in keeping with our Reduce Today, Respect Tomorrow program."

The fact that the new wipers contain up to 35 percent more sheets than standard wiper packages allows more product to be packaged in each case and more wipers to fit in each truck, thus putting fewer trucks on the road and reducing the amount of transportation-related carbon emissions. Less packaging also means up to 35 percent less waste is sent to landfills.

Sonoco Helps Customers Shrink Their Environmental Footprint

HARTSVILLE, S.C.—Packaging designers and engineers and material scientists at Sonoco are using the Company's cutting-edge sustainable packaging design software to help customers reduce their packaging environmental footprint by substituting or eliminating materials, down-gauging structures, and simplifying the package to improve its recyclability. Sonoco is also working with customers to reduce and ultimately eliminate landfill waste at their manufacturing facilities.

"We are working to balance the growing demand from our customers, consumers and retailers for 'greener' packaging with requirements for convenience, performance, and price," said Jeff Schuetz, staff vice president, Global Technology, Consumer Packaging. "Retailers and consumer product companies are increasingly integrating sustainability into their business strategies and looking for Sonoco to help make those efforts successful."

Sonoco's True Blue™ line of sustainable packaging solutions and recycling services provides customers with packages that offer a clear environmental advantage over the package they were designed to replace through the use of more sustainable materials or source reduction or because they require less energy, water, and/or raw materials to produce or result in fewer carbon emissions.

For PJ's Coffee of New Orleans, Sonoco developed and is producing vibrant, three-ply, foil-based flexible coffee bags that require 10 percent less material and 15 percent less energy to produce and result in 10 percent fewer carbon emissions than traditional four-ply flexible coffee bags.

Sonoco also helped Kraft Foods convert its Maxwell House, Nabob, and Yuban® brands of coffee from metal cans to more environmentally friendly rigid paperboard containers without sacrificing abuse resistance or shelf life. Less costly and more environmentally responsible than metal, the new cans are made from paperboard that contains more than 50 percent recycled materials and has received chain-of-custody certification from the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program.

True Blue eco-friendly point-of-purchase displays like the one Sonoco's Global Services division designed and produced for Unilever's Vaseline® Sheer Infusion™ body lotion are helping customers and their retail partners meet their sustainability and sales goals. By redesigning an existing floorstand wing unit, Sonoco cut the paperboard required to produce the display in half—from 65.2 to 32.65 square feet—without sacrificing its ability to attract customer attention.

"Because we're not limited to just one sustainable packaging platform, technology or format, our customers can choose from a variety of innovative options that meet their unique needs," added Schuetz. "Our True Blue brand leverages Sonoco's extensive skill and experience in developing superior design concepts that meet our customers' performance, cost, and sustainability requirements."

Menasha to Install 
Wind Turbines

NEENAH, Wis.—Menasha Corporation announced its plans to install five wind turbines for electrical generation at its office and manufacturing complex in Neenah. The installation of five wind turbines is the largest announced by a business to date in Northeastern Wisconsin.

"Our renewable energy project is part of the Corporation's support of alternative energy solutions and our focus on becoming a leader in sustainability," said Jim Kotek, Menasha Corporation's president and CEO. "Earlier this year, we identified sustainability as one of the critical areas in which Menasha must step forward and take a market leadership position. We have now made an important commitment to our community, customers, employees, and shareholders by demonstrating that we are serious about improving the environment by using clean energy sources."

Menasha Corporation is purchasing five 20 kW wind turbines from Renewegy, LLC in Oshkosh, Wis., which specializes in manufacturing wind energy turbines. The turbines are expected to produce enough electrical power to provide for the basic office needs for the 115 employees at the headquarters of the Corporation and Menasha Packaging.

"Both of our companies—Menasha Packaging, which provides paper-based packaging solutions, and ORBIS Corporation, which supplies reusable plastic packaging—have been collaborating with our customers to provide innovative packaging and supply chain solutions that help build a sustainable future," added Mike Waite, president of Menasha Packaging. "The turbine project adds wind energy to the list of sustainability projects we have undertaken in our operations over the past couple of years to lessen our impact on the environment."

ITW Labels, LogoTech Receive TLMI L.I.F.E. 
Certification

GLOUCESTER, Mass.—ITW Labels and LogoTech have recently been awarded L.I.F.E. (Label Initiative for the Environment) certification from the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute (TLMI). ITW Labels has become certified in the company's Gardner, Kan. and St. Charles, Mo. facilities and LogoTech in the company's Fairmont, N.J. facility.

The Project L.I.F.E. program was developed in order to assist TLMI members to find cost-effective ways to reduce their companies' environmental footprint. L.I.F.E. is a program designed specifically for the narrow-web marketplace and addresses four key elements of the narrow-web printing and converting industry: clean production, energy and greenhouse gases, product and environmentally preferable materials, and management practices.

Frank Sablone, TLMI president, comments, "I would like to congratulate ITW and LogoTech on their recent TLMI L.I.F.E. certification. The central objective in developing the L.I.F.E. initiative was to offer the association's members a credible and comprehensive program that addresses their sustainability requirements, and the opportunity to take their L.I.F.E. certification to their own customer base to further demonstrate their commitment to the environment, and to the greater industry. I applaud our certified members for their efforts and dedication."

Sun Chemical Issues 
Carbon Footprint Report

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—In order to support customer efforts to meet sustainability goals and to do so with data-driven metrics, Sun Chemical released a report called "Carbon Footprint Report 2010," which outlines the results from nine recently completed independent environmental analyses focused on quantifying the carbon footprint of its product lines.

The results outlined in the report provide data that will be used by Sun Chemical to further enhance its processes to have less environmental impact across all product lines and business activities. A key part of Sun Chemical's sustainability policy is to be data-driven in understanding its impacts on the environment. The completion and reporting of these analyses is a major component of the data-driven aspect of the policy.

The analyses focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the manufacturing and distribution of Sun Chemical's products. "Our customers and the marketplace are looking for much more than the standard sustainability rhetoric; they want to know what their suppliers are doing to improve their sustainability performance," said Michel Vanhems, Sun Chemical's sustainability leader. "At Sun Chemical, we're digging deep to get specific numbers to use in evaluating opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, as well as support our customers' efforts to determine the GHG impact of their products and meet their sustainability goals."

The analyses covered six of the Sun Chemical product lines, totaling nine products representing approximately 90 percent of the products it offers. It encompassed nine different manufacturing plants in North America and Europe. pP