Sustainability Watch
Kraft Foods On Supply Chain Diet
NORTHFIELD, Ill.—Kraft Foods started the new year 150 million pounds leaner, having eliminated material from its supply chain through sustainable packaging design, sourcing, and partnerships. "Our global team of employees is doing a phenomenal job creating opportunities to reduce packaging material while assuring convenience and safety," says Jean Spence, executive vice president, research, development, and quality. "We've invented a tool to help us design more efficiently. And we're finding smarter source materials, reducing our footprint, and thinking differently about packaging end of life."
The greatest opportunity to influence the environmental impact based on a package's size is early in the design phase. To assist in this endeavor, Kraft Foods developed the Packaging Eco-Calculator™, a tool that helps developers create efficient and optimized packaging. Two examples of its use include:
• In the U.S., the Oscar Mayer Deli Creations packaging was redesigned with 30 percent less paperboard. Consumers like the new package because it's smaller, convenient, and takes up less shelf space, while the amount of product remains the same.
• In Europe, the removal of packaging layers for Milka chocolate bars resulted in 60 percent less weight and an elimination of 5.7 –million pounds of packaging material per year.
The type of material used for the packaging also plays a role. To this end, Kraft Foods is finding ways to increase the recycled content and recyclability of the packaging for its products, including:
• In the U.K., Kraft Foods recently began selling Kenco coffee in refill bags to complement glass jars. The refill bags use 97 percent less packaging material by weight than a new jar and less energy to produce.
• In North America, Kraft Foods recently changed its Maxwell House, Yuban, and Nabob coffee brands from steel cans to composite paperboard that weighs 30 percent less, uses 50 percent recycled content, and is expected to eliminate 8.5 million pounds of packaging.
Kraft Foods recycles nearly 90 percent of its manufacturing waste, so it makes sense to help consumers boost their own recycling rates.
• In the U.S., consumer recycling rates are only 33 percent, versus nearly 70 percent in other parts of the world. In 2008, to help increase recycling rates in the U.S., Kraft Foods began partnering with RecycleBank, a company that rewards consumers for recycling. The more recycling consumers do, the more reward points they have to redeem. Kraft Foods has helped people recycle more than 400,000 tons of material.
• In 2008, Kraft Foods started partnering with TerraCycle, a company that "upcycles" material that otherwise would have gone to a landfill. TerraCycle reuses packaging to make new, useful products. Today, Kraft Foods sponsors more than 30,000 collection points in the U.S.
Colbert Packaging Receives Certifications
ELKHART, Ind.—Colbert Packaging Corp. has received both Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody Certifications. These certifications encompass Colbert operations in Lake Forest, Ill. and Elkhart, Ind., certifying three facilities for meeting tracking requirements that ensure the paperboard used in these facilities comes from well-managed forests. The certifications are key components of Colbert's sustainability goals.
"Our sustainability initiatives are rooted in our timeless commitment to social, environmental, and fiscal responsibility, and provide a solid framework for employing good business practices in the quest for a greener world," says Nancy Colbert MacDougall, chairman of Colbert Packaging. "These certifications are a natural extension of our company-wide sustainability initiatives."
"The SFI and FSC Chain of Custody Certifications further our commitment to meeting manufacturers' and retailers' demand for sustainability, while ensuring the reduction of non-renewable resources in our manufacturing operations," adds company president, Jim Hamilton.
Raflatac Achieves ISO Certification
MILLS RIVER, N.C.—UPM Raflatac has received ISO Environmental Management System certification for its labelstock factory in Dixon, Ill. This certification represents a significant step toward achieving one of the company's major goals for its labelstock and RFID facilities worldwide: developing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) that operate in accordance with an internationally recognized standard.
"Environmental sustainability is one of UPM Raflatac's core values," says Laura Cummings, sustainability and environmental manager. "Our customers know that we are fully engaged in environmental sustainability efforts and that they can depend on us as a working partner and collaborator in protecting our environment, sharing our knowledge and experience, and meeting the needs of end-users and consumers."
WS Packaging, Ecology Coatings Announce Commercialization Agreement
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—Ecology Coatings, a developer of nanotechnology-enabled, UV-curable advanced coatings, announced that it has entered into a commercialization agreement with WS Packaging Group. Under the terms of the agreement, WS Packaging will purchase Ecology's EcoQuik™ coatings for labels and packaging products manufactured by the company.
"We are pleased to be working with WS Packaging, a leading provider of innovative label and packaging solutions to Fortune 500 brands," says Ecology Coatings CEO, Bob Crockett. "We have been working with the WS Packaging management team for the past several months and find them to be tech savvy early adopters, customer driven, and environmentally sensitive. We are confident that our EcoQuik™ coating technology will provide them a competitive advantage through cost efficiencies and improved product sustainability."
The label and printed products North American markets, estimated at approximately $20 billion, have ongoing requirements for cost-effective coating products that provide improved water and chemical resistance, increased productivity, and the ability to address environmental issues. pP
