With the right material choices and reliable, accurate data, the carbon footprint of pharmaceutical packaging can be significantly reduced. Metsä Board offers expert support and lightweight paperboard products to help pharma companies in their carbon footprint reduction efforts.
Carbon Reduction with Expertise and Materials
Trustworthy, fact-based data and transparent calculations of the overall impact of different materials empower pharmaceutical brand owners to make better-informed decisions. Metsä Board provides this crucial information through its Sustainability Service, part of the Metsä Board 360 Services offering.
The first step involves measuring the current packaging and calculating its environmental impacts, including its carbon footprint and overall environmental effects.
“This information is based on product category rules for processed paper and paperboard, which are used when conducting environmental product declarations (EPDs). If the customer wishes, Metsä Board can also provide a full Life Cycle Assessment with a wider range of environmental impact categories and resource use indicators for all its paperboards,” explains Lari Oksala, Sustainability Manager at Metsä Board.
Metsä Board has conducted assessments to demonstrate the carbon footprint reduction potential of its paperboard materials. For instance, switching from solid bleached board (SBB) to Metsä Board’s folding boxboard can reduce the carbon footprint of packaging by over 50%, while a switch from white-lined chipboard or recycled paperboard to Metsä Board folding boxboard can offer a reduction of 60% or more.* These assessments have been verified by the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.
Fresh or Recycled?
The carbon footprint of pharma packaging made from fresh fibers can be lower than that of packaging made from recycled fibers. Factors such as paperboard weight, the amount of material needed to produce a piece of packaging, and the type of energy used significantly influence the carbon footprint.
“With recycled paperboard, you often need more material to meet the same strength and stiffness requirements as fresh fiber,” says Anne Uusitalo, Product Safety and Sustainability Director at Metsä Board. “Fresh fiber paperboards provide high strength and bulk, allowing for lighter basis weights while maintaining packaging quality. This results in less packaging material needed, reduced weight for transport, and less waste at the end of the lifecycle.”
Additionally, the type of energy used in paperboard production is crucial: “Our paperboards are produced with a high share of fossil-free energy, which lowers the carbon footprint,” Uusitalo adds.
