ITASCA, IL - An essential component of our supply chain is corrugated packaging, and it has an essential part to play in the fight for sustainability. Fibre Box Association is a champion within the sector, continuously promoting the benefits of corrugated cardboard material.

During my conversation with Fibre Box’s Senior Vice President, Rachel Kenyon, we immediately touched on something critical: Why put a plant-based product in a package that’s not plant-based? And that’s exactly it—as an industry championing health, we have to apply that within our operations.

“Our boxes are made from natural fibers, so there’s automatically a strong connection to the farmers who are growing these products for consumers,” Rachel began. “One thing we see these consumers concerned about is that their boxes aren’t getting recycled when they put them in the bin, but that’s certainly not true of our products. We couldn’t continue to make our products without that recovery stream.”

This was recently highlighted in the association’s 2020 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

“We began doing LCAs of corrugated packaging in 2006, and we’ve done four since. From 2006 to 2020, Fibre Box has reduced the greenhouse gas emissions per unit by 50 percent,” Rachel said, noting the commitment that came from our industry that drove down that environmental impact. “When you look at the LCA, the results that we achieve are because we recycle our product, because we use the fiber again, and we can't achieve those results without that recycling.”

One of the things end users of the association’s products—anyone who makes a product that goes out to retailers—should note, as Rachel pointed out, is those retailers are often looking for how to calculate their impact on the environment.

“What we’ve been able to do with the information from our LCA is give information to users of boxers so they can calculate the Scope Three impact of our products,” Rachel shared. “Currently, we have a table in the LCA that outlines that information, but we’re soon coming out with a carbon calculator to help.”

There are many elements within the packaging industry that I learned from Rachel, and I highly implore you to reach out to her as a resource!