Packaging with less material can help reduce your environmental impact

Cutting the weight of your packaging is an easy way for you to achieve greater sustainability in terms of resource efficiency. The lighter the pack, the less material is needed in production and, equally, less fuel is required in the supply chain. Tap into our long-term expertise and let’s help you to make the right choice.

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If you want your goods to be responsibly packaged, one of the key factors to consider is the weight of the packaging. In pursuit of optimised use of resources over the past two decades, Superfos, a Berry Global company, has worked determinedly to reduce the weight of the packaging products we offer you.

Optimised use of material
As an example, a 1,2L yogurt pot has become 16% lighter, 2008 compared with 2017, without losing any of its protective properties. Over this 10-year period a reduction of approximately 2.500 tons of plastic measured across the 1,2L yogurt pots has taken place.

Birthe Bebe Nielsen, Divisional Product Manager at Superfos, explains:

“Whether a cut in weight and material is possible or not depends on the actual application of a packaging product and, to Superfos, top quality always remains a priority. However, our long-term expertise allows us to keep progressing in this field, maintaining a 360° approach. When it comes to food products, we consider temperatures during filling, the cooling process and the further handling of the packaged food product in the filling line, in particular. Concerning non-food products, other requirements such as sturdiness and strength are dominant. Must the container be suitable for tinting machines? How important is the stacking aspect? Often, we can find ways to optimise the use of material.”

Lower weight means improved resource efficiency
In support of your sustainability profile, your choice of packaging must make sense from an environmental and economic point of view. Plastic delivers a strong performance throughout the value chain, as it is both strong and lightweight. These attributes protect product contents and the weight, often being lighter than alternative materials, can result in a lower carbon footprint in that perspective. Another example of the important role of plastic as a material in our society is its vital part in minimizing food waste. 

Even with lighter types of packaging, progress can still be made, as Birthe Bebe Nielsen points out:

“In the late 1980s, we launched the UniPak series which, already back then, was lightweight when measured against other types of consumer goods packaging. Another example of a lightweight packaging solution, resulting from Superfos product development, is the SuperLight™ pot. For the benefit of our customers and for greater sustainability, we are constantly seeking to optimise our processes and use of material, especially when applying new generation moulds and tools. This is perfectly in line with our values and core competences.”

We constantly work on new methods for weight reduction and currently have several opportunities open for customer cooperation. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you want to discuss the potential to reduce your environmental footprint through optimised packaging solutions.