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Environmental management SIG Combibloc decided in 1994 to introduce an environmental management system. It has proved to be a functional tool to selectively achieve continuous ecological improvements in processes and products. It leads to better environmental performance including legal compliance. The certification of SIG Combibloc to ISO 14001 covers the development, manufacture and distribution of carton packages as well as the development of filling machines. In all activities, the impact on the environment is kept as low as possible. Consequently, ecological responsibility is firmly anchored in the global “SIG Combibloc Environmental Policy and Guidelines”. Resource efficiency Environmental considerations are incorporated into the development of new variations on our carton packs as well. All existing equipment and planned technical improvements in production are regularly reviewed in terms of their environmental relevance. And in construction projects, ecological considerations are integrated directly into planning and implementation. In co-operation with the manufacturers of the unprocessed cardboard, SIG Combibloc has worked consistently to enhance its carton packs, reducing the weight of the packaging, for instance, by more than 23 per cent over the past 20 years. This was achieved e.g. through a new cardboard layer structure and by optimising the weight of the closures. In the design of our filling equipment we also put the main focus on handling resources with care. By developing new filling machines and modifying existing models, we have significantly reduced consumption of water, energy and compressed air. Logistic advantages Carton packs are lightweight and easy to stack, so they are efficient along the entire supply chain. Because they are delivered to the filling company’s premises as flat carton sleeves, the shipping volume of a truck can be used to full potential. Even when carrying filled carton packs, a truck is transporting around 95 per cent content and just 5 per cent packaging. Moreover, products filled in aseptic cartons packs have a long shelf-life and do not need any preservatives or cool chain. This means that transporting carton packs is more cost efficient because less trucks are needed and less toll has to be paid compared to the transporation of bottles. More important, the transportation of carton packs generates fewer pollutant emissions than transporting heavy packaging systems that take up a lot of space. And that means less carbon dioxide (CO2), less nitrogen oxide (NOx) and less carbon monoxide (CO) being discharged into the atmosphere – contributing to the Greenhouse Effect and causing global warming. |
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