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Life-cycle assessment for NCSD packaging: carton packs are top performers in the categories CO2 emission and fossil resource consumption A 2011 Europe-wide life-cycle assessment analysing disposable PET bottles, disposable glass bottles and carton packs as packaging for non-carbonated soft drinks has confirmed that in all format sizes, compared to the commercially available packaging alternatives, carton packs have an environmental profile that offers significant benefits particularly with respect to CO2 emission, use of fossil resources and consumption of primary energy. In all three format sizes evaluated (small format: PET/carton pack 250 ml, glass 200 ml; medium format: all three packaging systems 1,000 ml; large format: PET/carton pack 1,500 ml), the comparative analysis showed that the carton pack offers significant advantages with respect to emissions and to use of resources. In the 1-litre format, the packaging size with the greatest market relevance, carton packs generate 28 per cent less CO2, use 51 per cent less fossil resources, and consume 24 per cent less primary energy compared to monolayer PET bottles. The current, independently verified study carried out by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU) attributes the carton pack’s positive environmental profile largely to the good environmental performance of the main raw material, including its renewability and the resource-efficient use of materials. Already today, carton packs are manufactured up to 75 per cent from wood fibre, a natural, completely renewable and bio-based resource. In order to produce valid, scientifically sound and reliable facts on the environmental impacts generated by carton packaging for non-carbonated soft drinks (NCSD) in comparison with packaging alternatives such as glass and PET bottles, SIG Combibloc commissioned the IFEU in Heidelberg (Germany) with carrying out a comparative, Europe-wide life-cycle assessment. The objective of the study was to analyse the environmental impacts of a range of different packaging systems for non-carbonated soft drinks and evaluate them according to ISO 14040ff, the ISO standard for life-cycle assessments. The independent IFEU institute is one of the world's foremost environmental research institutes, also carrying out studies and analyses for, among others, government ministries, international environmental and conservation organisations, Germany's Federal Environmental Agency, and various companies and corporations. The results of the life-cycle assessment conducted by the IFEU have been monitored, critically reviewed and confirmed by independent LCA and packaging experts Prof. Dr. Walter Klöpffer, Hans-Jürgen Garvens and Dr. Fredy Dinkel. |
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