Lighter and more sustainable

Natural, pure and safe wood is a raw material of the future that can replace old fossil-based materials and guide our consumption habits in a more sustainable direction.

The population of the world is currently 7.81 billion people, and is estimated to increase to ten billion by 2050.

Population growth will continue to present challenges in food production, the packaging industry and waste management, because consumption keeps increasing, although we should produce and consume less and more sustainably.

Return to the era of wood

Millions of products are used and packaged daily around the globe. In Europe, the average annual consumption of packaging materials is 173 kilos per capita. Today’s environmentally conscious consumers are aware of the importance of where a product comes from and how it has been produced and packaged.

“Consumers’ purchasing decisions are increasingly affected by sustainability, safety and environmental friendliness. Younger generations in particular are interested in the ecological footprints of products and packaging,” says Anne Uusitalo, Product Safety and Sustainability Director at Metsä Board.

Consumers’ environmental awareness has increased demand for wood-fibre-based products and packaging, as people have realised that renewable and recyclable wood is a raw material of the future that can replace old fossil-based materials and guide our consumption habits in a more sustainable direction.

Maximum performance through minimum materials

Sustainable packaging is produced responsibly, using the optimal amount of the best material suitable for the application.

“Responsible and smart packaging is made from certified, sustainable and recyclable materials, and has been designed to produce maximum performance with minimum materials,” says Ilkka Harju, Packaging Services Director at Metsä Board.

This means that the packaging is lightweight but durable, so the product can be delivered intact throughout the supply chain, minimising waste.

Durable and recyclable wood

Responsible and smart packaging has also been designed to be as easy as possible to reuse and recycle. If recycling is not easy, people tend not to recycle – which is a more significant problem than the materials used in the packaging.

“New manufacturing technologies and fresh-fibre-based packaging solutions can be used to produce intelligent, lightweight and durable packaging that requires less raw material and is fully recyclable and compostable,” says Harju.

New manufacturing technologies and fresh-fibre-based packaging solutions can be used to produce intelligent, lightweight and durable packaging that requires less raw material and is fully recyclable and compostable.

ILKKA HARJU | METSÄ BOARD

Folding boxboard magic: lightweight but strong

The magic of Metsä Board’s folding boxboard lies in its pure, natural raw material and a layered structure, which ensures the lightness and durability of the material.

“Thanks to its lightness and durability, less fresh fibre paperboard is needed, in terms of weight, for the same area than recycled-fibre-based paperboard, for example,” says Markku Leskelä, VP, Research and Product Development at Metsä Board.

This means that less material is needed to produce the strong structure of Metsä Board’s folding boxboard, and that the paperboard can be up to 30% lighter than paperboard made from recycled fibre, for example.

Lightweight also means environmentally friendly

The lightness of packaging affects the entire supply chain, as well as the carbon footprint of the product. Lighter packaging significantly reduces environmental impacts.

“When the packaging is lightweight, producing it consumes less raw materials, water and energy, which also means that there is less material to transport. In addition, fibre-based packaging can be efficiently recycled as industrial raw material after use,” Leskelä sums up.

Every day, 150 million units of packaging made from Metsä Board’s folding boxboard ends up in people’s homes. “If we make our folding boxboard 1% lighter, we can produce up to 550 million more cereal or pasta boxes annually using the same amount of material. In other words, even a small reduction in the amount of material makes a big difference globally,” says Leskelä.

When the packaging is lightweight, producing it consumes less raw materials, water and energy, which also means that there is less material to transport.

MARKKU LESKELÄ | METSÄ BOARD