Taking a look at product life cycle

Improving eco-efficiency is important at Huhtamaki. To get a complete picture of the overall environmental impact of packaging, it is necessary to understand its entire life cycle, including phases before and after the actual packaging conversion. Research shows packaging accounts for a minor share of the life cycle and environmental impact of a food product.

Huhtamaki, in cooperation with the European Molded Fiber Association, has conducted a life cycle assessment for egg packaging and has conducted a similar assessment for its Foodservice business segment. Below are conclusions from some of the findings:

Egg carton
Egg cartons are made of recovered paper and can be recycled or composted after use. Air emissions related to energy consumption is the main environmental aspect in egg carton production. The carbon footprint of a carton of six eggs equals a 250 meter drive with a regular car or having a 40 watt light bulb on for one hour.

Cold drink cups
When comparing paper and plastic drink cups, our assessment shows the global warming potential is less for paper cups when incinerated with energy recovery. The global warming potential is reduced even further with our bio-coated BioWare paper cups.

Huhtamaki continues to use a life cycle approach when assessing the sustainability performance of packaging. Internal life cycle assessment tools have been developed to efficiently support this activity.