BillerudKorsnäs wants to cut food waste – joins SAVE FOOD
BillerudKorsnäs has joined SAVE FOOD, a UN supported global initiative on food loss and waste. With smarter packaging solutions, BillerudKorsnäs contributes to a significant reduction in waste.
"A key component of BillerudKorsnäs’ development work on smarter packaging solutions involves a focus on improved food transport. Consequently, it is a natural step for us to be part of Save Food", says Henrik Essén, Senior Vice President, Communication and Sustainability. Save Food – a UN supported global initiative on food loss and waste – was launched in 2011 and aims to reduce the amount of food lost or thrown away. An estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted each year, corresponding to 3.3 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions. This can be compared with emissions from all road traffic in the US in 2010, which amounted to 1.5 gigatonnes.
Large-scale fruit and vegetable losses
"Fruit and vegetables account for the greatest losses in the food industry, not only in absolute figures when it comes to the number of tonnes destroyed but also with respect to the costs incurred for waste and from an environmental perspective. The carbon footprint from organic products that are transported long distances but never consumed is very large", says Lars Broström, Commercial Director at Paccess, a subsidiary of BillerudKorsnäs. About a quarter of this waste is attributable, unfortunately, to inadequate packaging.
"One problem is that few players in the supply chain look at the overall picture when it comes to transporting food and instead focus only on their own area of the supply chain. Companies often use cheap packaging solutions that are only able to withstand the transport distance for which they are responsible".
SoliQ™ boxes protect fruit
With strong, primary-fibre based packaging material and high-performance solutions, BillerudKorsnäs is able to contribute to less waste. For example, BillerudKorsnäs has developed the SoliQ™ corrugated box to withstand the difficult conditions associated with intercontinental transport of grapes and citrus fruits from South Africa to Europe. SoliQ™ offers clear advantages throughout the value chain – from packaging manufacturers and growers all the way to the consumer. With SoliQ™, packaging-related waste has decreased radically. This has resulted in significant cost savings and less manual handling in the supply chain as well as strengthening the supplier’s brand, particularly among importers. "In addition to durability, it is important to consider temperature and moisture when developing packaging solutions, since high temperatures and condensation are common causes of fruit and vegetable spoilage during transport", says Lars Broström.
Facts Paccess
Paccess is part of the BillerudKorsnäs Group and has its headquarters in Portland, Oregon and regional offices throughout Europe and Asia. Paccess develops and delivers global packaging solutions that increase the quality of brands and lower the cost of supply chains.
Read more about Save Food on its webpage: http://www.save-food.org/
For more information, please contact:
Henrik Essén, SVP Sustainability and communication. +46730573801
henrik.essen@billerudkorsnas.com
Lars Broström, Commercial Director, Paccess. +46763141001
BillerudKorsnäs provides high quality paper and state of the art packaging expertise. Together with our global network of converters we develop smarter packaging solutions that save costs, boost brands thanks to improved design, and contribute towards smoother logistics and a cleaner environment. We have a turnover of SEK20 billion and employ 4,300 people in 13 countries.’www.billerudkorsnas.com
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