Sustainable and renewable
ACE members are committed to sourcing wood fibre, their main raw material, from responsibly managed forests, which ensures they remain a renewable resource for generations to come.
In these forests for every tree harvested at maturity, new saplings are planted or grow naturally. Using wood fibre from forests with sound management practices has a positive environmental outcome, as forest volume is actually increasing in Europe year-on-year, with annual growth exceeding annual cutting.
Traceability
Traceability is one of industry’s most important ways to combat illegal logging and to make sure all wood used is responsibly sourced. ACE UK members, Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Group, and their paperboard suppliers, BillerudKorsnäs and Stora Enso, have put rigorous traceability systems in place so that they can trace their wood back to the forest area it came from.
These systems are independently verified and certified annually according to ‘Chain of Custody’ (CoC) standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
All paperboard purchased globally by ACE UK members for the manufacture of liquid cartons, and all their own packaging material manufacturing plants worldwide are 100% Chain of Custody certified. This commitment is subject to an annual review by ProForest, an independent verifier of forest supply chain practices.
The latest review can be found here.
Low Carbon
Liquid cartons have one of the lowest carbon footprints for packaging in their category, primarily because they are made from 75% wood fibre, a natural, renewable resource.
The shape and lightweight design of cartons mean they are space and transport efficient. A truck loaded with filled cartons transports approximately 95% product and only 5% packaging, reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared with the transportation of heavier and less space efficient products. Similarly, before they are filled cartons are highly space efficient as they travel flat-pack.
The liquid carton industry is fully committed to using energy efficient measures to reduce its environmental impact even further, with each member company having its own CO2 reduction targets in place.
