A study led by Peter Holmgren, forestry specialist and former Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), shows that BillerudKorsnäs' sales of cardboard, paper and pulp contribute to an annual reduction of 5.4Mt of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This corresponds to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from the entire Swedish steel industry, or one third of all domestic transport in Sweden.
The figure also includes the negative climate impact from the packaging supplier's operations, which mainly concerns emissions related to the purchasing of input products and transport. BillerudKorsnäs' production is today 97 per cent fossil-free.
"Overall, the effect of replacing plastic, glass and aluminium packaging with paper-based solutions is much greater than what has previously been estimated. We hope that the study contributes to increased understanding both in politics and for commerce, brand owners and consumers when they choose between different packaging materials, says Malin Ljung Eiborn, Billerud’s Sustainability Director.
"In addition we have a large focus on phasing out the remaining three per cent of fossil fuels from our production," adds Malin Ljung Eiborn.
