Building an Accountable Supply Chain

Scope 3 emissions encompass all emissions that a company is indirectly responsible for across its value chain, and may include carbon emissions resulting from transportation and distribution, end-of-life treatment, and suppliers’ materials. © KUBE – stock.adobe.com

Managing Scope 3 Emissions is a priority in the flexible packaging industry.

By Natalie Jardell, Sustainability & Technical Manager with the Flint Group

With sustainability becoming increasingly important to the packaging industry, many printers and converters proudly boast about their environmental credentials. From installing renewable energy sources to running more efficient presses, investments in reducing emissions are becoming more prevalent. However, any supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. For any business to be truly sustainable, it needs to understand the environmental impact of its suppliers in addition to its own operations.

Managing Scope 3 emissions is a topic of increasing concern for those involved in the packaging sector. As brands continue to realize the value of demonstrating their commitment to sustainability, working with suppliers who understand and can provide details about Scope 3 emissions is critical. This alignment will enable printers to improve their environmental objectives and continue to be more sustainable.

What are Scope 3 Emissions?

Carbon emissions are typically separated into categories known as Scope 1, 2, and 3. Scope 1 relates to direct emissions from a company’s operations, and Scope 2 refers to any emissions caused indirectly through activities like buying energy.

Scope 3 emissions are a broader category, encompassing all emissions that a company is indirectly responsible for across its value chain, from both upstream and downstream activities. In practical terms, this often refers to those emissions caused by transportation and distribution, end-of-life treatment, and suppliers’ materials.

Although these emissions can be difficult to control, they often represent a high proportion of a business’s total emissions profile. According to the UN Global Compact initiative, Scope 3 emissions usually account for more than 70% of a business’s total carbon footprint.[1] Working with suppliers that measure and actively manage their own emissions is therefore essential for any business that wants to show real commitment to the environment.

An Accountable Supply Chain

The extent of Scope 3 emissions underlines the importance of partners caring deeply about environmental issues. Regardless of how energy efficient a press is, consumables suppliers that fail to match a printer’s commitment to sustainability will undermine their carbon reduction efforts.

Addressing this challenge requires printers to take the lead in sustainability by prioritizing suppliers that have created actionable frameworks detailing their efforts on environmental impact. Such frameworks provide an assessment of a supplier’s value as an ongoing partner and should be carefully considered before entering into a new supply arrangement.

Product Selection

One of the more essential elements of a supplier’s environmental commitments should be actions taken to reduce the carbon footprint of its core products. Inks and coatings made with bio-, recycled, or water-based formulations are designed to minimize the use of raw materials with a high environmental impacts. Compared with conventional ink technology, products with a lower carbon footprint support printers in reducing their Scope 3 emissions.

Going a step further, some suppliers pride themselves on offering products that support a circular packaging economy. This concept focuses on keeping packaging resources, such as substrate material, in use for as long as possible. Reusing and recycling a package reduces the carbon emissions associated with resource extraction and manufacturing of virgin materials by allowing the end-of-life materials to remain in the value chain. Certain print consumables that simplify recycling can go a long way towards increasing the amount of substrate material that can be reclaimed, reducing a pack’s overall environmental impact.

Washable flexible packaging inks play a major role in supporting the circular economy. Although inks and coatings only account for a small weight percentage of a finished piece of flexible packaging, they can significantly impact sustainability. If incorrectly chosen, the inks used on flexible packaging can adversely affect recyclability due to contamination, degrading recyclate quality and rendering it unsuitable for further use.

Flexible packaging inks designed for deinking circumvent this issue and enable a greater proportion of flexible packaging to be repurposed into new packaging materials. This is because, unlike conventional inks, wash-off inks allow for safer conditions and cleaner materials to be recycled. As a result of de-inking, these inks can be removed with minimal impact, leading to lower plastic discoloration, maintenance of physical properties, and lower VOCs during reprocessing. Offering these products helps to keep packaging materials in operation for longer, promotes a circular economy, reduces Scope 3 emissions.

For film and foil printing applications, water-based inks can be an alternative to solvent-based technology that provides enhanced safety and sustainability. With low or no volatile organic compounds, these inks avoid releasing solvents into the atmosphere and do not contain harmful substances such as PVC or phthalates. Although water-based inks have historically struggled to match the performance of solvent inks on substrates such as films, today’s printers have access to a range of water-based inks that provide similar, if not equal, quality standards.

Demonstrable Commitments

Reducing emissions in the packaging industry is a journey without a definitive end. The nature of this sector, with ever-shifting regulations, consumer expectations, and technologies, means that requirements around sustainability are ever-evolving, and businesses are expected to respond proactively. As a result, having partners that can offer tangible support in Scope 3 emissions and Scopes 1 and 2 is instrumental to successful environmental action.

Importantly, it is not enough to take a supplier’s word regarding their environmental commitments. Printers should seek out suppliers with an unshakeable commitment to helping brand owners meet their sustainability goals throughout the journey, defined through written policies and frameworks on sustainability. Such policies must detail the actions to reduce product impact, support customers, and help build a circular economy. By partnering with suppliers that can demonstrate a commitment to the environment, printers position themselves as leaders in sustainability within the packaging sector, build stronger relationships with customers, and contribute to a cleaner world.

About the Author

Natalie Jardell is a Sustainability & Technical Manager with the Flint Group. Flint Group is dedicated to serving the needs of the global Flexible Packaging, Paper & Board, Narrow Web and Publication industries, both conventional and digitally printed. The company develops, manufactures and markets an extensive portfolio of printing consumables and equipment, including: a vast range of conventional and energy curable inks, coatings and additives for Flexographic, Gravure & Offset applications; pressroom chemicals and printing blankets. Furthermore, Flint Group designs and manufacturers digital printing presses for labels, corrugated packaging, document and commercial applications. The company is a leader in color management solutions which are supported by a Global Color Center to ensure color consistency and standardization. For more information, please visit www.flintgrp.com.

[1] https://www.unglobalcompact.org.uk/scope-3-emissions/

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