Extending Our Great Record Of Environmental Progress BY MARY DRAIN
tal stewardship. We have and continue to work hard to re- duce our supply chain impact on the environment. In fact, the Corrugated Packaging Alliance (CPA), which is jointly sponsored by the Fibre Box Association (FBA), the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), AICC, The Independent Packaging Association and TAPPI, is cur- rently conducting its fourth Corrugated Industry Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based on 2020 data. The last LCA, which measures and documents the cra- dle-to-cradle environmental impact of corrugated packag- ing manufactured in 2014 was released in 2017. See below some of the progress we have made since the first LCA was released in 2010 based on 2006 data: The corrugated industry reduced its GHG emissions by 35 percent between 2006 and 2014. The reduction was driven by increased OCC recovery and use of energy generated from renewable, carbon-neutral biomass and decreased overall use of fossil fuels. Other notable im- provements between 2006 and 2014 include a 29 percent reduction in the effects of nutrient releases on receiving waters and soils; a 23 percent reduction in photo-chemical ozone creation; a 21 percent reduction in water use; and a 21 percent reduction in respiratory related effects. Look for the results of the fourth LCA coming in early 2022; results that will showcase our extended record of environmental progress. Mary Drain is Technical Director at Fiber Box Associa- tion. Reach her at mdrain@fibrebox.org.
According to a recent Stanford Social Innovation Review article, “Today, more than 90 percent of CEOs state that
sustainability is important to their company’s success, and compa- nies develop sustainability strate- gies, market sustainable products and services, create positions such as chief sustainability officer, and publish sustainability reports for consumers, investors, activ- ists, and the public at large.
Mary Drain
Most global brands have already synergized business objectives and sustainability into their overall strategy, to reduce their carbon footprint. Fibre Box Association high- lights many of those efforts in the monthly Plastic Reduc- tion report we publish for our members. We feature the companies and government organizations around the world who have committed to the reduction of single-use plastics as part of their sustainability goals. The idea of sustainability is not new to the corrugated industry. For over a century the corrugated industry has built a business philosophy dedicated to responsibility, from worker safety to economic viability and environmen-
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July 5, 2021
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