New study: corrugated board impresses with sustainable and durable raw material base

This is confirmed by the bifa Umweltinstitut in its latest study "Sustainable paper cycle - a fact base", which was based on numerous scientific studies commissioned by the Verband Deutscher Papierfabriken e. V..

"The new fact base provides up-to-date evidence on the sustainability of paper-based packaging - and at the same time refutes older studies," comments managing director of the Verband der Wellpappen-Industrie e. V. Dr. Oliver Wolfrum on the publication. He said the previously frequently cited figure of a maximum of seven recycling cycles for paper products came from older analyses, but these also included fewer remanufacturing processes overall. "The study by the bifa Umweltinstitut now confirms a new state of knowledge and shows how durable the basis of corrugated board is," says Wolfrum. The very good recyclability creates the prerequisite for the practice already largely practiced in Germany: corrugated board here already consists of about 80 percent recovered paper-based papers.

With regard to the renewable primary raw material wood, the bifa study states that it does not cause any greenhouse gas emissions in the balance sheet and does not impair the forest ecosystem if used sustainably. An analysis of the origin of wood shows that clearing or conversion of primary and near-natural forest predominantly serves purposes other than paper production, such as the extraction of agricultural land in South America. By certifying forest areas and purchasing FSC- or PEFC-certified wood, pulp or paper, many companies also support sustainable forest management.