SIG Thailand, a Switzerland-based packaging developer, is continuing efforts to significantly cut carbon dioxide emissions, including abandoning the use of aluminium to make cartons that lengthen the shelf life of food.
The company developed aluminium-free packaging to make aseptic cartons for liquid dairy products, in addition to carrying out a project to promote better forest conservation in Thailand, part of efforts to support its campaign against global warming.
"We are committed to developing packaging products which are friendly to human health and the environment, now that many countries, especially in Europe, are concerned about environmental issues," said Vatcharapong Ungsrisawasdi, country manager of SIG Thailand.
Aluminium is a key raw material for making the multi-layered structure of aseptic cartons as it is an ideal barrier against oxygen and light that can spoil food inside the boxes.
However, aluminium production is not good for the world's climate. Extracting and processing this metallic element needs a considerable amount of energy, thus increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Aluminium-free packaging leads to easier recycling which will help reduce the amount of waste, said Mr Vatcharapong.
According to SIG, the packaging structure for multi-serve cartons with no aluminium layer cuts the carbon footprint of SIG's standard aseptic cartons by up to 61% when combined with forest-based polymers.
The company uses polymers that are derived from wood biomass instead of petrochemical-based plastics as another way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Made of more than 80% paper, the cartons simplify the packaging structure to only two main raw materials, said Mr Vatcharapong.
SIG, which was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Neuhausen, Switzerland, runs a packaging factory in the eastern province of Rayong.
The company cooperates with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, widely known as WWF, to better protect forest landscapes in Thailand.
The initiative aims to enhance forest management and connectivity in the Dawna Tenasserim, a mountain range straddling the Myanmar-Thailand border, Lower Songkhram, which is a wetland in Nakhon Phanom, and Dong Phayayen forest in the lower Northeast, benefiting a total of 60,000 hectares of forests.