FEFCO (the European Federation of Corrugated Cardboard Manufacturers) has announced the launch of its Climate Neutrality Roadmap, conducted by Climact, to achieve climate neutrality by the year 2050.  This work responds to the EU Green Deal goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050.

The roadmap describes the corrugated cardboard sector’s strategy and commitment to achieving climate neutrality. It lays out key milestones, the most plausible scenarios, the required investments, and the necessary policy measures to reach this goal.

The key findings show that the corrugated cardboard industry can reduce its carbon footprint emissions through actions directly within its control by 2050 compared to business as usual (BAU):

• Improvements in material efficiency and circularity that would reduce the footprint by 3.3 MTCO2eq. (or 19%) by 2050 compared to BAU; and
• Further improvements in energy efficiency and decarbonization of the energy mix would reduce the footprint by an additional 2.8 MTCO2eq. (or 16%) by 2050 compared to BAU.

The ambitions of the corrugated cardboard sector’s Climate Neutrality Roadmap can only be achieved with a predictable and stable regulatory framework, access to a climate-friendly energy infrastructure, and policies to enable the decarbonization of the paper and transport sector.

Chairman of the FEFCO Climate Neutrality Roadmap Steering Committee, Alex Manisty, said, “The roadmap reflects a credible plan that can be implemented in the required timeframe, and shows the strong will of the industry to build a climate neutral future for corrugated cardboard. Already the most recycled packaging material, with 88% recycled content, climate neutral corrugated cardboard will enable sustainable global supply chains for the long-term.”

“Climate neutrality by 2050 is the way that the European Commission foresees its future growth strategy. The FEFCO Secretariat considers it a duty to guide and assist the corrugated cardboard industry to enable climate neutrality in its manufacturing operations” said Eleni Despotou, director general of FEFCO.

To learn more, visit www.fefco.org/eu-policy/climate-neutrality.