Packaging company SIG has claimed that it is leading the industry with renewable energy, electricity and gas, for production globally.
Image: SIG is the first in the industry to produce all its packs using 100% renewable energy. Photo: courtesy of SIG.
The company said it is using 100% renewable energy at sites worldwide, eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from production.
The move allows SIG to meet its 2020 target to source 100% renewable energy and Gold Standard CO2 offset for all non-renewable energy at production facilities two years early.
SIG, which switched to 100% renewable electricity for production in 2017, is now focused on replacing the remaining energy used in manufacturing process with renewable alternatives.
SIG global category manager for energy procurement Arnold Schuhwerk said the company achieved a big milestone last year by securing 100% renewable electricity for production.
“Sourcing renewable alternatives for gas was even more challenging because the market for renewable biogas is not yet well established,” Schuhwerk said.
SIG said that it failed to find viable options to source renewable biogas directly.
As a result, in China, Thailand and Turkey, the company is sourcing energy indirectly instead by supporting projects to construct and operate waste-to-energy systems that capture gas generated at landfill sites and use it to produce renewable energy.
SIG noted that the projects are certified to the GoldPower standard, which guarantees the delivery of significant greenhouse emissions reductions.
Schuhwerk said: “We chose the projects because they are certified to a recognised standard to make sure they have a positive social impact as well as supporting environmental savings.”
SIG is offsetting all other remaining greenhouse gas emissions from its production sites to ensure production is free from greenhouse gas emissions.
The company said the switch to renewable gas will save an expected 28,600 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions a year.
SIG intends to cut Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 from the 2016 levels.
Founded 1853, SIG is headquartered in Neuhausen, Switzerland. In 2017, the company produced 33.6 billion carton packs and generated €1.66bn in revenue.