Kellie Northwood, CEO of print industry employers’ group Visual Media Association (VMA), presented on the benefits of fibre packaging at APPEX, as part of the ecoporium by Ball & Doggett series.
Northwood told guests that fibre had myriad benefits when it came to sustainability, saying: “VMA is unashamedly pro-fibre, it has many benefits over plastic. It is renewable, recyclable and reusable.”
Northwood said that of all the materials used in packaging, fibre alone has already met the 2025 Sustainability Targets.
She told the audience that cartonboard could be recycled up to seven times, and that resupply of virgin pulp from tree farms meant paper companies were engaged in a process of reforestation, which is beneficial for the environment.
Northwood then used a couple of case studies to show how fibre was being used in packaging, highlighting global brands IKEA and Absolut Vodka as examples. She said IKEA’s switch to paper-based pallets was saving it $83m a year, along with significant CO2 savings. She also shone a light on Absolut’s use of fibre-based bottles, which also delivers significant CO2 savings over glass bottles.
She ended her presentation with a call for all in the printing industry to promote the benefits of fibre, especially to government, as it moves to regulate packaging.
Moderator of the ecoporium by Ball & Doggett session, Zaidee Jackson, thanked Northwood for her contribution, and said there was a need for the plethora of information around sustainability to be distilled down into a form that is easily understandable for busy print business owners.
