UPM Raflatac has extended its CarbonNeutral product portfolio by achieving product certification for its entire linerless product range.
The certification has been issued by Natural Capital Partners, in accordance with the CarbonNeutral Protocol, which is a global framework that provides a robust and pragmatic blueprint for carbon neutrality.
UPM said that direct thermal (DT) linerless labelling products help customers to reduce their packaging footprint, and is in high demand in the packaging value chain.
According to the company, sustainability and efficiency benefits of using linerless are significant, as linerless brings up to a 40 per cent reduction in material usage, compared to traditional labelling technologies.
“Our ambition in UPM Raflatac is to go beyond fossils. In practice, this means that we are constantly innovating new ways to reduce the carbon emissions of our products,” explained Robert Taylor, sustainability director at UPM Raflatac.
“This is a must to meet our climate commitments, but also for our business, as the market demand for sustainable labelling solutions is high, and growing all the time.
“The new CarbonNeutral product certification of our linerless range is a great addition to our CarbonNeutral product portfolio, which already includes the RAFNXT+ products, and is a big leap forward in providing our customers even more sustainable solutions, and enabling them to take positive climate action.”
The carbon footprint measure of UPM Raflatac’s linerless products have already been certified by the Carbon Trust, and the new CarbonNeutral certification is further proof of the actions taken to define, measure and reduce the emissions originating from the linerless manufacturing process, raw materials and transportation.
The linerless products’ cradle-to-customer greenhouse gas emissions are compensated in full through global projects, which are verified to internationally recognised standards, such as the Gold Standard.
This means that UPM Raflatac has already taken care of compensating the emissions that are today still unavoidable on behalf of its customers, and customers can make deductions on emissions relating to UPM Raflatac linerless products in their lifecycle assessment calculations.
“We work with leading organisations to deliver action on climate change and create a more sustainable world,” said Natalie Taylor, director of client solutions at Natural Capital Partners.
“Our joined-up approach helps organisations like UPM Raflatac address their environmental impacts by using carbon market solutions, which also support sustainable development. UPM Raflatac’s new CarbonNeutral product is a great next step on their climate action journey.”
The actions UPM Raflatac has taken with linerless are part of its efforts to lead the label industry into a net-zero carbon emission future.
UPM is among the first forest industry companies committed to the UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C to take tangible actions to mitigate climate change.
UPM has also joined the Climate Pledge, which commits the company to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040 – a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050.
