2022 Year in Review by Elopak CEO Thomas Körmendi

2022 has been an eventful year, with many successes recorded and significant progress made in delivering on our sustainability-driven growth strategy. We launched exciting new innovations, expanded to new markets, and set ourselves more ambitious goals as we work to become a net-zero company by 2050.

It has not been without its challenges however, and in response to the conflict in Ukraine we made an early decision to suspend operations in Russia before subsequently divesting our Russian business (JSC Elopak) to local management, (pending approval by relevant authorities).

Our thoughts remain with our colleagues and their families in Ukraine, and we continue to support them in every way we can. I am proud of the speed and determination with which we responded to this crisis. Having suspended operations in the country while we evaluated the safety and viability of the situation, we re-opened our plant in Fastiv in April following requests from local and central government. Local management also remain keen for Elopak to continue to fulfil its vital role in the supply chain for essential items such as milk, juice and baby formula.

In 2022 we were excited to roll out some of our latest sustainability-focused innovations. In May, we launched the Pure-Pak® eSense carton – our first aseptic carton to be made without an aluminium layer. Instead, it uses a polyolefin bled barrier, resulting in an up to 50% smaller carbon footprint than a standard Pure-Pak® aseptic carton.

We were also pleased to see the Pure-TwistFlip™ tethered cap hit the shelves: an innovative new closure that remains attached to the carton throughout its entire lifecycle. This reduces the risk of littering and conforms with the EU’s Single-Use Plastic Directive well ahead of the deadline in 2024.

Following our listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2021, Elopak has embarked upon a strategy of sustainability-driven growth. Part of this strategy involves bringing our cartons to new geographies and market segments as we position beverage cartons as the low carbon, sustainable alternative to plastic bottles. We were therefore delighted to finalise our acquisition of Naturepak Beverage in March 2022, gaining two new production facilities in Morocco and Saudi Arabia and expanding our presence across the MENA region.

I was thrilled to visit Elopak’s new facilities at Casablanca to welcome all our new colleagues to the team and look forward to working closely with them as we increase our reach to new and exciting markets.

In this vein of bringing Elopak cartons to the world, in April we were proud to sign a licensing agreement with our long-time partners Nippon Paper Industries, allowing the company to produce and sell Pure-Pak® cartons in the Oceanian market. In May we announced a joint venture with GLS in India to form GLS Elopak and cater to one of the largest markets in the world.

As ever, sustainability remains at the heart of what Elopak does and who we are as a company. In 2022, we were delighted to announce new science-based emission reduction targets with the aim of becoming a net-zero company by 2050. These targets were verified by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and include a 42% cut to direct emissions by 2030.

Elopak was one of the first non-pilot companies to have these targets approved by SBTi as part of our ongoing commitment to be pioneers of sustainable business conduct and set ourselves ambitious carbon reduction goals.

As we head towards 2023, I am once again optimistic about the future and look forward to another year of innovation, collaboration, and sustainability-driven growth. I am grateful to all our staff, customers, suppliers, and partners who have helped make this year such a triumph and wish you all a very happy festive period and a prosperous new year.