Carbon neutral company
Elopak has been a carbon neutral company since 2016. We compensate for all emissions from our own manufacturing processes, our transport and our business travels, through beyond value-chain mitigation.
After measuring, monitoring, reporting and systematically reducing emissions, carbon neutrality can be achieved. Elopak continually invests to optimize production, increase energy efficiency, reduce raw material use and reduce waste. These efforts are key in our journey towards our Science Based Targets. Our residual emissions are offset by supporting projects which have proven to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to health and societal benefits.
Company emissions in 2022 were offset by supporting three projects:
Climate-adapted agriculture project, Kenya
This project is building the long-term resilience of small-scale farms in Western Kenya. By equipping local farmers with the tools and knowledge to use sustainable techniques, they are able to reverse poor soil quality that is affecting their crop yields and have a better chance at withstanding ever more unpredictable weather in the region. The project employs a team of local field officers to introduce practices such as planting crops between a variety of trees to offer shade from strong sun, shelter from wind and to stabilise the soil and increase water retention. These techniques build resilient food systems and at the same time sequester carbon, allowing the farmers to receive carbon finance through a transparent distribution scheme. The project also establishes village savings and loan associations, ensuring better financial security for communities in the project area.
Landfill gas to energy in Monterrey, Mexico
We need to tackle the amount of waste that is produced and we also need to scale existing solutions that make waste disposal more sustainable today. Waste from landfill sites emits large amounts of greenhouse gases, in particular methane, which over 20 years is many times more potent than carbon dioxide. The purpose of the project is to capture this gas and prevent it from being released freely into the atmosphere. Once captured, gas is used as a fuel for electricity generation and hence displaces fossil fuel-based electricity. Looking to the future, the project also contributes to improving solid waste management practices through a remediation program to close landfills – and increasing recycling in Mexico. The project contributes to a range of Mexico’s sustainable development goals, specifically by:
- expanding clean and efficient technologies;
- generating clean renewable energy;
- creating employment opportunities;
- improving waste management practices and preventing environmental pollution.
Isangi REDD+ project
The Isangi project in the Congo Basin protects over 187,000 hectares of one of Earth’s most biodiverse rainforests from deforestation. As carbon sinks, forests play an important role in climate change mitigation. This project helps to alleviate local poverty by promoting sustainable economic opportunities and developing educational initiatives to bring a brighter future to remote communities.
Elopak also provide carbon neutral packaging, which increases the scope and also compensates for the emissions from raw material production, waste and onward distribution. Essentially, carbon neutral packaging extends the scope of emissions to include all the emissions associated with our cartons.