Pack Company reduces Customer's Packaging Carbon Footprint by 20%

Frontrunner Pack Company uses Pickler to support customers in their reduction journey. This is how.

By

Zazala Quist

On

February 15, 2024

Key insights

Key result 1

Internal awareness on the environmental footprint of bestsellers, common materials and production processes.

Key result 2

Realized Carbon Footprint reduction of 20% to 40% for 6 packaging product for customer Polvo.

Key result 3

Pack Company connected Pickler’s API to their ERP system, so they now have real-time, up-to-date footprint insights for all their products.

Pack Company

  • One stop shop for cardboard packaging
  • Retail, food, industry, logistics, e-commerce
  • Corrugated Cardboard, Solid Cardboard, Folding Cardboard, Hotmelt
  • https://www.packcompany.nl/
Company snapshot
  • Retail, food, industry, logistics, e-commerce.
  • The Netherlands
  • Corrugated Cardboard, Solid Cardboard, Folding Cardboard, Hotmelt
  • https://www.packcompany.nl/

About Pack company

With customers like Quantore, Orangefit, and Pink Gellac, Pack Company delivers tailor-made corrugated and cardboard packaging solutions to customers in retail, food, industry, logistics, and e-commerce. 

As our economy shifts, and demand for sustainable packaging rises. Pack Company wants to be able to motivate customers to incorporate material and impact reduction in their decision-making. 

But they don’t want to do it based on gut feelings.

“There’s a lot of chaos in the market in terms of what should or shouldn’t be done in terms of sustainability. As a result, I feel many companies aren’t honest about their environmental efforts. They put a sustainable-looking label on the packaging and make up a good story, which isn’t going to help anyone in the long term. Our future is heading towards impact transparency and impact-driven decisions. It’s about clarity and honesty.” 

  • Jan Koelewijn, Founder of Pack Company

The Challenge: FSC & recycling logos aren’t enough

Pack Company delivers tailor-made corrugated and cardboard packaging solutions across different industries for customers like Quantore, Orangefit, and Pink Gellac. 

They see how increasing sustainability demands and new EU legislation such as the CSRD - push their customers to report and reduce the footprint of their products and purchases.

FSC and recycling logos aren't enough. Pack Company wants to motivate customers to incorporate material and impact reduction in their decision-making with real-time, understandable insights into the footprint of their packaging solutions.

But calculating product impact isn’t easy:

  • It's difficult and time consuming.
  • Consultants ask up to €15.000 for one static footprint report, outdated in no time.
  • Communicating results comes with all kinds of greenwashing risks.

“We already see customers asking for footprint information now - and know this will only increase. That’s why we want to make this an inherent part of our service. Be the frontrunner that can already help our customers prepare for their reporting and reduction journeys”. 

  • Heleen Vink, Operations Manager at Pack Company

The solution: Independent footprint software

Pickler is footprint software specifically made to calculate footprint insights for packaging. It enables packaging companies to transparently share their results with stakeholders to facilitate sustainable decision-making. 

2 reasons Pack Company chose Pickler:

1. Easy comparisons: Pack Company wants to offer interested customers different options to reduce the impact of their packaging. The comparison functionality in Pickler enables them to easily create and compare different product scenarios or products - and share these with customers via a link, or pdf. 

2. Third-party credibility: Pack Company wanted a trusted third party as a partner to ensure credibility in methodology and communication. By using Picker’s software and database, they can ensure customers all their results are credible.

“There are many good things I can say about Pickler. To sum it up: Pickler works really well for what we need. We easily compare different tailored solutions, show them to our customers, and let them choose what they feel is best for their goals. It’s great to have an affordable, independent partner we can trust for credible results.” 
  • Jan Koelewijn, Founder at Pack Company 

How does it work?

Pickler calculates the environmental footprint of packaging using its scientific LCA-based Pickler methodology and the IDEMAT database. These are compliant with ISO 14040, 14044, EN15804, and the LCA handbook of the ILCD. Ensuring the integrity and reliability of data used in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

No matter the number of products - Pickler connects your product data (e.g. BOM, production processes, transport, etc.) - to average scientific impact data from its independent, auto-updated database Idemat.

The result: environmental impact results (carbon footprint + 4 other impact categories), ready to be shared 100% in line with anti-greenwashing regulations.

Read about Picklers’ specific footprint results here.

Results

1. Internal sustainability awareness

Pack Company used Pickler to increase internal awareness of how to best serve customers with their reduction journeys. They created footprint comparisons for their bestseller products, to gain environmental insights into the most used materials and products they offer. 

2. Helping customers reduce impact

Pack Company uses Pickler to help their customers reduce the environmental footprint of their packaging purchases.

1. Providing customers with eco forecasts for all their packaging solutions.

2. Listening to their customers’ wishes and providing advice for packaging solutions to realize their sustainability ambitions.

For example:

Case: How Pack Company helped a customer reduce its packaging carbon footprint by 40%.

Customer Need: Realize a carbon footprint reduction in their packaging materials. 

Why: Customer is a purpose-driven company that wants to align its purchases with its sustainable purchasing policy.

How: 

  1. Current product: customer now uses 6 different sizes cardboard boxes with full white print coverage.
  2. Using Pickler’s comparison function, Pack Company created product comparisons for all 6 products. Testing different materials and their potential carbon footprint reduction compared tocustomers old products.
  3. They presented the 6 comparison scenarios with brown cardboard - all reducing print coverage by 99%. 

The result: Brown cardboard box with lower costs and between 20-40% carbon footprint reduction. Find one of Pack Company's comparisons here.

One of Pack Company's Pickler comparisons for said client.

3. Insights for all solutions

Pack Company connected Pickler’s API to their ERP system, so they now have real-time, up-to-date footprint insights for all their products. If anything changes in their ERP system, this immediately reflects in their footprint calculations. 

Conclusion

Using Pickler, Pack Company can now always offer environmental reduction insights to interested customers. Embedding science-based sustainability in their services.

Complete focus on impact reduction. That’s what we like. 

Zazala Quist

Head of growth

Hi, I'm Zazala - Head of Growth at Pickler. I've worked in impact measurements for many years and experienced first hand how difficult it can be for businesses to start. My goal: share my practical knowledge to make environmental sustainability accessible and understandable to business. Have questions about this topic or just want to chat? Reach out to me via email or LinkedIn!