Why Choose Sustainable Packaging?

Cleaner Air. Less Waste. Smarter Energy Usage. Something We All Strive For.

Your consumers are increasingly concerned with the impact they’re making on the environment. This inclination is even more common with the millennial generation, where the majority of these consumers not only recognize, but want to fix the impact of years of unsustainable practices. A recent Nielsen study suggests millennials are willing to pay more for products they know are sustainable. That said, consumers aren’t willing to sacrifice quality and safety for sustainability.

Today, product manufacturers like you have to walk a fine line between package sustainability and quality. You need green packaging that provides a safe barrier from elements like moisture and cold air. You also have to ensure that your packaging is shelf-stable, and that it doesn’t feel flimsy or cheap. Historically, at least in the flexible packaging industry, words like “recyclable”, “biodegradable”, “compostable”, and “eco-friendly” have been synonymous with diminished quality. That’s simply no longer the case.

Eco-friendly packaging allows both you and your consumers to reduce landfill waste and decrease their environmental footprint. At Emmerson Packaging, we’re constantly innovating to increase our offerings of green and sustainable products to meet the demands of a more conscious world—and that’s something we can all feel good about.

Emmerson Packaging’s Innovations in the Sustainable Packaging Industry

Changing the Status Quo One Breakthrough at a Time

At Emmerson Packaging, change comes from innovation. Our sustainable products use the latest cutting-edge technology, designed in our very own Innovation Department. Through partnerships with leading labs, suppliers, and universities, our experienced team will help you explore sustainability options tailored to your markets and products.

Some of our advances have been designed to help you reduce the number of films required for your package, resulting in a decrease of up-front materials required. Other innovations have resulted in processes that allow consumers to dispose of products in their regular garbage, and break down when exposed to specific landfill conditions.

These innovations make Emmerson Packaging one of the leading sustainable packaging companies in North America and offer several choices for your packaging needs, including fully recyclable and biodegradable options.

Recyclable vs. Biodegradable

We Make It Easy to Choose The Right Package For Your Product.

The champion of the sustainable packaging movement is the recyclable package. Recyclable packaging is easy for consumers to understand and recycling facilities are commonplace in most municipalities.

One of the most common problems with flexible packaging is that most of it is made out of two or more materials, and it’s often too difficult or expensive to separate the materials to recycle them. If flexible packaging materials can’t be easily separated, they can’t be easily recycled. On the other hand, some of the packaging that can be easily separated suffers from poor ink protection and barrier control.

SmartPack™ – Quality and Sustainability in One Package

Emmerson Packaging’s SmartPack™ seeks to combat this problem—quality vs. sustainability. SmartPack™ uses energy-curing technology to reduce the number of films needed to produce a sustainable flexible package. Our proprietary coating process gives your packaging premium quality and performance that was previously only possible with multi-film composition, in a completely recyclable package.

Biodegradable packaging, on the other hand, is not as common, and therefore not as recognizable to consumers. Consumers don’t typically think of plastic packaging being biodegradable (the term “biodegradable” simply refers to any material that can be broken down into its smallest components by living micro-organisms without causing harm).

Lots of materials are technically biodegradable, but the process takes so long—dozens or even hundreds of years—it doesn’t do much good for the environment. In order for packaging to meet the definition of “sustainable”, the materials used must break down in a reasonable timeframe.

SmartPack-BDG™ and PetPack-BDG™ – Biodegradable Innovation

Two products manufactured by Emmerson Packaging, SmartPack-BDG™ and PetPack-BDG™, give you and your consumers the premium product they want without leaving any waste behind. Both of these products have been tested and validated against ASTMD5511 to ensure that complete biodegradation occurs in a sustainable amount of time leaving behind zero toxic residue. Your consumers can simply dispose of them in their regular garbage and they will degrade in an active landfill environment. SmartPack-BDG™ is also fully recyclable, giving your consumers added flexibility when the package reaches end-of-life.

Sustainability Initiatives at Emmerson Packaging

Sustainable packaging is just the beginning. We’re committed to our green operations.

Helping our clients achieve sustainability goals for their customers is something we’re proud of at Emmerson Packaging (for which we have been recognized). You can feel great about the impact you’re making by choosing sustainable packaging for your products, and your eco-conscious consumers will appreciate your support of green practices at all levels of your supply chain.

Beyond packaging innovations, our manufacturing facilities have long concentrated on sustainability initiatives. We were the first ISO14001 flexographic printer in North America, and the first Sustainable Green Printer (SGP) in Canada.

Since the year 2000*, our facilities have:

Reduced our residual solid waste by 60%
Lowered our water usage more than 92%
Reduced electricity usage by 38%
Reduced Co2 Emitted, with electricity generation, by 50%
Become a certified SGP Printer

*These figures are correct as per our 2020 Sustainability Impact report. These figures are updated annually.

Green and Sustainable Packaging

Sustainable Packaging Options For Your Product