In our sustainability review of 2021 we can see good progress in our own sustainability work. However, in our sustainability policy we have a statement that says:
“We share our stories to inspire others to join us on our journey towards a better world.”
To be honest we have not really shared many of our stories outside our closest network. Internally we have celebrated our success in creating an impact together with our suppliers and partners by raising these questions to the top of every agenda - but this is not enough.
For 2022 we make a commitment to share our stories with a bigger audience in hope to inspire you and others.
We know that we are not perfect and some of the things we do may seem insignificant. But what we want to show is that most improvements are small and incremental, but when all small changes are summarized at the end of each year their total impact is often more significant than some of the big and complex sustainability projects.
To kick things off in 2022 we would like to share the story of water activated paper tape.
Already in 2019 we spent a lot of effort in making the overall packing as environmentally friendly and efficient as possible and removing almost all plastic from the package. At the time we did not even reflect on the fact that we used plastic tape to seal the boxes.
But since then we started to see others using paper tape to seal their packages and we started to look into it. As expected, Water Activated Tape (WAT) based on paper is basically the same material as the rest of the box and improves recyclability and doesn’t have to be separated from the cardboard in the recycling process.
There is an upfront investment cost in getting the machines needed and a training period to become efficient with the new tools. But now that we have made the transition we can also see additional benefits beyond just the environmental impact.
Sealing a box with water activated tape is faster and the seal is stronger and less tape is required.
As of now our production facility has this equipment and all packages produced from now on will have water activated tape and we already have plans to add it to our warehouse and logistics center.
As you can see from the image the tape is covering some of the artwork which is not great, we have updated the print, but it would not make much sense to make a change for environmental reasons and then scrap all the boxes we already had printed :)
Please share your own sustainability story with us and the world. Together we can inspire others to take small steps every day!
