Pregis Takes Leadership Role in Protective Packaging Sustainability

DEERFIELD, Ill.—Pregis Corp. has taken a leadership position in the protective packaging supply chain with the announcement of its sustainability initiatives.

“At Pregis we dedicate ourselves to bringing forward new technology and solutions that limit harm to the environment while maximizing benefits to our customers,” says Kevin Baudhuin, president, Pregis Protective Packaging North America. “We seek to protect, support and enhance our customer’s experiences with our products while preserving natural resources for future generations. We will continue to evolve our packaging so that its life cycle is one of reuse, renew, and recycle.”

Pregis’ sustainability initiatives are being supported by content on the company’s Web site (www.pregis.com/sustain), including downloads, position statements, and achievement benchmarks. These include:
• Reclaiming up to 99 percent of manufacturing scrap and reintroducing it back into the manufacturing process.
• Density reduction programs across all product lines to limit material entering the waste stream.
• Products engineered to maximize packaging efficiency and minimize application-specific waste.
• Completed energy audits with improvements implemented in all facilities.
• Striving to go beyond environmental regulation compliance with state-of-the-art pollution abatement equipment.
• Promoting environmental knowledge and awareness to employees and customers.

Pregis also has focused its efforts on logistics and other shipping improvements. Company experts have timed production and reconfigured shipping routes to minimize the number of trucks on the road and distances traveled. Further, cube utilization has been maximized to help curb rising transportation costs. Compared to 2006, in 2007 Pregis:
• Reduced the number of trucks on the road by almost 1,200.
• Reduced the distance traveled by trucks by more than 500,000 miles.
• Consumed 93,000 fewer gallons of diesel fuel thereby reducing CO2 emissions by 2.1 million pounds.

The company also has started to upload product-specific sustainability details on its Web site. Currently, information is available for AirSpeed Systems Films, Astro-Bubble Green Air Cushioning, GeoSpeed Paper Systems, Microguard Polypropylene Foam, and Hexacomb Products.

“When Pregis first began reviewing sustainability, we came to understand that packaging is just a component of the larger picture. A sustainable package encompasses all aspects of a package’s life cycle, from raw material to product manufacture, transportation and end-use disposal. Fortunately, through processes and initiatives already in place, Pregis remains on the forefront of important trends such as source reduction, waste minimization, recycling and resource conservation in protective packaging,” Baudhuin says.

By combining sound manufacturing processes with sustainability in mind, Pregis strives to not only achieve long-term business goals but also to help positively impact packaging implications on the environment. Sustainability helps Pregis create a “win-win” proposition: save on energy, natural resources and environmental waste while providing the quality products its customers have come to expect.