How Smurfit Westrock has Supply Chain Sustainability Wrapped
Global packaging company Smurfit Westrock has revealed its latest sustainability innovation – an all-paper stretch wrap for transporting pallets.
Writing on LinkedIn, the company said: “Companies that have built a brand around sustainability want to carry that same ethos throughout their supply chain.
“Smurfit Westrock partnered with British glass manufacturer Encirc to replace its plastic stretch wrap for pallets with a 100% paper-based alternative – Better Planet Packaging that reduces carbon emissions and simplifies the recycling process.”
Driving down supply chain emissions
Smurfit Westrock, which was formed recently from a merger between Smurfit Kappa and Westrock, has built a strong reputation for sustainable innovation in recent years.
The paper pallet wrap is designed to help businesses cut their Scope 3 emissions by reducing carbon in their supply chains.
It is particularly helpful now, with global and regional legislation making it a requirement to record and reduce them.
The wrap is a 100% paper-based alternative to the polyethylene stretch wrap which is commonly used to stabilise pallet loads in transportation.
The global stretch wrap market was valued at US$4.27bn in 2023 and is projected to grow significantly.
Jemma Jones, National Account Manager at Smurfit Westrock, added: “Like Smurfit Westrock, Encirc is committed to the circular economy and immediately recognised the significant CO2-reducing potential of the paper wrap.
“If they switched entirely to the paper wrap, it would lead to an extremely significant reduction of emissions.”
She added: “Traditional stretch wrap is the go-to for many companies but our paper-based alternative does as good a job and – vitally – is much easier to recycle at the end of use.”
Plenty of benefits
The innovative new solution is made from Nertop Stretch Kraft paper, which is fully recyclable.
Its capabilities include high energy absorption and strong performance in humid conditions.
It is the latest addition to Smurfit Westrock’s Better Planet Packaging Portfolio, which seeks to reduce the environmental impact of packaging.
The Better Planet Packaging paper pallet wrap is manufactured in Smurfit Westrock’s Nervión paper mill in Spain.
A packaging pioneer
Encirc, a leading glass supplier which manufactures over three billion containers annually, was the first company in the UK to use the new paper wrap.
The company named Smurfit Westrock as Sustainability Champion at its partnership day in September in recognition of the big step forward that using the paper wrap represents.
Peter Ball, Head of Planning at Encirc, said: “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Encirc, and it is heartening that 85% of our beverage customers say that our sustainability credentials made them choose Encirc.
“We recognise how important supply chain solutions are to all our business partners. To this end, Encirc has been working with Smurfit Westrock to replace single-use plastic with a paper alternative, which is a first for the UK glass-making and bottle-filling industry.”
Encirc, part of the Vidrala Group, works in glass container design, manufacturing, bottling and logistics solutions for the UK and Irish food and beverage industries.
It has 1,200 employees at its purpose-built sites in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and Elton, Cheshire, England.
The company produces more than 2.5 billion glass bottles and other containers annually and can fill up to 250 million litres of bulk shipped beverages every year.
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