Foreword
Every three years FEFCO (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers) and CCB (Cepi ContainerBoard1) issue a report and database of gate-to-gate life cycle inventory data for the production of corrugated base papers and corrugated products. The intention is to make available high quality and transparent LCI data for use in life cycle studies.
Over the course of multiple iterations of the project a robust process has been developed in which the data provided is processed and checked by both LCA practitioners and industry experts. The process and data are then subjected to an independent peer review by ifeu – Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany, a leading research institution with experience of life cycle data and methods as applied in the paper and board sector.
The Annex of the report contains environmental data of the production of:
•Corrugated base papers from primary fibres: kraftliner, white top kraftliner and semi chemical fluting (based on data supplied by members of CCB)
•Corrugated base papers from recovered papers: testliner, white top testliner and recycled fluting
(sometimes referred to as Wellenstoff) (based on data supplied by members of CCB)
•Corrugated board products (based on data supplied by members of FEFCO).
The data in this tenth edition of the report represents the weighted averages of the inputs and outputs from the production sites per tonne paper and per tonne of corrugated board product for the year 2020. The database handles the production sites as a black box. Details of the different processes in the production site are not provided. Emissions etc. originating from production of resources consumed, energy production outside the mill or corrugated plant, transport and waste treatment are not included in the datasets, but the impacts of these additional unit processes can be added by the user to facilitate full cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-cradle life cycle studies.
The data collected for this study covers a significant proportion of the sector. For semi chemical fluting and kraftliner, the collected data represents about 84% of the total annual production of corrugated base papers from primary fibres in Europe, whilst the data for the production of testliner (including white top testliner) and recycled fluting (wellenstoff) were collected from mills, together producing about 71% of the total annual production of corrugated base papers from recovered paper in Europe. Data for corrugated board production covered approximately 73% of the total annual production in Europe. The high levels of data provision
mean that the datasets presented in Table 3 and in the Annex are highly representative of the practices and subsequent overall environmental performance of the sector.
The report is available for interested parties on the condition that the data in this report may only be used for environmental studies such as Life Cycle Inventory Analysis, Life Cycle Impact Assessment as separate steps or as a whole Life Cycle Assessment.
The database may only be used for environmental studies regarding product development and improvement and the comparison of the entire system of corrugated board packaging with that of other materials. The database cannot be used for comparisons between the production of primary fibre and recovered fibre-based materials as such.
LCA methodology, with its systematic, scientific approach, gives an insight into the environmental impact that a product may have on a case-by-case basis.
When LCA data is used to make comparative studies, a specific scenario is chosen and the result can and will vary depending on various parameters. It should be clearly understood that, whatever the outcome of a comparative study, the conclusion should not and cannot be generalized.
It is therefore not recommended to use a single message from a comparative LCA study as the basis for lobbying activities.
According to ISO 14044, allocation of the impacts of primary fibre production (the cradle) and waste treatment (the grave) of wood fibre to the phases in between the cradle and the grave of the life cycle should be avoided, wherever possible. In our case this is done by expanding the product system and considering the expanded system with a closed-loop approach.
FEFCO and CCB are committed to ongoing and regular updates of the database. The user of the database should therefore check whether it is the latest edition of the database report prior to using the information enclosed. The latest version will always be available online or through direct contact with either of the Associations.
We would like to thank all participants from the industry for providing the necessary input from their plants. Collecting, processing and checking the data is a significant undertaking. The high level of ongoing participation of the membership base of both organisations is highly appreciated.
We are also grateful for the positive response and valuable feedback and comments we have received from users of the previous editions of the database and reports. We welcome comments on this report and feedback on the experiences of users of the database. Such feedback can only help to further improve the quality and value of future updates!
May 2022
Eleni Despotou, FEFCO Klaus Spielmann, Cepi ContainerBoard