Embracing Sustainable Packaging: A Case Study

What is Sustainable Packaging & Why is It Important?

Sustainable packaging uses sustainably sourced materials and packaging design strategies that minimize environmental impact. It reduces waste, conserves resources, lowers carbon emissions, and advances a circular economy.

Eco-friendly packaging also helps businesses meet consumer demands for green products and demonstrates concern for the common good. Because packaging is often a focus of sustainability efforts, embracing sustainable packaging practices is not only good for the environment but also for long-term business success.

At Arkay, we are all-in on sustainable business practices, integrating them into all of our departments, processes, and our company culture. Here’s how we are doing it.

The Challenge

It has been clear for decades that an important aspect of environmental protection is reducing the carbon footprint through packaging waste management. We know that as a company we need to comply with all environmental laws, rules, and regulations; but we want to do more than simply meet expectations, we want to exceed them.

The Work

To achieve our goals, we consistently seek the expertise of trusted professionals in the environmental protection industry. We are affiliated with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Forest Stewardship Council, and work with Climate Impact Partners — specialists in carbon market solutions for climate action.

Sustainability goes beyond the materials of the package itself and includes the energy required to produce and transport it, the practices of our raw materials suppliers, life cycle management, and the cleanliness of our own processes and technology. Ultimately, our products must meet our customers’ cost and quality expectations. Here’s how we do it.

Sustainably Sourced Materials

At Arkay we focus on using packaging materials that are sustainably sourced or made of recycled and recyclable materials in order to minimize the impact on landfills and water systems.

In 2023, we procured approximately 1,229 metric tons of triple-certified, paperboard material to produce our eco-friendly packaging. This paperboard is milled within an ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 certified mill in the United States.

Two of the products Arkay uses are Monadnock Kona^® – made with a blend of fiber from reclaimed coffee bean bags and Forest Stewardship Council certified post-consumer waste – and Monadnock Astrolite, which offers a Forest Stewardship Council Certified paper that is crafted to effectively meet the luxury marketplace need for environmentally friendly folding cartons with sophisticated packaging design.

Greenhouse Gasses

Arkay’s goal is net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In 2023, we embarked on an energy efficiency upgrade at our Roanoke facility, introducing state-of-the-art Trane air conditioning units on our white roof. These units contribute to a more comfortable workplace and minimize electricity consumption.

Additionally, our facility uses only LED lighting and has installed an all-white roof which helps keep our building cool on sunny days, further improving our manufacturing facility’s energy efficiency.

The Renewable Energy Credits that Arkay purchases for carbon neutrality of its scope 2 emissions are certified by Green-e® Energy which is North America’s leading independent certification and verification program for renewable electricity.

Waste Management

To ensure we are recycling packaging properly, we take into account the entire life cycle of packaging – from raw materials to end of life. Our goal is to achieve 95% of waste diversion from the landfill by 2025.

Our recyclable waste primarily consists of paper and folding cartons. To manage this waste we collaborate with a local recycling management company that specializes in reintroducing recyclable materials into the economy.

We also employ a robust Recycling Management Program, which maximizes the efficiency with which fiber waste is recycled by arranging its transport from our plant to a paper recycling mill in a measurable way, defined daily. We continually assess how we can minimize our waste and improve our recyclability among our products, including materials assessments, life cycle planning, internal programs, enhanced customer engagement, and labeling procedures.

Company Culture

We are firmly committed to fostering an ecologically aware culture. Our approach to sustainability includes the following criteria:

Apply the precautionary approach in decision making processes regarding natural resource consumption

Regularly evaluate water and energy usage and packaging waste management practices

Ensure any hazardous waste is handled and disposed of responsibly and in accordance with local and governmental regulations

Respect the rights and beliefs of local and indigenous communities

Strive to lead the packaging industry through the effective implementation of our Sustainable Procurement Policy

Consider process efficiency improvements and manufacturing innovations when applicable and beneficial to the environment

Undertake initiatives specific to forest sustainability and our industry, when possible, to promote a greater sense of environmental responsibility

Through on-boarding training, and the continual training all employees receive through career progression, employees will become aware of the environmental measures our company takes.

Supply Chain

Although Arkay’s direct operations have a minimal environmental impact on our local biodiversity, we recognize that our supply chain can have significant impacts on deforestation. As such, we are committed to procuring paper-based goods from suppliers that practice responsible harvesting in order to protect and maintain forests.

In addition to employees, we require our supply chain to take the criteria above into account during their decision-making process. Our goal is to increase awareness of environmental stewardship throughout our supply chain, while offering the most eco-friendly packaging options to our customers.

The Impact

We are proud of the results our efforts have achieved as noted below:

Attained carbon neutral status for all our operations in line with the CarbonNeutral^® protocol
Certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council for all our wood-based products
Offset the most recent Scope 1 and 3 carbon emissions with two projects in India – clean power projects and the Delhi Electric Rail System – and one project in Brazil, which prevents deforestation of pristine areas of the Amazon rainforest
Decreased scope 2 emissions in 2023 to the lowest that they have been since 2018, in part due to an upgrade of our HVAC system to a higher efficiency mode
Received Platinum Recognition Level from EcoVadis for our second consecutive year, placing us in the top 1% of all global respondents in the industry
Achieved BRCGS certification
Awarded G7 Master Qualification by IDEALLIANCE , a not-for-profit industry group dedicated to guiding print production best practices, specifications, and standards worldwide
Achieved our hazardous waste target, with hazardous waste accounting for only .003% of our waste production
Supported the Seneca Meadows Landfill Project through our purchase of verified carbon offsets. This Project has enhanced nearly 160 axles of existing woodland wetlands and created almost 420 acres of wetlands

This is particularly meaningful as we look forward to our 103rd year in business — fully established in our second century of delivering high quality, environmentally responsible products.