Industrial Packaging

Material Composition Assumptions

The default functional unit is one kilogram of industrial packaging material, modelled as a weighted blend of the four dominant packaging formats used in B2B industrial supply chains:

• Corrugated board (~60% by mass in the blend): Single-wall and double-wall corrugated boxes, trays, and dividers. Predominantly made from recycled fibre (OCC — old corrugated containers) in most markets, with some virgin kraft liner. Recycled-content corrugated averages ~0.7–0.85 kgCO₂e/kg; virgin kraft board ~1.0–1.2 kgCO₂e/kg. The blend uses ~0.85 kgCO₂e/kg.
• Steel drums (~15% by mass): 200-litre open-head and tight-head steel drums for liquid and powder bulk. Primary steel EAF production ~1.1 kgCO₂e/kg; BF-BOF ~1.9 kgCO₂e/kg. Blended average ~1.5 kgCO₂e/kg accounting for recycled scrap input.
• Polyethylene shrink film (~15% by mass): LLDPE and LDPE stretch and shrink wrap for pallet stabilization and unit load formation. ~2.1 kgCO₂e/kg including upstream polymer production.
• Wood pallets (~10% by mass): 1200×1000 mm EUR-pallet or 1200×800 mm EPAL-pallet; softwood construction, heat-treated per ISPM 15. ~0.4–0.8 kgCO₂e/kg (pooled vs. single-use).

Blended emission intensity: (0.60 × 0.85) + (0.15 × 1.5) + (0.15 × 2.1) + (0.10 × 0.6) = 0.51 + 0.225 + 0.315 + 0.06 = ~1.11 kgCO₂e/kg, rounded to 1.2 to include converting and logistics overhead.

Manufacturing Geography

Industrial packaging is predominantly produced locally in or near the country of use, making it unusual among manufactured goods. Corrugated board mills, steel drum fabricators, and pallet manufacturers are globally distributed and typically serve regional markets to minimize transport costs of bulky, low-value substrates.

• Corrugated board: Major production in EU, USA, China, and Brazil. Recycled-content board is strongly regional (recovered fibre is heavy and local). Virgin kraft liner is more globally traded.

• Steel drums: Produced at regional fabrication plants. Primary steel substrate may be imported (e.g., Chinese HRC into Southeast Asian drum fabricators).

• Polyethylene film: Concentrated in Middle East petrochemical hubs (Saudi Arabia, UAE), USA Gulf Coast, and China. Distributed globally by weight.

• Wood pallets: Highly local; softwood supply chains are regional.

• Grid intensity: ~450 gCO₂e/kWh used as a global blended average. Converting and printing operations (Scope 2) draw on local grids, which vary significantly.

• Rationale: The “produced locally” assumption means Scope 2 emissions vary with the buyer’s country grid intensity. A buyer in Norway (30 gCO₂e/kWh) will have materially lower Scope 2 from local converting than a buyer in India (700 gCO₂e/kWh), even purchasing identical materials.

Regional Variation

Region	Grid Intensity	Scope 2 Adjustment	Approx. CCI Score
Nordic (Norway/Sweden)	~30 gCO₂e/kWh	-93% on S2	~1.0 kgCO₂e/kg
EU average	~300 gCO₂e/kWh	-33% on S2	~1.1 kgCO₂e/kg
USA average	~390 gCO₂e/kWh	-13% on S2	~1.15 kgCO₂e/kg
Global avg (default)	~450 gCO₂e/kWh	baseline	~1.2 kgCO₂e/kg
India	~700 gCO₂e/kWh	+56% on S2	~1.35 kgCO₂e/kg
China	~580 gCO₂e/kWh	+29% on S2	~1.25 kgCO₂e/kg

Note: Scope 2 represents only ~20% of the total score, so grid variation has a modest total effect. The dominant driver is material choice (corrugated vs. steel vs. PE), not manufacturing location.

Provenance Override Guidance

A procurement team or packaging supplier may override the default CCI score by submitting:

1. Material-specific EPD (Environmental Product Declaration per EN 15804 or ISO 14025) for the specific packaging format, specifying recycled content, production site, and grid source.
2. Recycled content certification: Higher recycled content (particularly in corrugated board and steel) significantly reduces Scope 3 upstream emissions. Certification via Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) or equivalent.
3. Supplier-specific energy data: kWh per tonne of board or film produced, and renewable energy proportion, for converting facilities.
4. Pallet pooling documentation: Use of a pallet pooling scheme (CHEP, EURO Pool, etc.) substantially reduces per-use pallet emissions by extending asset life. Pooled pallet trip-allocation LCA data from CHEP or Brambles qualifies as override documentation.

The FEFCO voluntary sustainability reporting framework and the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) lifecycle data programs provide structured formats for industrial packaging carbon disclosure.

Methodology Notes

• CCI score of 1.2 kgCO₂e/kg represents a blended average across the four major industrial packaging formats weighted by approximate mass share in a typical manufacturing supply chain.
• Scope breakdown: Scope 3 (~70%, ~0.84 kgCO₂e/kg) covers upstream material production (corrugated pulping and papermaking, steel production, PE resin polymerization, timber harvesting). Scope 2 (~20%, ~0.24 kgCO₂e/kg) covers converting, printing, and fabrication energy. Scope 1 (~10%, ~0.12 kgCO₂e/kg) covers direct energy use at converting facilities (steam, on-site combustion) and adhesive curing.
• Functional unit: One kilogram of finished industrial packaging material, cradle-to-point-of-sale (packaging manufacturer gate). Transport to user facility and use-phase are excluded.
• Recycled content sensitivity: The corrugated board recycled content assumption (blended ~70% recycled fibre) is the single largest uncertainty in the score. A shift to 100% virgin kraft would increase the corrugated component by ~40%, raising the blended score to ~1.4 kgCO₂e/kg. A shift to 100% recycled would reduce to ~0.95 kgCO₂e/kg.
• Data gaps: Steel drum production emissions depend heavily on the steel substrate origin (BF-BOF primary vs. EAF scrap). PE film emission factor is well-established for virgin resin but poorly documented for recycled or bio-based PE alternatives.
• Reuse and pooling: The default score covers single-use packaging. Pooled or reusable packaging (drums, IBCs, pallets) has significantly lower per-use emissions when amortized over multiple use cycles and should be assessed separately using a functional unit of “per trip” rather than “per kg of material.”