The new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is coming, and it’s set to impact many areas of business – including for companies based outside of the European Union.
How will it affect how your business, and how can sustainable packaging prepare you for its introduction?
Find out in our latest guide…
What is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)?
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is new European Union legislation that requires large companies to regularly report on their environmental and social impact. Being introduced in a phased approach from 2024, it extends the scope of the EU’s existing Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), better allowing for comparison and benchmarking between different organisations.
Businesses must report on policy, outcomes, risks and KPIs relating to each of five areas. These are:
- Environmental protection
- Social responsibility and treatment of employees
- Respect for human rights
- Anti-corruption and bribery
- Diversity on company boards (age, gender, education and professional background)
This reporting should be retrospective and forward-looking at the same time, and include details of an organisation’s progress towards science-based targets for improvement.
By providing a common reporting framework by which organisations’ non-financial performance may be assessed, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive aims to help consumers, investors, policy makers and other stakeholders to make informed decisions about which companies to engage with, and thereby encourage organisations to pursue more responsible business operations.
How is consumer packaging affected by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)?
Whether an organisation is based entirely in the EU, has subsidiaries within it, or conducts a large amount of trade with member countries, increased public and legislative scrutiny of organisations’ social and environmental conduct is going to necessitate changes in the way businesses operate.
Companies will no longer be able to hide operations that pollute our planet, raw material use that destroys natural habitats, or processes that fail to safeguard the fundamental rights and wider wellbeing of their workers.
Packaging is one of the areas in which businesses can expect to be scrutinised – and is also one in which a conscious move towards the pursuit of greater sustainability and making more ethical choices could be quicker and easier than you might think.
If your business is still relying on wooden pallets and shipping crates, single-use plastic wrapping and non-recyclable void fill, it’s time to make a change.
PALLITE® Group: The sustainable packaging company
At PALLITE® Group, our sustainable packaging solutions have been helping businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and operate sustainability since 2008.
We started out as the result of an at-the-time fruitless search for a more sustainable alternative to wooden pallets and, over the years, have built up a range of packaging products that are:
- Made from 100% recycled and responsibly-sourced materials
- 100% recyclable after use
- Lowering the carbon footprint of those that choose to use them
Using our sustainability calculator, we can help businesses to see how small changes in the way they package their products to consumers and throughout the supply chain can reduce their carbon emissions and save them money at the same time.
Our packaging experts then work with organisations to optimise their packaging and thereby make their operations more sustainable
Switching to sustainable packaging
Some of the areas we consider as part of this process are:
- Packaging volume
- Packaging materials
- Raw material sources
- Recyclability
- Carbon impact in the supply chain
- Options for reuse
Small changes can have a big impact. For example, a reduction in packaging volume through right-sizing and better choice of packaging materials may lead to an increase in pallet payload, reducing the number of vehicle trips required to deliver your goods in the supply chain, saving on fuel and reducing emissions.
Let’s look at sea freight, for instance.
If you substituted 30 wooden euro pallets with wooden collars and lids, each carrying a 500kg load, for the same number of equivalent PALLITE® shipping crates on board an 8,000-tonne container ship travelling the 11,907 nautical miles (22,052km) from Felixstowe dock in the UK to Shanghai in China:
- The shipping company would save on fuel
- Overall greenhouse gas emissions savings would equate to the charging of 63,119 smartphones.
At PALLITE®, all our sustainable packaging products are made from just two materials: responsibly-sourced recycled paper, and 100% biodegradable and planet-friendly PVA glue.
The innovative honeycomb design at the centre of our signature paper cardboard provides lightweight strength and durability, enabling us to design and engineer products that represent a true alternative, more sustainable packaging solution to businesses looking to improve their green credentials.
This might be ahead of the new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive coming into force, or – in the UK – in preparation for the extended producer responsibilities on packaging waste reporting, or simply because it’s the right thing to do.
Whatever the reason, most businesses could save money while making their business and its operations more sustainable by switching to PALLITE®’s sustainable packaging products.
To find out more about our sustainable packaging products, and to talk to our friendly team about what we could do for your business, why not give us a call
“PALLITE® surpassed our expectations. The bespoke packaging solution provided by the team with their honeycomb board, EcoLITE, has transformed our approach to the transportation of our products. “To be able to use 100% sustainable packaging with no loss in its functionality is a huge step forwards [for us]. “I’d definitely recommend PALLITE® to anyone looking to introduce more sustainable packaging for their products that’s equal on protection.”
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL
