CO2 footprint of the European paper sack in 2021
There is a consistent downward trend in the cradle-to-gate fossil carbon impact of average European sack kraft paper and paper sacks.
For the production of sack kraft paper
- 2018 to 2021: The reduction in fossil carbon impact per tonne of sack kraft paper was 5% – from 442 kg CO2e[1] to 421 kg CO2
- 2007 to 2021: There is a significant reduction in fossil carbon impact per tonne of sack kraft paper of approximately 26% – from 570 kg CO2e to 421 kg CO2
For the production of paper sacks
- Paper production dominates the cradle-to-gate fossil carbon footprint of average European paper sacks.
- 2018 to 2021: The fossil carbon impact per paper sack is slightly reduced by 1% – from 87 g CO2e[2] in 2018 to 86 g CO2e per sack in 2021.
[1] Note: the value for 2018 has been restated from 455 kg CO2e per tonne due to the identification of an error in the quantity of CaO (calcium oxide) considered in the life cycle inventory for sack kraft paper.
[2] Note: the value for 2018 has been restated from 85 g CO2e per tonne due to the corrections to the paper footprint and due to the identification of an error in the quantity of PE considered in the average paper sack.
This is concluded by the latest carbon footprint analysis on European paper sacks conducted by the Swedish research institute RISE on behalf of the European Paper Sack Research Group (ESG), a collaboration between EUROSAC and CEPI Eurokraft. An infographic presents the most important results and a fact sheet describes details of the study.