At Buckeye Corrugated Inc, we know that our natural resources are precious. We pledge to foster a sustainable future by building packaging solutions that minimize the impact on the planet and will create generational natural abundance.
Maximizing sustainable packaging means minimizing our carbon footprint throughout the entire value chain. From working with sustainably managed forests to using bio-based algae inks for printing, our mission to ensure long-term sustainability extends well outside our factory doors.
For over 60 years, we have championed materials that are not only renewable but also biodegradable and curbside recyclable. As BCI continues to grow our billion(s) square feet manufacturing capacity as an industry-leading corrugated packaging producer, we will also continue to champion circular design in processes and products as the key to a sustainable packaging future.
BCI works to analyze and reduce impact at every point of our packaging’s lifecycle, allowing us to bring our customers into a closed-loop system of the circular economy.
Unlike synthetic packaging derived from crude oils, our story begins with renewable materials. Our plants that are FSC® and SFI® certified can source wood fibers from sustainably managed forests, ensuring these natural resources for generations to come.
Forest Stewardship Council® certified mills then create the raw paper that goes into BCI’s corrugated cardboard products. After the products meet their end life with consumers, they can easily be curbside recycled and make their way back to paper mill plants. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the wood fibers from paper products can then be recycled 5-7 times over.
When it comes to sourcing, every one of our suppliers is committed to being part of a more sustainable value chain. Our supply chains comply with the recognized international social and environmental standards (according to the United Nations Global Compact), and our partner’s goals align with our sustainability objectives.
Reversing deforestation and maintaining irreplaceable forests are crucial to fighting climate change. BCI is committed to working with suppliers and partners that source wood fibers from Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative® renewable working forests.
Under these stringent certifications, 1.7 million new trees are planted every day, contributing to the long-term viability of North American forestry and the wildlife habitats they support. In addition, old-growth trees are identified and protected.
BCI’s support of regenerative forestry creates a net-positive impact in sequestering carbon and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions.
Corrugated boxes are the building blocks of modern product delivery. Heralded as a natural hero in the circular economy, BCI’s corrugated packaging is 100% recyclable and one of the most recovered materials in production today. In fact, the Fibre Box Association surmises that 93% of corrugated packaging is recovered for recycling into new paper-based products.
This means that the vast majority of virgin wood fibers find their way back to paper pulp mills, where they continue a cycle of natural resource circularity. In addition, nearly 99.5% of paper scraps which are byproducts of sheet cutting, make this same journey to become part of the recycled content that goes back into a cardboard box.
Corrugated packaging recovery has made the industry’s carbon footprint a fraction of other materials. For every ton of corrugated cardboard recovered:
EPA Waste Reduction Model (WARM)
Choosing corrugated cardboard as a primary packaging material means choosing what is best for our shared earth now and next. Our promise is to provide a tangible pathway to lowering your carbon footprint, meeting stakeholders’ expectations, and joining global net zero goals.
Appearance matters. Packaging is the first thing that consumers see. Consumers naturally align with brands that employ the same values. Deloitte’s 2022 Consumer Sustainability study reveals that consumer buying power is shifting towards an increasingly environmental mindset.
Sustainability is rated as an essential purchase criterion for 61% of consumers in the United States. In addition, 67% of buyers found it important that their purchases were in recyclable packaging.
In 2022, 50% of consumers ranked sustainability as a top value driver. Ranking at the top of consumers’ most essential sustainability practices for companies was producing sustainable packaging or products and followed by reducing waste in the manufacturing process.
Now is the time to benchmark your company’s ESG goals as they are being used more to evaluate risk management, investment, and corporate responsibility in the eyes of consumers. Many brands see paper and cardboard as the quick-win solution to help them achieve their plastic reduction targets.
Circularity is the key to a better world. BCI’s corrugated cardboard is recyclable, biodegradable, and can be returned to the manufacturing process, allowing our corporate partners to lighten their carbon footprint while staying in step with ours.
Investing in a circular economy that utilizes renewable materials for packaging means scaling your business without scaling pollution. The use of regenerative resources like corrugated cardboard will help your company meet ESG goals, preparing you for “now and next” regulatory measures.
As companies become responsible for the end-use of products and packaging, corrugated cardboard provides easy customer recyclability. It also meets 100% of biodegradability requirements.
In 2020, approximately 89% of all corrugated products were recovered and directed into the recycling stream. When governments or customers require a minimum recycled content in their packaging materials, this necessitates the reduction of virgin fibers and an increase in recycled content.
The US Plastics Pact, an initiative to enable companies and governments in the U.S. to collectively meet impactful sustainability targets, has set a 30% bio-based or recyclable content target by 2025. BCI’s corrugated cardboard uses 52% recycled content on average, allowing partners to reach this key ESG metric.
BCI is a proud partner of the Paper and Packaging Board’s “Box to Nature Program”. The national marketing campaign brings the consumer’s part in recycling front and center on every package they receive. A prominent graphic on packages delivers an instructional message showcasing the importance of recycling in three easy steps: empty, flatten and recycle. The graphic also includes a QR code that takes consumers to a website to learn more about their part in recycling paper products.
Sources:
The Global Sustainability Study 2021 survey was conducted in July 2021 by Simon-Kucher & Partners
How Consumers Are Embracing Sustainability, Deloitte 2022
