The strength to make more from less

Packaging matters. For the consumer, for the environment and, most of all, for your brand. So, how do you turn packaging into a competitive edge? With a solution that optimise packaging, reduce costs and lower your environmental impact – your brand can reach a new level of sustainability. We call it lightweighting – the power to make more from less.

Please accept Marketing cookies to view this content.

Strengthen your brand, reduce cost and improve your environmental footprint all in one

Too often, products are unnecessarily overpackaged, which leads to increased cost and wastage. The goal is to use less material, without compromising the quality or product performance. By reducing package weight, you can save both material costs and improve your environmental footprint. This is a cornerstone of lightweighting. These are additional benefits your brand will enjoy by rethinking product packaging:

  • Less raw material, less additives
  • Leaner production
  • Less energy consumed
  • Less waste
  • Savings in transport and warehousing requirements
  • More sheets on each pallet
  • More packaging from every tonne of pulp

Making more from less – that's lightweighting

Using cartonboard with lower grammage, but with the same excellent performance, results in lower costs throughout the entire handling chain. Lightweighting will save you money from every shipment down to every last package and single sheet. Besides reduced weight, you get a packaging material that endures more machine processing, is tougher as well as more shapeable, and stays good-looking all the way to the store shelf. The result is a more appealing product (and brand) to a lower cost.

Savings in figures

Let’s say that you usually order 28 tonnes of 315 gsm (17.9 pt / 455 µm) CrownBoard Prestige™, but switch to 290 gsm (15.9 pt / 405 µm) of the same product. Here is the difference the reduction makes:

  • 2.2 tonnes less raw material to buy.
  • 8 fewer pallets to transport.
  • 120 kg less waste to take care of.

This is an 8% weight reduction. In reality the outcome is better, because in most cases a heavier and poorer board is replaced by a stronger lightweight board from BillerudKorsnäs. Up to 20% reduction is not unusual and the average is a good 10%.

Most packaging projects have a potential for lightweighting, and will benefit from this innovation with a little help from clever structural design and optimisation. Our Carton Solutions team at BillerudKorsnäs have the right experience and expertise needed to create a sustainable and cost-effective lightweighting solution that suits you (and the consumers!) perfectly.

See also

Sustainable solutions for cities and packaging

What are cities doing to become more sustainable and how can packaging be a part of the solution? We visit Copenhagen to find out.

Packaging sustainability – Giving the consumers what they want

You’ve got to know people’s opinions, to change their behaviours. Learn more about consumer views on packaging sustainability.
How can lightweighting affect your brand?
Get the free guide