European Database for Cartonboard and Carton Production 2023

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Foreword
Pro Carton, the European Association of Cartonboard and Carton Manufacturers is
pleased to present the latest edition of the European Environmental Database for
cartonboard and carton production. The report contains gate-to-gate life cycle inventory
data for the production of cartonboard and conversion of cartonboard into cartons. The
intention is to make available high quality and transparent LCI data for use in life cycle
studies.
The data has been collected, processed, checked and compiled by LCA experts from RISE
(Research Institutes of Sweden). Over the course of multiple iterations of the project a
robust process has been developed in which the data provided is processed and checked
by both industry experts and independent LCA. A working group of technical
representatives from the cartonboard mills and convertors worked closely with RISE to
validate the data. The process and data are then subjected to an independent peer review
by ifeu – Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg GmbH,
Heidelberg, Germany, a leading research institution with experience of life cycle data and
methods as applied in the paper and board sector.
The life cycle inventories presented in Table 2 of this report contain environmental data
for the production of:
• Cartonboard manufactured primarily from primary fibres: Folding Box Board
(FBB) and Solid Bleached Board/Solid Unbleached Board (SBB/SUB) (based on
data supplied by members of Pro Carton)
• Cartonboard manufactured primarily from recovered fibres: White Lined Chip
(WLC) (based on data supplied by members of Pro Carton)
• Conversion of cartonboard into blank cartons, including die cutting, creasing,
printing and where applicable folding/gluing (based on data supplied by members
of the European Carton Manufacturers Association (ECMA))
• An aggregated dataset, which considers the production of average European
cartonboard and the conversion of this average cartonboard into cartons.
The data in this edition of the report represents the weighted averages of the inputs and
outputs from the production sites per tonne of cartonboard paper and per tonne of
cartons for the year 2021. The database handles the production sites as a black box.
Details of the different processes in the production sites are not provided. Emissions etc.
originating from production of resources consumed, energy production outside the mill
or converting plant, transport and waste treatment are not included in the datasets, but
the impacts of these additional unit processes can be added by the user to facilitate full
cradle-to-gate, cradle-to-grave, or cradle-to-cradle life cycle studies.
The data collected for this study covers a significant proportion of the sector:
• For FBB, the collected data represents approximately 93% of the total European
production in 2021
• For SBB/SUB, the collected data represents approximately 62% of the total European
production in 2021
© RISE Research Institutes of Sweden