Sustainable Thinking at Every Turn

Approximately one-third of all U.S. landfill waste is discarded packaging. Since packaging is at the heart of our business, we are deeply committed to developing valuable, sustainable solutions. 

Our charge is to design responsible packaging that makes a difference for our customers and consumers globally. How are we doing that? Here are several areas where we’re making sustainable progress right now. 

Renewable Resources

For MWV, sustainability starts with our wide range of high-quality paperboard products. The fiber used in our paperboard is from a certified sustainable, renewable resource — trees. All MWV paperboard materials also can be recycled multiple times. We source our fiber from sustainable forests that we own and manage ourselves. Therefore, we’re able to ensure our trees are of the best quality and are grown to the highest environmental standards. 

Reducing Materials

Regardless of the product, we design and engineer packaging to reduce our impact on the environment and use natural resources responsibly. Our Natralock® sustainable security packaging does just that. 

Compared to plastic clamshells, Natralock is a more sustainable solution that maximizes materials and minimizes waste. Made primarily with paperboard that can contain up to 30 percent recycled fiber, Natralock requires less energy to ship and uses 85% less plastic than clamshells.

Rethinking Recovery

We make our packages easy for consumers to recycle, after which they’re easily converted and reprocessed back into raw materials. Like Natralock, many of the products in our new MWare® line of food service disposable items are made from recycled fibers and are commercially compostable. 

Select MWare products – including much of our MWare Balance line – were recently certified commercially compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) recognized in North America and DIN CERTCO in Europe.

Reengineering Efficiency

Using materials responsibly is a major part of the sustainability equation. However, what about how we send products and packaging to market? Supply chains can have considerable impact on the environment and how companies operate. 

That’s why we developed Engineered Packaging as an alternative to bulky corrugated packaging. It helps reduce the overall weight of packaged products. It also improves pallet and freight efficiency. With Engineered Packaging, companies consume less energy during production and decrease carbon dioxide emissions during transportation. 

The Challenges Ahead

Although we’ve made considerable progress in improving our packaging sustainability, our journey continues. 

Many of the challenge we face will require our design and engineering teams to develop next-generation solutions that make packaging even more sustainable. 

Others will force researchers inside and outside of MWV to create new methodologies for quantifying the complete story of how packaging impacts our world. 

And still more challenges will be overcome by collaborating with industries just outside the world of packaging. For example, MWV aims to help other companies update recycling and composting infrastructures as sustainable packaging evolves to make a difference around the world.