Löfbergs was first in Europe to remove aluminium from coffee packaging 25 years ago. The family-owned coffee roaster is now taking the next big climate-smart step in the packaging field. This autumn, Löfbergs is starting to phase out fossil plastics to replace it with a plant-based alternative, green polyethylene.
“By incorporating green polyethylene, the climate impact is reduced with up to 34 per cent in the first instance. An important step towards the goal that our packaging should only contain recycled or renewable material,” says Eva Eriksson, sustainability director at Löfbergs.
More climate-smart packaging
Development and testing have been in the making for a year, and Löfbergs is now ready to go live. The production is up and running; the first packages with the new material have already reached Swedish grocery stores.
Portions of the fossil plastics are replaced with plastics made of sugar cane residues in the new and more climate-smart packaging. The new material is recyclable and has the same protective properties as fossil plastics, which is important since coffee is affected by light and oxygen.
“The reason that we cannot replace all fossil plastics right away is because of production methods and that there are not any plant-based alternatives for all layers of the packaging. But we are working closely with our suppliers to find solutions to these issues,” says Eva Eriksson.
“Our plan is that all our packaging, on every market around the world, will contain plastics from renewable raw materials by 2020. And we will only use recyclable or renewable material by 2030 at the latest.”
Pioneer in the packaging field
Löfbergs is working with sustainability throughout the value chain, from bean to cup. Much of the work is done in the producing countries, where the climate impact of coffee is greatest. But the company is doing a lot at home too, not least when it comes to packaging.
Löfbergs was first in Europe with aluminium-free coffee packaging 25 years ago. The company launched iced coffee in recyclable carton packages in 2015 and plant-based capsules for the Nespresso® system in 2016*. Löfbergs is now taking the next step and starts to phase out fossil plastics.
“We will always have a strong focus on developing as eco-friendly and climate-smart packaging as possible. Other companies in the business have followed in our footsteps many times before, which is good. We like being first, but never last, with climate-smart solutions,” says Eva Eriksson.
*Nespresso® is a third party registered trademark and has no association with AB Anders Löfberg.
