A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O

E C O L E A NE N V I R O N M E N T A L P R O D U C T D E C L A R A T I O N S

With an emphasis on the whole life cycle impact of the process, from raw material to product end-of-life, Ecolean sets an example for others to follow. As the first packaging system supplier to review the whole system within the form of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) – encompassing the lightweight packages as well as filling machines – Ecolean continues to develop its focus on sustainability.

Marked by responsibility and transparency, the EPDs are leading the way in making it easier to make sustainable packaging choices for food producers and for consumers. That’s why we have decided to push ourselves even further in becoming more open and transparent. And to challenge the industry to do even better.

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T R A N S P A R E N TA L L T H E W A Y

T R A N S P A R E N C Y

E C O L E A N P A C K A G E S F O R C H I L L E D A N D A M B I E N T D I S T R I B U T I O N

L I G H T W E I G H T P A C K A G E S

The Environmental Product Declarations cover the environmental impact from the full life cycle of an Ecolean package. Step 1–3 (cradle to gate) in the life cycle show the impact from raw materials used and the production of the pac-kages at Ecolean. Step 4–9 show the impact after the packages have left Ecolean and start their journey into the world. The impact from these steps differs for different markets.

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* S-P-01054 Ecolean® Air Aseptic packages for ambient distribution** S-P-01055 Ecolean® Air packages for chilled distribution

9,23 g CO2-eq* 22,88 g CO2-eq**

24,84 g CO2(incl. SnapQuicktm)

22,18 g CO2-eq*

24,14 g CO2(incl. SnapQuicktm)

8,3 g CO2-eq**

C R A D L E TO G AT EC A R B O N E M I S S I O N Sg CO2-eq/package

• Less raw material• Low energy use in Ecolean production site• Pre-converted packages• Pre-sterilised Ecolean Air Aseptic

»Ready-to - f i l lpackages«

E CO L E A N PAC K AG E ’ S L I F E C YC L E

1. Extraction and transportation of raw materials to Ecolean site. 2. Design and development of packaging film and packages in-house. 3. Production of packaging film. Hermetically sealed, ready-to-fill packages are wound on reels. 4. Transportion of pre-converted packages to producer’s site. 5–6. Filling of liquid food product. 7. Filled packages are transported to distribution centers and retail outlets. 8. Consumption by the consumer. 9. End of life, the packages can be recycled as plastics or recovered as energy, depending on local waste handling system.c

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E CO L E A N F I L L I N G M AC H I N E ’ S L I F E C YC L E

1. Extraction of raw materials and production of machine parts. Transportation to Ecolean site.

2. Design and development in-house.

3. Machine production; assembly and testing.

4. Machine transportation to producer’s site.

5. Filling of liquid food product.

6. End of life, most of the machine parts are recycled.

F I L L I N G M A C H I N E S

The Ecolean filling lines are designed to maximise production capacity, by mini-mising downtime, while using the least possible resources. They are developed to give liquid food producers less problems, reduce the cost of operation and ownership, increase system profitability and lower the environmental impact.

The Environmental Product Declaration shows the environmental impact during the machine life cycle. The main impact occurs during the use phase of the machine when it uses utilities such as electricity and compressed air.

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The Ecolean filling machine uses no water during the filling, only during the cleaning process. The four studied filling machines in the EPDs use an average of 4 cl water/liter filled product when the cleaning process is included - we believe this is worth comparing!

L E S S T H A N 3 TA B L E S P O O N S

E N V I R O N M E N T A L P R O D U C T D E C L A R A T I O N S

P O I N T S T O N O T E

As a brand owner or liquid food producer, it is important to see to the full picture. To be able to make sustainable choices for your whole packaging system, you need to include all parameters in the life cycle and to base decisions on verified data.

R E D U C E D P L A S T I C C O N T E N TIn order to reduce the plastic content, the Ecolean package consists of up to 35% (by weight) of dolomite.

E F F I C I E N T P R O D U C T I O NOnly 5% of the total climate impact (cradle to grave) from an Ecolean® Air Aseptic 1000ml occurs during the production at the Ecolean plant.

F I R S T S Y S T E M S U P P L I E RAccording to The International EPD® System: Ecolean’s EPDs are the first case where a company publish EPDs of both packaging and filling machine.

L I G H T W E I G H T , A H E A V Y -W E I G H T A R G U M E N T Lightweight packages mean less impact – read the complete EPDs to understand the envi-ronmental impact from Ecolean lightweight packages.

M A R K E T S C O V E R E D B Y E P D s F O R F I L L I N G M A C H I N E S A N D P A C K A G E SEcolean filling machines: Europe, Russia, Pakistan and China. Ecolean packages: Europe, Russia and Pakistan.

E N V I R O N M E N T A L I M P A C T G U I D EGet all the data for your package! Please, visit the Sustainability section at www.ecolean.com/sustainability.

R E A D Y M A D E C O N V E N I E N C EWhen our packages leave the Ecolean gate, they are pre-converted and ready-to-fill, a difference worth mentioning compared to many other packaging systems, reducing the need for chemicals and complex sterilisation processes at the customer’s site.

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ECOLEAN® AIR 1000ml CLEAR

S E L E C T Y O U R P A C K A G EECOLEAN® AIR ASEPTIC ECOLEAN® AIR

The Ecolean concept is to use a minimal amount of raw materials to produce a unique flexible lightweight package and a filling system for liquid food products. Innovation has always been fundamental for Ecolean. Being a fast growing and globally expanding company that continuously develops its products in order to meet new customer and consumer demands. Ecolean is established on the market as a full system supplier producing both filling line equipment and lightweight packages.

Production Plants

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Currently Inactive

E C O L E A N L I G H T W E I G H T P A C K A G I N G H A S B E C O M E A H E A V Y W E I G H T A R G U M E N T

H O W T O U S ET H E E P D

T O T A K E R E S P O N S I B I LT Y is to make a change for the better. More sustainable products needs well-weighed decisions based on true facts and verified data. Ask for EPDs from your suppliers and use them as decision support tools for distinguishing between products and systems, on environmental grounds.

S E E TO T H E F U L L P I C T U R E , not just one part of the packages’ life cycle, or the part that the packaging supplier is serving you. Ask for EPDs to get a comprehen-sive picture!

E N G A G E T H E C O N S U M E R S and educate them in what role the packages and packaging materials actually play.

A S K F O R E P D s F O R F U L L

T R A N S P A R E N C Y since they can offer you the possibility to actually compare different systems on a fair basis.

Contact us at ecolean.com or info@ecolean.se

“Although our new EPDs are only one part of our dedication to be honest and transparent, they are very important and enable us to provide a powerful decisionmaking framework for making sustainable packaging solution investments.”

Anna Palminger, Sustainability Manager, Ecolean

Ecolean AB, Box 812, 251 08 Helsingborg, Sweden, Visiting address: Kielergatan 48Phone: +46 104 59 40 00, info@ecolean.se, www.ecolean.com

A B O U T E N V I RO N M E N TA L P RO D U C T D E C L A R AT I O N SAn Environmental Product Declaration is a verified and registered document that communicates transparent and comparable information about the life cycle environmen-tal impact of products. An EPD is created and verified in accordance with the International Standard ISO 14025, developed by the International Organization for Standard- ization (ISO). EPDs are based on a life cycle assessment  according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.

T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N A N E N V I RO N M E N TA L P RO D U C T D E C L A R AT I O N A N D A L I F E C YC L E A S S E S S M E N TAn EPD is a life cycle assessment with defined system boundaries. The definition of the system boundaries are found in a document called Product Category Rules (PCR). The fact that EPDs within the same product category follows the same PCR open up the possibilities for com-parisons between the EPDs. Since the system boundaries in a LCA are established by the producer of the LCA, the results from a LCA can be very hard to compare with others.

An EPD is created and registered in the framework of a programme, such as the International EPD® System. You can find Ecolean EPDs at www.environdec.com