Nov. 27, 2007
Three key members of the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) announced voluntary commitment to a traceability scheme to ensure that all cartons will be made from 100 percent environmentally certified paper by 2018. Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc, representing 80 percent of the global market, cited commercial and environmental benefits as incentives for making the move.
Specifically, traceability involves third-party verification according to 'chain of custody' standards for all liquid packaging board introduced into the production cycle. According to global conservation organisation WWF, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification is "the most efficient traceability system to safeguard against potential inclusion of [...] unwanted fibre sources." The packaging firms have agreed to comply with FSC standards "or equivalent schemes."
While hailing the packaging sector's decision and other such voluntary commitments, the WWF claimed the EU must also introduce further legal mechanisms to achieve full implementation of the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement.
