At SIG, ASI-certified aluminium will be introduced as standard for all SIG carton packs in Europe. For the company, this is a further milestone on its ‚Way Beyond Good‘, with which the company is pursuing the goal of doing more for the environment and society than it claims.
This makes SIG the first company in the industry to be certified in accordance with both the ASI (Aluminium Stewardship Initiative) Performance Standard and the Chain of Custody Standard. And the only manufacturer of aseptic beverage cartons, which offers ASI-certified aluminium in its carton packs.
The first carton packs with the ASI label were launched on the market in 2019 by customers such as B-Better (part of Unilever's Better Future platform), Riedel and DRINKS3. Now ASI-certified aluminium as standard since June 2020 introduced for all SIG packs in Europe. Starting with customers launching new products or designs on the market.
„ASI certification helps to promote improvements for people and the environment throughout the aluminium value chain,“ says Carsten Haerup Christensen, Vice President Cluster Europe at SIG. „And it offers SIG customers another credible label alongside FSC certification for paperboard, showing consumers that they are committed to sourcing their packaging responsibly.“
Aluminium-free solutions in progress
As part of the Self-commitment, customer packaging from 100% renewable raw materials SIG has already developed the industry's first aluminium-free solutions. And is working on eliminating aluminium from its packaging. However, an ultra-thin barrier layer of aluminium foil, ten times thinner than a human hair, is still required for a number of SIG packs for long-life foods such as fruit juices to protect these products safely from light and oxygen and to preserve the nutrients.
Improve traceability with ASI certification
ASI certification shows that the aluminium in the packaging comes from responsible sources. With its audits based on strict ethical, ecological and social criteria, ASI certification serves to ensure the Traceability and responsibility in the aluminium supply chain to increase the traceability of aluminium. To facilitate the traceability of responsibly sourced aluminium, SIG has developed a Traceability system which is regularly reviewed as part of the audits.
Responsible procurement
Responsible sourcing of raw materials from certified sources is part of SIG's Way Beyond Good. The company aims to source 100% of the main raw materials in its packaging from certified sources by the end of 2020.
Since 2016, customers have been able to use the FSC label on all SIG cartons to show that the wood used to produce the raw carton comes from sustainably managed forests and other controlled sources. SIG customers in Europe now have the option to include the ASI label on their carton packs to show consumers that aluminium is used from responsible sources. ASI certification therefore not only creates added value for SIG customersn, but also for environmentally conscious consumers.
Source: SIG
