Actually, the colour green is one of the most toxic colours of all. It is not for nothing that it is also called poisonous green. If we look at the product landscape of the beverage industry, we see this green in abundance.
If we take a closer look, it doesn’t matter, as long as you don’t consume the labels, you might think. However, this toxic green has a very serious disadvantage. Printing inks have a decisive influence on the recyclability of the paper, as they form an inflow in the recyclate with the fibres.
CARLSBERG has taken a decisive step and developed a cradle to cradle-compatible green ink in a cooperation along the entire value chain that is still unparalleled today. But CARLSBERG does not stop there. Within the framework of the Healthy Printing Initiative, Carlsberg and its suppliers have committed themselves to continuously advance the developments and not just to leave it at Silver certification. Step by step the international rollout for the CARLSBERG brand has been carried out since 2018. Especially the introduction of Cradle to Cradle colours on the Asian market was a remarkable achievement.
The CARSLBERG label is a embossed wet-glue label, and is printed in sheetfed offset.
But, what good is the now “good” ink if the carrier substrate has no material health, the printer thought and together with his customer and partner CARLSBERG forced his paper suppliers to produce Cradle to Cradle label papers. Said and done. The first Cradle to Cradle Material Health certified label papers from the world market leader for wet-glue label papers are released.
The time frame for all this? 2.5 – 3 years. That is measured on an industrial scale, exorbitantly fast.
This was only possible because a perfectly coordinated and trusting cooperation was created along the entire supply chain. To quote the original words of Carlsberg’s Sustainability Director Simon Boas Hoffmeyer: “Only extensive partnerships can create a virtuous circle of improvements within business and among suppliers and business partners. Carlsberg can’t do it alone, so the knowledge of our partners is incredibly important for us to reach our targets.”
This ambitious goal was started through intensive cooperation and development work with the ink manufacturer hubergroup and the Töpfer Kulmbach printing company under the scientific supervision of EPEA. The Greener Green ink meets the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ standard at Silver Level. Additional improvements are anticipated shortly.
Science-based sustainability is the credo, and then sustainability is not just lip service, but lived practice and delivers sound, measurable results. But this example teaches us one more thing. Sustainability is possible when the entire supply chain works together in a spirit of trust. And sustainability can mean innovation and transformation. A multinational player has demonstrated this to us.
