Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland is the first packaging manufacturer in Northern Ireland to gain the Sustainably Sourced Plastics (SSP) Certification, and the first Greiner Packaging factory in the world to be awarded Forest Stewardship Council (FSC^®) Chain of Custody certification.

Developed in conjunction with the BSI Flex 6228 Standard, SSP Certification provides an overall validation of the plastics packaging supply chain. This ensures that the required recycled content percentage can be traced and assured, from recyclers to manufacturers and retailers.

“From recyclers to manufacturers and brand owners, more and more elements of the supply chain are demanding ethical procurement of recycled plastics to meet customer demand,” says Sustainable Certifications Group (SCG) Senior Sustainability and Commercial Manager Andy Whyle.

“SCG manages, measures and monitors the whole supply chain, creating an evidence portfolio, with checks being made to validate material testing and in-process quality controls. Flex 6228 tests are used, for the plastics included in the standard, to create a material ‘fingerprint’. The combined findings are assessed, and when all requirements are met, the SCG Team award SSP Certification, clearly demonstrating legislation and customer conformance, such as UK Plastic Packaging Tax and ESG ethical procurement reporting.”

FSC^® Chain of Custody certification

Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland has also been awarded Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody certification – the first to be awarded across Greiner Packaging’s 30 factories in 19 countries.

The Forest Stewardship Council is an independent, not for profit, non-governmental organization established to support environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests.

“Gaining FSC Chain of Custody certification means that our customers who wish to communicate their sustainable packaging choices can include the FSC logo on pack,” says Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland Sustainability & Innovation Manager Rachel Sheldon. “The FSC label provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value. Our K3^® cardboard-plastic combination is one of the world’s most sustainable packaging solutions, and having FSC Certification enables us to say: ‘This product has been made with wood from well-managed forests and we can prove it’.”

Investing in a sustainable future

“The SSP and FSC certifications come only three months after we announced that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has approved the decontamination process used at our factory in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, to recycle post-consumer PET into food contact materials,” say Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland Quality Systems Lead Kathy Reid. 

“We invested over £3,700,000 in our new PET decontamination and extrusion line to enable the use of more recycled materials in our market-leading packaging ranges. This is the latest step in our continued commitment to innovate, increase capacity and reduce our carbon footprint. Being able to prove that the food-safe plastic we use is sustainably sourced and that the cardboard is from responsibly managed forests further demonstrates our leadership in sustainable packaging.”

“These certifications brought a momentous year for Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland to a fitting conclusion,” says General Manager Paul Millar. “We celebrated our 50th anniversary at Dungannon in 2022 and announced new investments totaling over £10M. We also joined RECOUP, the official RecyClass auditor for rigid plastic packaging in the UK, and put a new fleet of trailers carrying our ‘We love sustainable packaging’ message onto the nations’ roads. We are looking forward to an equally exciting 2023, as we continue to roll out the new K3^® r100 self-separating cardboard-plastic pack, which is our most sustainable packaging solution to date.”

Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland is exhibiting at the Packaging Innovations event at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, on February 15-16, on stand H20.

Photo shows GPUK General Manager Paul Millar with Quality Systems Lead Kathy Reid.