 Environment & Sustainability
Packaging plays a crucial role in pharmaceutical and medical products, protecting their integrity to ensure that they deliver the intended benefits to the end-users. However, packaging is often under scrutiny by consumers because of its high visibility and pervasiveness in their daily experience. At Alcan Global Pharmaceutical Packaging, we feel that this is an exciting opportunity, an opportunity to make a difference and set ourselves and our customers apart from the crowd.
Our sustainability philosophy is to look beyond the traditional line of thinking aimed at the package itself, and instead take a holistic look at the entire life cycle of our packaging. We feel this is the optimal way to identify the places where we can have the greatest impact. We try to think broadly about issues and impacts by analyzing the social, economic and environmental considerations as well as a wide range of issues that are important to our stakeholders. Life cycle thinking helps us to focus on actions that produce increased overall benefits from our products, contribute to long-term profitability, the natural environment and society in general.
In an effort to maximize the benefits and opportunities in the development of new products, Alcan has developed ASSET™, the Alcan Sustainability and Stewardship Evaluation Tool. This proprietary web-enabled tool evaluates the overall sustainability profile of potential new products. ASSET™ evaluates the product innovations’ performance against 30 criteria which consider the full environmental, social and economic life cycle impacts and benefits based on a host of internationally recognized standards.
Down-gauging
In collaboration with customers, we look for opportunities to reduce the weight of packaging through initiatives such as down-gauging. Down-gauging applies to both rigid and flexible packaging. Flexible packaging and plastic bottles can be down-gauged with higher performance resins that reduce overall density and weight. Our blister design group has developed the capabilities to double the number of blister cavities in the same space, thereby eliminating a complete package through the innovative use of design principles and an understanding of resin options.
Use of Renewable Resources
We have done extensive work with bioresins integrating the use of biomaterials such as PLA, PHA and starch-based resins into our packaging. Through trial and testing of adhesive formulations for PLA, we have achieved the desired film property requirements by laminating PLA to other substrates: PLA/OPP, PLA/PET. We have also integrated several ink formulations to support biofilm printing platforms. Currently, we are undertaking lamination trials on Alcan Ceramis™ coated PLA films and metallized PLA films.
Reducing the Impact of our Operations Focus Areas: Energy, Air Emissions and Waste
We have identified three focus areas within our own operations where we believe we can make positive improvements that impact our environmental footprint: Energy, Air Emissions and Waste. Using our Lean Six sigma toolkit, our continuous improvement efforts are focused on ensuring the minimum use of raw materials, maximum efficiency of our operations, minimized hazardous and non-hazardous waste, increased recycling and returning materials back into the production cycle. In 2007, Alcan Global Pharmaceutical Packaging increased recycling by 5.4%, reducing waste to landfill by 9.5%; increased recycled material by 5.1 million pounds, and reduced emissions by an average of 7%.
Commitment to Community
Alcan Packaging is an active member in the communities in which it operates. We strive to improve quality of life for our stakeholders by creating employment, improving health and safety and reducing our impact on the environment. Our facilities and their employees worldwide are engaged with a variety of different organizations and support their efforts to create a more healthy, prosperous and vibrant community. Notably, Alcan Global Pharmaceutical Packaging is involved in different community events such as World Environment Day in partnership with United Nations and the support of local United Way campaigns.
|
Key Figures 