Around 1.3 billion tons of food are thrown away each year worldwide – about one third of all food produced. In developed countries, private households account for about 42 percent of this food waste.

Smart packaging is one key to combating food waste because it

• increases the shelf life of food considerably,
• improves product safety,
• improves food storage,
• ensures quality and safety along the supply chain, from the field to the shelf,
• informs consumers about the use and storage of food, and
• optimizes the food ripening process (e.g. for cheese).

Furthermore, intelligent packaging benefits not only the food but also the climate. When all factors are considered – including food cultivation, production, transport, storage and decomposition – food waste actually generates quite high CO2 emissions.

The benefits of reducing food waste therefore outweigh the amounts of CO2 generated by burning packaging. In addition, innovations in the past few decades have reduced energy consumption in the manufacturing of packaging, which is becoming thinner and lighter despite fulfilling more and more functions.

Schur Flexibles has developed a broad product portfolio that more than meets our high standards for sustainable packaging. As part of our rethink initiative, we offer our clients a full-service, holistic concept from consultation and concept development through to process implementation in order to make their product range sustainable.

We are also an active member of the "Save Food" initiative, where we contribute our vast experience and know-how in order to break new ground in the packaging industry and thus significantly increase the shelf life of packaged food. In doing so, we not only prevent food waste itself, we also protect the resources that are used to grow and produce it.

Find out more about our five pillars of sustainability.