NEED TO KNOW / BEING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS 68 pounds comprise blends of advanced food-compliant materials to ensure no migration of harmful substances from the packaging into the food it protects. “ACTEGA is also revolutionising approaches with disruptive technologies like ECOLEAF and Signite, pushing boundaries, and providing a real-world solution for today’s environmental issues.” ECOLEAF by ACTEGA is described as "reinventing the metallisation process by using ‘liquid foil’ in place of the plastic-backed foil reels used in traditional hot and cold foiling." Within its own business, ACTEGA has also taken meaningful steps to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions with CO2 emissions having been reduced by over 70% for the whole ACTEGA group in the past five years. Water consumption has also been reduced by over 45% and in 2019, ACTEGA joined other ALTANA companies in sourcing 100% of its energy from renewable sources. Locally, the company has been operating its ‘Let’s ACT!’ campaign which sees its employees work together to minimise their local environmental impact. One example of this is at ACTEGA’s site in Lehrte, Germany where two team members are nurturing six bee colonies with a mission towards promoting biodiversity across the site. Whilst there is much positive and tangible change to report at ACTEGA, Siepmann highlights that there are always going to be challenges, but that these should be viewed as opportunities. “This approach not only makes companies more innovative and future-focused, but it also has a positive impact on their resilience in the long run.” On this note, Siepmann explains that one of the top agenda points in the packaging industry has been recyclability: “Whether it is the challenges of sorting and recycling multi-layer films, the trend towards mono-materials, or the increase in paperbased packaging, we are committed to meeting the current needs. “Achieving true sustainability in the packaging industry involves all actors from across the public, private, and civic sectors and requires systemic change. Therefore, the ACTEGA team has become a member of the 4evergreen alliance, working with its stakeholders across the value chain toward optimising fibre-based packaging’s circularity and climate performance”. Repulpability And Recyclability Founded in 2007, Scodix provides digital print embellishment presses with the company describing itself as quickly emerging email: news@printmonthly.co.uk September / October 2023 - Issue 344 ▼ Dennis Siepmann, head of sustainability at ACTEGA as a pioneer in the field of digital print and packaging enhancement. In terms of sustainability, Scodix’s digital presses eliminate the need for plates, molds, and chemicals which the company says reduces waste from the enhancement process to almost zero. The use of digital printing also enables users to print their desired quantity on-demand meaning no unnecessary printing or energy is used. Scodix recently completed an LCA study to measure the benefits of its process against hot foil stamping. The LCA compared the enhancement of a single B1 sheet through to 100,000 B1 sheets using Scodix foil (175g) with traditional foiling methods. The results showed that Scodix technology reduces CO2e (CO2 equivalent) by 85%, fossil fuel usage by close to 85%, and water consumption by 80% per B1 sheet, in comparison to traditional hot stamp foiling. ► ECOLEAF by ACTEGA uses ‘liquid foil’ in place of the plastic-backed foil reels used in traditional hot and cold foiling Achieving true sustainability in the packaging industry involves all actors from across the public, private, and civic sectors and requires systemic change reduction in CO2 emissions for the whole ACTEGA group in the past five years 70%
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