Environmentally Sustainable Packaging Solutions
Solar Energy
In 2017, we completed a 575 kW solar array at our Marlborough, MA facility that will produce enough electricity annually to power close to 100 homes. In 2019, we installed an additional 730 kW of solar at our North Haven and Putnam, CT facilities.
Sustainable Forestry
Trees from properly managed forests are an infinitely renewable resource. All of our corrugated products are Forest Stewardship Council® Chain-of-Custody and Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Chain-of-Custody certified, and are made from wood pulp sourced from well-managed forests and non-controversial sources.
Recyclable Products
Corrugated paper packaging is the most recycled packaging material on the market, with more than 91% of all corrugated containers being recycled.
We use at least 84% recycled material in our boxes, well above the industry average of just 46% recycled content.
Carbon and Energy Management
Unicorr tracks our manufacturing facilities’ carbon and energy footprint. We report and disclose our emissions and progress annually through CDP. Since 2011, we have reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions per sales dollar by 18%. We’ve accomplished this through improving process efficiency, investing in efficient equipment and technology, and partnering with utilities and consultants. This means we offer you the same, high quality boxes we’ve always made with 18% less impact on the climate and environment. For example, at our Putnam, CT facility, our recent energy efficiency upgrade is forecasted to reduce electricity use by 15%, natural gas use by 65%, and total carbon footprint by 27%.
Waste Management
Our vision is simple: Nothing going to the landfill. Unicorr reviews and examines waste to identify and implement opportunities for beneficial reuse and recycling. We reuse or recycle the majority of the outputs from our facilities.
Sustainable Product Design
Packaging efficiency and sustainability can often have the same meaning. We work with our customers to systematically reduce the size of the packaging relative to the product shipped, the amount of fiber through material use and transport efficiency.
Third Party Auditing
In a recent third-party audit through Ecovadis, our Nutmeg Container facility received Bronze recognition for our environmental, labor, and governance practices.
Employee Training
Each of our facilities is committed to identifying, measuring, and improving environmental impacts from our operations through sustainable management and lean operations. Our goal is to train all of our employees on sustainability. A majority of them have already participated in at least one sustainability training.