CARBON NEUTRALITY STRATEGY
Tekni-Plex is a globally integrated company that focuses on the development and production of innovative packaging materials, medical compounds for some of the best known names in the medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, household and industrial, and food and beverage markets. During 2021, the production site in Tradate, one of two in Italy specialising in the production of PVC blisters for the pharmaceutical sector, decided to embark on a Carbon Neutrality path. The analysis that Tekni-Plex decided to carry out was not only aimed at identifying the most recent emissions, but also historical ones, in order to provide evidence of how efficiency actions already undertaken in recent years had an impact on the environment as well as saving money.
MEASUREMENT OF EMISSIONS
The first step taken towards neutrality was the calculation of the company’s carbon footprint. In this sense, Circularity carried out a company LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) type study according to the logic of the ‘GHG protocol‘. First of all, the direct emissions (Scope 1) of the company’s characteristic production cycles deriving from the use of fuels, such as methane gas, were calculated. Then the calculation focused on indirect emissions from the purchase of electricity (Scope 2) and finally on all those indirect emissions that are not related to the purchase of electricity but depend on company policies and strategic choices that also have an important impact on the environment (Scope 3).
REDUCTION AND COMPENSATION
Once an overall picture of Tekni-Plex Gallazzi’s characteristic emissions in recent years had been obtained, and after highlighting how the actions already undertaken by the Tradate-based company had a real positive impact also from an environmental point of view, Circularity defined a plan to reduce, firstly, and offset, then, the emissions still borne by its customer. The order chosen is by no means random, but is intended to highlight the primary role that companies play when embarking on a path to neutrality by reducing all that is possible internally, and only then offsetting the remaining emissions by investing in projects that involve emission reductions. Therefore, reduction proposals such as efficiency measures, green energy purchases, conscious waste management and more were presented. If, as is often the case, these actions were not enough to reduce all of Tekni-Plex Gallazzi’s emissions, the achievement of carbon neutrality is achieved through the purchase of CERs (Certified Emission Reduction).
Circularity’s work was concluded with the presentation of a document in which all actions taken in the emission calculation and zeroing plan are recounted step by step. The last step is up to the customer, who is finally aware of his real carbon footprint and the actions that can be taken to reduce it, and embarks on his personal journey at the end of which he will obtain the Circularity Certificate of Neutrality, a guarantee that Tekni-Plex Gallazzi had a zero carbon footprint in the year reported.
