Reducing the impact of labeling through carbon reduction

To avoid the worst impacts of climate change and develop a thriving, sustainable economy, we all need to work together. At Avery Dennison, we collaborate cross functionally and with external partners to continuously reduce the environmental impact of our operations. There are several ways to do this, perhaps most importantly through carbon reduction.

What is carbon reduction?

Carbon reduction is the process whereby an organization directly reduces their emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses. Carbon reduction activities can either remove carbon from the atmosphere or prevent carbon from being released into the atmosphere in the first place.

Another way for organizations to reduce their environmental impact and achieve net zero emissions is with carbon offsetting. Unlike carbon reduction, carbon offsetting involves a trade-off, whereby a reduction or removal of emissions of CO2 or other greenhouse gasses is made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere.

Our carbon reduction commitment

We’ve committed to ambitious carbon reduction targets. These have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as consistent with the levels required to keep warming to less than 1.5°C, which is needed to prevent the most damaging effects of climate change.

Our targets include achieving net zero emissions by 2050, reducing our absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 70% by 2030 (2015 baseline), and reducing our absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 30% by 2030 (2018 baseline). View our full list of targets and progress here.

How we are reducing our carbon footprint

We are taking several steps to reduce our carbon footprint and achieve our ambitious carbon reduction targets. Firstly, at our sites we are increasing our energy efficiency and shifting to lower carbon and/or renewable energy sources.

Second, we are working with our suppliers to reduce the carbon footprint of our raw materials and encouraging them to adopt best practices and find ways to reduce their own environmental impact.

Finally, we reduce our carbon footprint by using more renewable and recycled raw materials in our products and by reducing the amount of material needed to make them. Our AD RDX™ sustainable product range and our AD XeroLinr DT™ linerless label solution, for example, create less waste and use less materials, resources, transport, and storage than conventional products.

The role of the label in carbon reduction

Creating products with a lower carbon footprint not only helps us reduce our own footprint; it helps our customers and brands reduce their footprints as well. In fact, choosing the right label for an application is imperative for brands to successfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

So what makes a label the right label? The first thing to look for when selecting a label is whether it enables recycling, reuse, or even composting. This ensures that materials stay in the loop longer and reduces the consumption of natural resources and virgin materials.

The second thing to consider is whether a label uses reduced material, recycled content, or renewable content. Our Sustainable Advantage portfolio checks both boxes, offering brands a range of high performance solutions with reduced carbon footprints.

How carbon footprinting supports carbon reduction

Our customers are increasingly looking to better understand the environmental impact of the products they use and make more sustainable choices. One way to do this is by looking at a product’s carbon footprint, which indicates the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by a product over the course of its life. However, this data is not always accurate or even available.

To ensure that our own product footprint data is accurate and transparent, we developed the Avery Dennison Carbon Footprinting Tool in collaboration with Carbon Trust, a climate consultancy which has supported more than 3000 organizations worldwide on their journey to Net Zero.

This tool offers an accurate and thorough measurement of the impact of our products. It uses actual data from our operations and evaluates carbon and water footprints in line with international standards like PAS2050 and ISO-14067.

The tool also supports comparative product analyses, enabling customers to factor environmental impact into their purchasing decisions. For example, did you know that by switching to a thinner solution, you can reduce your overall carbon footprint up to 40%?

By providing accurate data and enabling the comparison of the carbon footprints of various Avery Dennison labels, the tool helps our customers make more conscious purchasing decisions and trust that they are truly reducing the carbon impacts of their decisions.

How we can all support carbon reduction

To achieve carbon reduction along the entire supply chain and ultimately achieve Net Zero, we and our suppliers, converters, and end users all need to take ownership and work together.

We’re doing our part by reducing emissions in our own operations and by offering our customers sustainable solutions as well as our carbon footprinting tool. We also offer competitive pricing to further support the switch to more sustainable alternatives.

Our customers can contribute by purchasing sustainable alternatives and by offering and promoting them to end users. They can help even further by making use of our footprinting data and supplementing it with data from their own operations, and by promoting our AD Circular program, which enables brands across Europe to recycle their used label liners.

If we all work together to adopt more sustainable labels and recycle used label liners, there will be benefits for everyone: scale benefits for companies, price benefits for consumers, and environmental benefits for people and our planet.

Learn more

To learn more about our sustainable solutions, our carbon footprinting tool, AD Circular, and more, visit our Sustainable Labels homepage.

If you’d like to learn more about the carbon footprints of Avery Dennison products, you can request an Avery Dennison Carbon Trust report here.

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Reducing the impact of labeling through carbon reduction