Contribution to the SDGs
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015 as part of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Soarnol™ Department will work to solve social issues and contribute to the SDGs as a member of the international community.
SDGs goals and targets contributed by Soarnol™
2.End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
12.Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13.Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
14.Conserve and sustainability use the oceans, seas and marine resources
Contributing to Food Safety and Reduction of Food Loss
Ensuring food safety
Barrier packages with Soarnol™ can prevent food spoilage and ensure food safety even for remote places with long food delivery distribution chains.
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Extend a shelf lifeBy using Soarnol™, food spoilage is reduced and shelf life extended.
Example...
- ・MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging)
- → Skinpack for fresh food (meat and fish) and ready meals
- ・High barrier cup for drinks
- → chilled beverages, jellies and yogurt
Reduction of food loss
Addressing food loss is a major issue in the realization of a sustainable society.
Soarnol™ has superior gas barrier properties compared to other resins. When used in food packaging structures, it can significantly reduce food loss by suppressing food spoilage, maintaining freshness, and extending shelf life.
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Keeping freshnessEven after opening a package, prevents oxidation of foods to maintain freshness.
Reduce food waste by extending shelf life.Example...
- ・Bottle for seasoning
- → soy sauce, cooking oil, condiments and mayonnaise
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Individual packagePopularity of individually packaged foods is increasing due to active life styles.
Single-serve packages have larger specific surface area than that of conventional packages and for that reason, Soarnol™ which has high gas barrier material is necessary.Example...
- ・High barrier tray and cups
- → rice, coffee, chips, etc.
- ・Barrier films
- → ham, cheese, etc.
The problem of food waste is one of the world's most pressing problems to be solved.
Globally, food waste amounts to 1.3 billion tons. This is equivalent to one-third of all food produced*1.
Meanwhile, 800 million people worldwide suffer from hunger and malnutrition*2.
With the world's population expected to reach 8.7 billion by 2030, and then rapidly increase to 9.7 billion by 2050 (approximately 7.5 billion in 2017)*3, the efficient use of food resources is an urgent issue.
The United Nations has stated that “By 2030, we will eradicate hunger and ensure that all people, especially the poor and vulnerable, including young children, have sufficient access to safe and nutritious food all year round. and “By 2030, halve global per capita food waste at retail and consumption levels and reduce food losses in production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.” The SDGs set the goals of “halving per capita food waste at the retail and consumption level and reducing food losses in production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, globally by 2030,” and food safety and food loss reduction are issues that must be overcome worldwide.
- *1.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), "Global Food Loss and Food Waste" (2011)
- *2."The State of Global Food Security and Nutrition," 2018 report
- *3.United Nations, "World Population Projections," revised edition for 2022
Contributing to the Reduction of Waste Plastic Volume
Calls for reducing the amount of waste plastic are constantly increasing.
Multilayer packaging materials using "Soarnol™" contribute to the reduction of waste plastic in terms of the 3Rs, especially "Reduce" and "Recycle".
Thinner packaging materials by utilizing Soarnol™
The use of Soarnol™, with its superior gas barrier properties,reduces the amount of plastic used while maintaining the functionality of the packaging material.
Below are some examples of thin film packaging structures utilizing Soarnol™.
Case 1: Replacement of other resins with Soarnol™
By replacing alternative resins in packaging structures with Soarnol™, it is possible to reduce the amount of plastic and maintain the gas barrier property at the same time.
For example, by replacing PET or PA with Soarnol™, the total amount of plastic used can be reduced while significantly improving gas barrier properties.
Reduction of packaging volume by replacing other resins with Soarnol™ (Example)
Case 2: Replacement with higher gas barrier grade Soarnol™
Even if you are already using Soarnol™, switching to a higher gas barrier (lower ethylene composition grade) grade of Soarnol™ will allow you to reduce the amount of plastic used without compromising gas barrier properties.
Replacement with higher gas barrier grade Soarnol™ (Example)
Case 3: Soarnol™ in asymmetric configuration
The asymmetric layer configuration with the Soarnol™ layer positioned on the low-humidity side lowers the relative humidity of the Soarnol™ layer, enabling a reduction in the amount of plastic used without compromising gas barrier properties.
Reduction of packaging volume by asymmetric configuration (Example)
Recyclable gas barrier material Soarnol™
Recycling of packaging materials is one of the important themes for the realization of a circular economy. Gas barrier performance is an indispensable function of packaging materials to reduce food loss and protect food safety. Soarnol™ is a unique material that combines high gas barrier properties with recyclability. Packaging structures made with Soarnol™ in combination with polyethylene or polypropylene are recognized as recyclable by sustainability organizations in Europe and the United States. We support our customers in designing and developing recyclable packaging.
By partnering with sustainability-related organizations and recycling verification organizations in various countries, we have obtained certification of recyclability for packaging made with Soarnol™.
We will continue to promote the recyclability of Soarnol™ by utilizing the global network of the Soarnol™ business.
Soaresin™, a recycling agent, can be used to make packaging materials using Soarnol™ even easier to recycle.
Sustainability organizations and recycling verification organizations in each country
Recyclable packaging design utilizing Soarnol™
Soarnol™ (EVOH) is an environmentally friendly high-performance resin that combines high gas barrier performance with recyclability.
Due to these characteristics, there is growing consideration to switch from other gas barrier materials to Soarnol™ in order to improve the recyclability of packaging.
While aluminum foil, PVDC, and PET have excellent gas barrier properties, their use makes polyolefin-based packages difficult to recycle.
By using Soarnol™ as a gas barrier material, it is possible to design packaging that can be recycled while maintaining a high gas barrier property.
*The above figure is an image.
*Please contact us about detailed structure.
Recycle agent Soaresin™
The Soaresin™ series are recycling agents developed by our company that improve the compatibility of polyolefins and EVOH.
Soaresin™ improves the compatibility of Soarnol™ with polyolefins and enhances the physical properties of recycled materials.
By adding Soaresin™ to plastic waste (scrap material) containing polyolefins and Soarnol™ generated in the packaging manufacturing process, it is possible to provide high-quality recycled materials.
Soaresin™ technology has been adopted by many sheet and bottle molding manufacturers and is making a significant contribution to reducing plastic waste by effectively utilizing scrap materials as a recycled layer. The newly developed Soaresin™ RC series also makes it possible to recycle materials from the film manufacturing process which were previously scrapped.
Obtaining recycling certification
Guidelines from sustainability organizations specify that polyolefin-based multilayer packaging structures can be recycled with EVOH content up to 5 wt%. Tests conducted by Institute cyclos-HTP GmbH (cyclos-HTP), a European recycling certification body, and The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), a North American recycling promotion organization, have shown that the combination of Soarnol™ and Soaresin™ is safe for use as a recycled material. Recyclability has been certified up to 15 wt% Soarnol™ when using Soaresin™.
The recycling certification based on the above-mentioned criteria is another confirmation that Soarnol™ is a material that not only reduces food loss, but also contributes to resource recycling.
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・cyclos-HTP
・APR
Achieving Carbon Neutrality
Contribution of Soarnol™to GHG emissions reduction by reducing food loss
Ensuring food safety and reducing food loss are issues that must be overcome worldwide.
By using Soarnol™, which has excellent gas barrier properties, as a material for food packaging, it is possible to prevent food from spoiling, maintain freshness, and extend expiration and best-before dates.
Soarnol™ contributes greatly to the reduction of food loss, which is a challenge facing the world.
A significant reduction in food loss also means that Soarnol™ contributes to the reduction of GHG emissions corresponding to the production and disposal of unnecessarily discarded food.
Soarnol™ contributes significantly to the reduction of GHG emissions through the reduction of food loss, and thus to the achievement of carbon neutrality.
*GHG (greenhouse gas) is a general term for heat-retaining gases such as carbon dioxide and methane found in the atmosphere.
Soarnol™'s food loss reduction effect is many times greater than GHG emissions from resin production (MCC simulation)
Ensure food safety and reduce food loss
Contribution to GHG emission reductions through weight reduction of plastics
By replacing metal containers and bottles with multilayer plastic containers using Soarnol™, weight can be reduced without significant loss of gas barrier properties.
According to our calculations based on the volume-to-weight ratio of the product and assumptions from our transportation model,GHG emissions during transportation can be reduced by up to 50% by replacing glass bottles, thus contributing to carbon neutrality.
EVOH with Biomass Plastic Mark certification
We have developed Soarnol™ PB7104B, which contains more than 25wt% of biomass components*. This newly developed product has obtained the Biomass Plastic Mark certification from the Japan Biomass Plastics Association (JBPA), and can be molded and processed under the same conditions as existing Soarnol™.
According to our simulations GHG emissions can be reduced by up to 30% compared to general EVOH.
Acquisition of ISCC PLUS Certification, an international carbon sustainability certification
Soarnol™ has obtained ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS certification for the following sites in 2022.
This certification ensures that recycled raw materials and biomass materials are properly managed in the supply chain, including product manufacturing.
| Site | Products |
|---|---|
| Okayama Plant | EVOH resin “Soarnol™” |
We commit and declare that we will comply with the requirements of ISCC PLUS certification in accordance with the latest regulations of ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification).
ISCC PLUS certification enables us to handle biomass and recycled raw materials supplied under the mass balance method*1. Through acquisition of this certification and provision of certified products, we will contribute to social implementation of sustainable products using recycled and biomass raw materials.
*1The mass balance method is a distribution control method in which, when multiple raw materials (e.g., petroleum-derived raw materials and recycled raw materials derived from waste plastics) are mixed to manufacture a product, a percentage of the specific raw material used (e.g., recycled raw materials) is allocated to any product.
