IFCO’s circular model for reusable packaging empowers growers and retailers to run their fresh grocery supply chains more sustainably.
The global fresh grocery supply chain is always on the move. Now, it’s moving faster in a more sustainable direction, thanks to the scale, scope and user-friendliness of the IFCO circular model for reusable packaging solutions. What does this mean in practice for growers and retailers?
Back in 1992, the IFCO SmartCycle circular model was designed with a clear purpose in mind: to provide a comprehensive portfolio of reusable packaging solutions to be shared and reused through a best-in-class, closed-loop pooling service that meets the challenging demands of the global fresh grocery supply chain.
Essentially, this means that the IFCO reusable packaging containers (RPCs) transport fresh products hundreds of times during their lifetime. And even when that long service life ends, they are recycled to make new RPCs. Currently, every year over 380 million RPCs are shared and reused by IFCO’s customers over 2.2 billion times.
Reusable packaging solutions in line with UN SDGs
Over the years, IFCO has taken an intrinsically sustainable circular model and developed and refined the infrastructure and reusable packaging solutions even further. Long before the United Nations’17 Sustainable Development Goals were officially adopted in 2015, IFCO had set ambitious sustainability goals and was already empowering growers and retailers to reach theirs.
Today, the UN SDGs serve as a valuable reminder to push harder with sustainable reusable packaging solutions in a way that protects the environment and secures the global food supply.
In the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Report, IFCO highlights how their activities support a range of UN SDGs that go beyond IFCO’s business model helping companies reduce CO2 emissions associated with packaging. For instance, in line with SDG 13 for Climate Action, IFCO has also committed to Science Based Targets to further reduce its carbon footprint in line with a 1.5-degree scenario on the way to fully decarbonize its business by 2040, as outlined in the IFCO Roadmap to Net Zero.
But perhaps the SDG that best summarizes the company’s mission is SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production. IFCO’s SmartCycle fully embraces the business recommendations from SDG 12, including adopting a circular model or closing the material loop. Replacing single-use packaging with IFCO reusable packaging also allows growers and retailers to advance on SDG 12.
Using third-party peer-reviewed Life Cycle Assessment studies based on ISO14044, IFCO has scientifically quantified the environmental benefits of its SmartCycle in reduced CO2-e emissions, water consumption, energy use, solid waste and food waste. Every year, the savings are summarized for each customer in their own IFCO Sustainability Certificate in recognition of the commitment of our customers to improve the sustainability of their supply chains.
Sustainable fresh grocery supply chains rely on strong partnerships and close collaboration on local and international levels. Notably, IFCO’s commitment to such long-term partnerships ties in with SDG 17, which sees global partnerships as key to sustainable development.
Take for instance the close collaboration with REWE Group, one of Europe’s leading retail operations and a long-standing partner retailer of IFCO, Gemüsebau Steiner, a local eco-friendly fruit and vegetable grower, and Tafel, one of the largest food bank organizations in Europe. IFCO’s circular model for reusable packaging brings compelling benefits for all three, particularly in terms of reduced waste, lower CO2-e emissions and increased efficiency.
Michael Pooley, IFCO CEO, never loses sight of the importance of IFCO’s mission and the UN SDGs: "Our purpose is to make the fresh grocery supply chain sustainable. There are now over eight billion people on the planet, and we have a very fixed set of resources. For us to have a sustainable future, circular models for reusable packaging solutions like the IFCO SmartCycle are the only solution."
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