UPM Raflatac extends its CarbonNeutral product portfolio by achieving CarbonNeutral product certification for the whole Linerless product range. The certification is issued by Natural Capital Partners in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. The global framework provides a robust and pragmatic blueprint for carbon neutrality.

Direct thermal (DT) linerless labeling products help customers to reduce their packaging footprint and is in high demand in the packaging value chain. Sustainability and efficiency benefits of using linerless are significant as linerless brings up to a 40% reduction in material usage compared to traditional labelling technologies. DT linerless market has seen approximately 15% year-on-year growth in recent years.

“Our ambition in UPM Raflatac is to go beyond fossils. In practise this means that we are constantly innovating new ways to reduce the carbon emissions of our products. This is a must to meet our climate commitments but also, for our business as the market demand for sustainable labeling solutions is high and growing all the time. The new CarbonNeutral product certification of our linerless range is a great addition to our CarbonNeutral product portfolio which already includes the RAFNXT+ products. This is a big leap forward in providing our customers even more sustainable solutions and enabling them to take positive climate action,” says Robert Taylor, sustainability director at UPM Raflatac.

The carbon footprint measure of UPM Raflatac’s linerless products has already been certified by the Carbon Trust. The new CarbonNeutral product certification is further proof of the actions the company has taken to define, measure and reduce the emissions originating from the linerless manufacturing process, raw materials, and transportation. Furthermore, the emissions that are today still unavoidable are now compensated.

The Linerless products’ cradle-to-customer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are compensated in full through global projects that are verified to internationally recognized standards, such as the Gold Standard. This means that UPM Raflatac has already taken care of compensating the emissions that are today still unavoidable on behalf their customers. Customers can make deduction of emissions relating to UPM Raflatac linerless products in their life cycle assessment (LCA) calculations.

“We work with leading organizations to deliver action on climate change and create a more sustainable world. Our joined-up approach helps organisations like UPM Raflatac address their environmental impacts by using carbon market solutions which also support sustainable development. UPM Raflatac’s new CarbonNeutral product is a great next step on their climate action journey,” says Natalie Taylor, director of client solutions at Natural Capital Partners.

The actions UPM Raflatac has taken with linerless are part of its efforts to lead the label industry into a net-zero carbon emission future. UPM is among the first forest industry companies committed to the UN Business Ambition for 1.5 °C to take tangible actions to mitigate climate change. UPM has also joined The Climate Pledge which commits the company to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040 – a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050.