Some 2.4bn shipments of fresh grocery products were delivered worldwide using Ifco reusable packaging containers last year
Reusable packaging container (RPC) specialist Ifco has announced that it achieved record environmental savings with customers in 2024, a year ”marked by targeted expansion and a series of customer-centric packaging innovations”.
The group said that 2.4bn shipments of fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, fish and seafood, dairy and eggs, baked goods, bananas and other fresh grocery products were delivered in Ifco RPCs during 2024 globally.
Ifco said that by using its SmartCycle circular pooling system instead of single-use packaging, customers generated several environmental savings during 2024.
These included 674,333 tonmes of CO2e emissions, equivalent to circling the planet 140,344 times by car; 54,308 megalitres of water, equivalent to 21,723 Olympic size pools; 14,854 terajoules of energy, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 746,668 households; 1.36mn tonnes of solid waste, equivalent to the solid waste produced by 2.73mn people in a year; and 66,015 tonnes of product waste, equivalent to 105mn meals.
In 2024, a new critically reviewed LCA study commissioned by Ifco, conducted by Fraunhofer IBP and reviewed by a panel under the direction of DEKRA, updated the environmental impacts of reusable packaging containers and cardboard boxes over their full life cycle.
Since 2018, Ifco has cut the average carbon footprint of its RPCs by an additional 10 per cent. In addition, Ifco RPCs now generate up to 62 per cent less CO2e emissions compared to single-use packaging, up from 60 per cent in 2018.
Last year also saw the launch of new customer-led innovations, including Dora and Nestor, two lightweight, durable plastic pallets.
In addition, Ifco said it continued to strengthen its market presence through strategic acquisitions, while it also opened two new state-of-the-art service centres with advanced automation in the UK, as well as a new digital hub in Barcelona to enhance supply chain transparency and efficiency.
“Every reusable packaging innovation, every digital solution and every acquisition expands our reach and allows more customers to benefit from our sustainable circular business model, reducing waste and carbon emissions in the process,” said Iñigo Canalejo, vice president ESG and strategic marketing at Ifco.
”Working closely together with our customers – producers, growers, distributors and retailers – we are driving impactful change in the global fresh grocery supply chain.”
