Achieving Success - Sustainability has become a decisive competitive advantage in the chemical industry. More than ever, it is the companies' ambition to act in a responsible way throughout the entire supply chain. Advanced packaging solutions like light-weight products as well as sustainable oriented services can help to achieve the objectives and to combine economic success with a consistent corporate responsibility.

As a fast moving business sector, the chemical industry faces several challenges every day. Especially as chemical companies bear a major responsibility in terms of sustainability - to both society and the environment. Therefore, many of the enterprises have already implemented sustainability initiatives in their companies to reduce the environmental impact and to generally act in a more responsible way.
However, activities in the field of sustainability need to be looked from a holistic perspective. On the one hand, there are usual internal processes that should be optimized. This includes measures as simple as the reduction of electricity and gas consumption, the responsible use or reuse of water as well as a stringent waste separation. But sustainability measures need to contain external processes as well - through partners, vendors and service providers that support the companies' sustainable approach.

Focus on the Entire Supply Chain

For companies in the chemical industry, it is increasingly important to cooperate with suppliers who are also committed to a sustainable approach in order to achieve their own sustainable goals. This requires the involvement of the entire supply chain - from a fuel-efficient route planning through to sustainable industrial packaging solutions. Especially because advanced packaging designs do not only ensure a safe and reliable transport of sensitive goods. They can furthermore help companies to combine ecological with economical targets.

As Companies Need It - Fit for Purpose

Often used and proven as reliable packaging solutions for the transport of sensitive or dangerous filling goods are intermediate bulk containers (IBCs). A manufacturer who offers a comprehensive portfolio of IBC solutions for the most diverse requirements is the Mauser Group. Their composite IBCs fulfil international packaging regulations and are blow-molded from UV-stabilized polyethylene of high molecular weight and density.

This enables an excellent chemical compatibility and makes the bottle to be used for a broad range of filling goods. IBCs have the advantage of being produced with a modular design and a variety of accessories as well as material choices. This allows the adaption of individual packaging solutions meeting different customer demands without overdesigning. There are, for instance, packaging solutions available that are comprised of an external layer of permanent antistatic compound.

This prevents the solution of becoming electrostatically charged. Other IBC solutions reflect sunlight and thereby help to control temperature levels inside the container in order to avoid chemical reactions. Several additional specifications and options make IBCs the first choice for the chemical industry. Also, new materials and comprehensive reconditioning services support companies in the chemicals in pursuing their goals in terms of sustainability.

Reconditioning: A Clean Business

The reusability of industrial packaging solutions is gathering speed. Today, vendors offer comprehensive programs providing customers with new products and additionally remanufactured, reconditioned and laundered packaging solutions. Through making use of reconditioning services, companies in the chemical industry contribute to decrease the volume of raw materials - without having any quality loss in packaging.

By doing so, customers are able to act in an ecological way and underline their own sustainable activities. To secure the greatest possible outcome, companies should attach importance to the partners' presence around the globe and verify whether the supplier is able to offer full service reconditioning services with short distances worldwide.

Less Is More

The Mauser Group is continuously searching for innovative solutions. With its sustainable business approach, it is able to manage the entire packaging lifecycle in a sustainable way, comprising the complete supply chain - from production to recollection to recycling. Latest developments in the industrial packaging industry show the potential of sustainable solutions - e.g. in the field of bioplastics.

Mauser already produced prototypes of IBC pallet components or blow-molded bottles for the usage in the agrochemical industry. Even if the area of bioplastics for industrial packaging solutions still is in an early stage and the availability of material as well as the material costs make it difficult to issue an accurate forecast - the innovative potential is huge and implies an interesting option especially for customer-specific developments in the near future.

Many developments demonstrate that sustainable solutions are already real today. Thanks to the reduction of materials, Mauser is already able to produce light-weight packaging solutions, maintaining the customary high-quality accompanied by a positive influence on the environmental impact. For example, in the recent past, the company realized weight saving up to 10% through new product design or the use of improved materials. When using light-weight solutions, companies not only support a resource-sparing production of packaging solutions. They furthermore benefit from a lower fuel consumption and transportation costs.

Conclusion

Sustainability is not just a symbol of good deeds anymore. It is a philosophy that needs to be lived within a company. Advanced packaging solutions can help to organize supply chains more sustainably and to expedite the company's initiatives. By cooperating with an experienced partner that is able to attest his achievements and objectives through reports and analysis, companies in the chemical industry can gain a competitive advantage and combine social responsibility with economic success.