LCA in the Liquid Packaging Sector

Introduction

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides an objective overview of the environmental impacts of products and services. It enables the integration of sustainable development into strategy by strengthening the objectives of innovation, transformation of the supply chain, production, distribution, use, and end of life.

This approach is particularly relevant in the liquid food packaging sector, typically consumer goods, where the choice of materials, ingredients, and the configuration of the supply chain influence overall environmental performance.

As part of the European Green Deal, the European Union encourages the use of rigorous scientific data to guide environmental decisions, emphasizing the need to avoid greenwashing. Moreover, through its Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) initiative, Europe aims to harmonize assessment methods, thus enhancing the credibility and comparability of environmental analyses.

Furthermore, the non-financial report – ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) – which is becoming widespread globally through major international groups, involves, like the financial report, an audit to ensure the credibility and robustness of the reported data.

1) What is LCA? Fundamental Principles

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) quantifies the environmental impacts of a product or service from the extraction of raw materials to its end of life: from cradle to grave. By considering the inputs and outputs such as resources used, emissions, and waste, LCA provides an overview of potential effects like climate change and resource depletion, as well as several other impact categories.

LCA is governed by ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards, which respectively define the principles and methodological framework of LCA, as well as the requirements and guidelines for its implementation. These standards ensure a consistent and transparent approach, facilitating the comparison of results between studies.

Concretely, LCA applied across the entire value chain of products or services is an indispensable tool for the designer, product manager, marketer, and responsible entrepreneur.

2) LCA: From Origins to Present Day

The first environmental assessments based on the life cycle date back to the late 1960s. A pioneer in the field, Coca-Cola commissioned a study in 1969 to compare the environmental impacts of different types of packaging, such as returnable glass bottles and disposable plastic and metal containers. Since the 1990s and beyond, the use of LCA has become widespread, notably driven by companies keen to understand and reduce their environmental footprint.

In parallel, life cycle inventory databases have significantly consolidated and developed. They provide valuable information on many industrial and agricultural processes. Among these databases are :

• Ecoinvent: a generalist database offering broad sectoral coverage.
• GaBi: a database integrated with LCA software, providing sector-specific data.
• European Reference Life Cycle Database (ELCD).
• Base Impacts: a French database developed by ADEME, covering various domains.
• OpenLCA, Nexus, etc.

It is interesting to look at the evolution of the number of LCAs conducted by major clients from 1997 to 2022. We note the strong European demand, largely explained by the « Green Deal, » but also observe that China has been using LCA for a good ten years and at an accelerated pace.

 

3) Environmental Indicators

Carbon footprint (climate change), which measures greenhouse gas emissions expressed in CO₂ equivalents, is the best-known impact indicator. The reference methodology is GWP (Global Warming Potential) over 100 years – IPCC.

LCA cannot be limited to a single indicator to provide a complete view of potential environmental impacts. Their selection is important, here are some of them:

• Water consumption is an increasingly important issue given the development of water stress. The issue is strategic: no life without water, no agriculture, no industry!
• Primary energy consumption, distinguishing between renewable and non-renewable sources.
• Freshwater and marine eutrophication, which is the assessment of nutrient enrichment in aquatic environments, potentially causing excessive algae growth and reduced dissolved oxygen.
• Ozone layer depletion.
• Soil and water acidification.
• Ecotoxicity.
• Natural resource depletion.

5) Starting with LCA:

In Europe, several specialized firms, environmental consulting and engineering offices, and startups offer LCA services. While it is highly recommended to use one or more of these service providers, it is important to note that internal investment is necessary, particularly for data collection prior to the study, as well as for proper project management and effective use of the results: this goes beyond project management as it involves engaging the company in its transformation for sustainable development with tangible and measurable objectives, and developing a whole culture.

Here are four fundamental steps to successfully conduct an LCA:

Choice of the functional unit:

This is a central element of the LCA, defining the function of the system under study and serving as the basis for quantifying impacts. An appropriate choice of the functional unit ensures the relevance and comparability of the results. In the field of liquid packaging, if we want to compare different solutions, the functional unit will be the packaging of X liters of product Y. But the comparison must make sense in terms of functionality: we will not compare a carbonated beverage can to a cardboard carton or a polyethylene pouch! Similarly, for a functional unit of one liter of product, we will avoid comparing its packaging in one format between material A and material B: it is well known that the larger the container, the lower the environmental impact per standard unit. The driver here is the surface-to-volume ratio, more favorable for large containers.

Definition of the study scope:

A thorough and relevant knowledge of the value chain of the products studied, « from cradle to grave » (from raw material extraction to end of life) or « from cradle to cradle » (from raw material extraction to recycling into a new product), is important for precisely defining the scope of the study.

In the context of packaging, depending on what we want to highlight, the product will or will not be included in the study; this is an element to discuss because in a number of cases, for example, milk, beer, fruit juices, the impact of the product itself is significant, and we may choose a packaging solution that guarantees the least possible product loss, as loss or waste will represent a significant impact. Milk packaging is a notable example: the impact of milk production is more than nine times that of packaging! Conversely, for mineral water packaging, the carbon impact of the packaging will be largely predominant, and we will exclude it from the study scope. Similarly, we could exclude from the study scope part of the process that generates less than 1% of total emissions, while specifying and justifying it.

Data collection:

It is fundamental. While significant data are available through inventory databases, it is important to ensure they are up to date. The accuracy of the results will also depend on the quality of the data collected specific to the company, the product studied, its suppliers, its distribution, its life and end of life. Again, knowledge of the value chain of the products concerned is fundamental, as well as its potential evolution over time.

Consideration of energy mix:

The production of the same product in different countries can have significantly different environmental impacts depending on the local energy mix. A country predominantly using renewable energy will have a lower carbon footprint compared to a country dependent on fossil fuels. This is particularly true for aluminum, which is very energy-intensive: according to the European Aluminum Association, the global average greenhouse gas footprint of aluminum production is 14.8 Kg CO2 eq. In Europe, it is 6.3 CO2 eq/kg.

(Source: https://european-aluminium.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/25-01-13-An-Action-Plan-for-European-Aluminium.pdf)

Sensitivity study:

It allows evaluating the influence of uncertainties and parameter variations on the LCA results. This analysis is crucial for identifying the most determining factors and strengthening the robustness of the conclusions.

In the context of liquid packaging, it will be particularly interesting to study, in a non-exhaustive manner, the sensitivity of the result to:

• Weight of primary packaging.
• Recycling rates and incorporation of recycled materials.
• Distances traveled and modes of transport.

6) A hint of the Lessons to be learned from LCA in the liquid packaging sector

 

Predominance of primary packaging:

In the field of rigid single-use liquid packaging, the greatest impact, excluding product impact, is that of primary packaging. The nature of the material (PET, Aluminum, HDPE, PLA, Bio sourced… Glass, Carton Composite), its weight, the use of recycled materials obviously influences this impact.

Impact of recycling:

The use of recycled materials can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of packaging. Mechanically recycled PET or R-PET has an 80% reduced carbon footprint compared to virgin PET! Generally, recycled packaging materials help reduce carbon impact.

Case of reusable packaging:

Logistics is a key criterion, and the subject is much more complex than it seems. Indeed, the impact of primary packaging is divided by the actual number of uses of the packaging. But reuse involves heavier primary packaging, more substantial secondary packaging (crates), thus less product in a truck. The complexity does not end there: depending on the number of annual rotations, a larger pool of bottles will be needed for the same distribution: for example, for 600 million fillings per year, if the logistical time between filling, distribution, consumption, and return is 4 months or 6 months, respectively a pool of 200 million bottles in the first case and 300 million in the second will be required. The return rate, the breakage rate, the loss, and scrap of the bottles must also be considered. The average number of cycles performed per bottle can vary from 5 to 15 depending on these parameters, while technically the bottle can undergo well beyond 20 cycles.

To logistical constraints are added those of washing bottles and crates, which involve a certain consumption of water, energy, soda, and other additives.

However, two interesting elements can be noted in the field of reusable packaging:

• The distance between the washing location, when it is at most between 150 and 250 km, shows a clear advantage for reusable packaging. But this can be a constraint incompatible with distribution constraints.
• When comparing reusable PET (RefPET) to returnable glass, the advantage is unequivocally in favor of PET.

Here is a brief overview of the insights provided by LCAs in the field of beverage packaging. Numerous high-quality studies have been published, offering valuable takeaways. We will revisit some of them in due course.

Conclusion:

While conducting one or more LCAs is neither simple nor free, the investment and effort are worth it for this tool to be part of the toolkit that should serve the value chain of liquid packaging, which interests us particularly here.

The importance of providing relevant, verifiable, and reliable data to its investors, customers, legislators, and the public is growing. This is in the spirit of the green new deal, but not only. It corresponds to a climate emergency that manifests itself more every day and to consumer demand.

Communicating effectively to consumers is a significant challenge, as oversimplification can distance the message from the underlying realities. However, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach should not be confined merely to communication exercise. Its primary aim is to identify areas for environmental improvement and to guide strategies for innovation and product development accordingly. For our specific focus, this involves making informed decisions regarding beverage packaging and distribution methods and accurately measuring progress over time.

Creating a corporate culture integrating life cycle analysis and associated modeling tools can, in my opinion, create a dynamic and meet three objectives:

• Strengthening employee engagement on climate change issues on a concrete and scientific basis.
• Nourishing the sustainable development strategy.
• Improving the company’s image with customers and investors.