Carccu®, a packaging manufacturer based in Sastamala (Finland) has been awarded the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest certification. "Before the FSC certification, we already had a PEFC certification, which we received last year. Now we have all forest certifications. There is a lot of work behind this certification, there are many requirements that we had to meet. The certification is an acknowledgement of all the efforts that we have made since 2021. In that year we decided to become more sustainable," says Lasse Borg, Managing Director of Carccu.
In this interview Borg will tell us more about this certification and the measures they have taken to make flower packaging more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Lasse Borg, Managing Director of Carccu
Carccu's flower packaging collection consists of flower paper, cellophane, silk paper, and paper bags. Their products are globally available. An overview of the flower packaging materials can be found on the company's website. At Carccu they believe that the choice for packaging is an important one. Not only because it's the first thing that someone receiving flowers sees, but also because it should have the least possible impact on the environment. Borg elaborates: "Since 1997, we are using water-based inks as these inks are more environmentally friendly. Around 2020, we decided to replace all our flower packing materials by more sustainable alternatives."
These and other measures have resulted in the company's recent FSC certification. "The wood in an FSC-labelled wood product originates from a forest that has been managed in accordance with the principles of environmental, social and economic sustainability. The FSC label on paper packaging demonstrates our commitment to sustainable forest management.
The FSC Forest Certification recognizes the work of companies and organizations in promoting sustainable forest management and creates a strong link between forest management and products. The certification is supervised by independent, accredited auditors, and it is the only wood product certification that is also supported by WWF, Nature League and Greenpeace.
By using FSC-certified raw materials, Carccu is able to contribute to responsible forest management and forest economy. The work on obtaining the FSC certification started last year as part of our ISO 9001 and ISO 14 001 quality system certification efforts. The FSC-certification is proof from an external audit that we are acting responsibly," Borg comments.
Lasse Borg receiving the FSC-certification.
However, Borg highlights that the FSC-certification is not the end of their sustainability development, saying: "Traditionally, Nordic countries, and Finland in particular, are paper countries due to their it relatively large forests. The forest industry is one of Finland's main export products.
We have a lot of knowledge in this field, we cooperate with universities and other experts. Currently, we are for instance concerned with minimizing the amount of plastic and microplastics. Together we are exploring the best ways to go. As a result, we can adequately advise brand owners that come to us to find sustainable (flower) packaging solutions. So we don't stop here. The FSC-certification is only one achievement, there is more to come in the future."
For more information:
Lasse Borg
Carccu
https://carccu.com
[email protected]