In the debate around how to create a circular economy, materials reuse and recycling at end-of-life often takes centre stage – but what about the role that responsibly sourced raw materials can play at the beginning of a product’s lifecycle?

The concept of a circular economy, in which materials are used efficiently and responsibly throughout their life-cycle, is becoming widely accepted. It provides consumers, industries and society as a whole with a way forward for making sustainable decisions.

For packaging, there is a widely-held assumption that using recycled materials, as opposed to ‘virgin’ materials, is automatically the best approach. Whilst that may be the case for non-renewable materials, it is vital that we do not lose sight of the importance of responsibly-sourced renewable materials in a truly circular economy.

The role they play currently, and their potential for the future, is not yet being properly reflected in the debate. Indeed the current phase of the Courtauld Commitment, the voluntary agreement aimed at improving resource efficiency and reducing waste within the UK grocery sector, has nothing to say about the role of renewable materials in achieving its objective of a 2.9 million tonne reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, focusing instead on increasing recycled content in packaging, improving packaging recyclability and reducing food waste.

These are sensible objectives, but by discounting the potential of renewable materials to contribute to carbon reduction and the wider circular economy, an extremely important part of the overall approach required is being overlooked.

Recycling is important, of course, and ACE (UK) devotes significant resources to increasing beverage carton recycling. However, the circular economy concept is not just about recycling at the end of a product’s lifecycle. A solely end-of-life perspective risks neglecting the potential for significant environmental impacts and resource-efficiency gains that can occur at earlier phases of the lifecycle.

Wood fibre is a renewable material – it is composed of biomass from a living source that is replenished at a rate equal or greater than the rate of depletion. There are also extremely important ecological benefits to sustainably-managed forestry in relation to biodiversity, habitat and soil and water management. As such it fulfils the internationally accepted definition of sustainability given by the Brundtland Commission: “[to meet] the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

In the paper and board sector there is always a need for an input of virgin fibre into the system, as wood fibre can only be recycled about five times before it becomes too short and is lost in processing – but it is how the fibre is produced that is key.

Our member companies, Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc, are committed to the sourcing of wood fibre from responsibly managed forests, certified annually according to Chain of Custody (CoC) standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). As they grow, these forests absorb CO2 and release oxygen, and because of the sound forest management practices in Sweden and Finland, from where the majority of wood fibre for European beverage cartons is sourced, the net volume of wood is actually increasing year-on-year.

The focus on improving recycling rates, and the use of recycled materials in a range of products, is important in carbon reduction and building a circular economy. However, the value of responsibly-sourced renewable materials such as wood fibre demonstrates that such materials must be taken into account for steps towards a circular economy to be meaningful.

Richard Hands is Chief Executive of the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) UK www.ace-uk.co.uk