FEFCO Study on Transport Packaging: Results and Limitations, 1996 Life Cycle Assessment Symposium Proceedings

Remi Coulon

Ecobalance, Inc.

The project was carried out in 1993 for the European Federation of Corrugated Board Producers (FEFCO) and was aimed at gaining an improved understanding of the environmental performance of single-use and reusable packaging. The main incentives for this project were initiatives taken by German distributors toward the preference of reusable packaging over non re-usable packaging and the European Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste. Two packaging systems were analyzed: single-use corrugated board trays and reusable polypropylene crates. The scope of the project included primary, secondary and tertiary packaging, as well as transportation networks. After completing Life Cycle Inventories, several Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methodologies were used to compare the two systems: classification/characterization framework, EPS (Swedish) system, and the Swiss Ecopoints and critical volumes methodologies. The paper will present the general outcomes of the study, including the influence upon final results of the choice of LCIA methodologies and of several key parameters.