EDITORIAL: Why Sustainability?

Sustainability remains one of the most important issues the baking industry has encountered in some time. Particularly in the packaging sector, which is gaining priority in the post-Covid era, sustainability needs to be top of mind for today’s retail bakeries and their suppliers.

To provide guidance, Novolex released its sixth annual sustainability report, demonstrating a firm commitment to ambitious environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.  

 “Across our facilities, we continue to elevate our efforts to be a best-in-class company in sustainability, and I’m proud of the progress we made in 2023,” said Stan Bikulege, Novolex Chairman and CEO. “Our plants continued to expand their safety programs to reduce risk, and teams worked closely with customers to provide packaging solutions that meet their sustainability goals. Novolex also played key roles in policy discussions shaping our industry's future and enabling us to continue to develop innovative and sustainable packaging solutions.”

The report, published in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative, details several notable advancements, including:

Expanding the Circularity of Products: In 2023, applicable Novolex revenues from products that were recyclable, compostable, or reusable grew to an 84% share compared to 78% in 2022. The increase reflects ongoing efforts across the Novolex portfolio to develop products that can be diverted from landfill after use.  

Progress toward its 30% Reduction by 2030 Greenhouse Gas Target: In 2023, Novolex reduced GHG emissions by 23%, continuing to make progress towards its goal of a 30% reduction in emissions per ton of production by 2030. Novolex GHG data are assured by a third party in accordance with the terms of the company’s sustainability-linked financing.  

Growing Recycled Content: Across Novolex businesses and products that use paper, Novolex increased its utilization of post-consumer recycled paper to 52% in 2023 compared to 49% in 2022.  

Increasing Scope 3 Emissions Disclosures: In this year’s report, Novolex provides a snapshot of the company’s Scope 3 footprint. The data support wider efforts to address GHG emissions in our supply chain, which also facilitates our ability to provide customers with product-level carbon data to inform their decisions about material use and product design.

Third-Party Recognition: Novolex businesses Vegware® and Eco-Products® received B Corp certifications, in part for their contributions toward reducing methane emissions and food waste. B Corp certification recognizes organizations that are driven by both mission and profit. In addition, Novolex is also proud to have achieved Bronze Medal status by EcoVadis, a leading platform used by our customers to rank supplier ESG practices.