Dow and Amcor have launched a strategic collaboration aimed at increasing the commercial use of lower-carbon polyethylene in packaging applications for brands and retailers.
The companies plan to combine Dow’s polyethylene materials and carbon-footprint expertise with Amcor’s packaging development, manufacturing and customer network.
Under the agreement, the partners will identify packaging applications they consider both technically and commercially viable, while involving other value-chain companies during the adoption process.
A central part of the programme will be providing customers with product carbon-footprint information intended to support comparisons between packaging material options.
The collaboration is particularly aimed at companies seeking to reduce Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions without making major changes to existing packaging formats or manufacturing infrastructure.
“Scope 3 emissions occur upstream and downstream in the value chain, making it difficult to reduce,” said David Clark, chief sustainability officer at Amcor.
Dow said the collaboration will use its Carbon Footprint Ledger methodology, which applies mass-balance principles to greenhouse-gas accounting. The company says the methodology provides independently assured product carbon-footprint information aligned with ISO 14067 and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Standard.
Amcor will combine this data with its packaging-development capabilities to evaluate potential applications for the polyethylene.
The companies have not announced specific customer projects, production volumes or conversion targets. The initial focus is therefore on identifying viable applications and creating a commercial route for adoption rather than announcing a new standalone packaging product.
The announcement reflects growing pressure on packaging suppliers to address not only recyclability and material consumption but also emissions generated during raw-material production.
