Sustainability

Oct 11, 2021

Pack design incorporates carbon footprint

Brave Robot Ice Cream, launched by The Urgent Company, is publishing its carbon footprint on the packaging, responding to retailers' and consumers' demand for more transparency.
By:
Elisabeth Skoda

The Urgent Company is conducting an independent Life Cycle Assessment for Brave Robot ice cream. The initial findings of that study show that the absolute carbon footprint for its ice cream pint is 0.76 kgCO2e, or the equivalent of driving 1.9 miles in a passenger car (EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator). The company says that its carbon footprint is approximately 34% lower when compared to traditional dairy ice cream and that this is, in part, made possible by its use of animal-free whey protein..

"Reducing the impact of manufacturing the foods we love is at the core of what we do," said Paul Kollesoff, founder and general manager at The Urgent Company. "In order to improve anything, you have to measure it first. We will continue to quantify our environmental impact in the months ahead, giving our customers a deeper understanding of how they benefit the planet when they choose Brave Robot over a traditional dairy pint of ice cream."

In addition to product ingredients, packaging choices also set out to contribute to a lower carbon footprint. Brave Robot ice cream is packaged in an FSC certified paper container, with sugarcane-derived liner and petroleum-free seals that are 100% recyclable.

Brave Robot will begin to feature the GHG emissions of each pint on packaging this summer, along with an accompanying QR code driving to BraveRobot.co/impact where customers can dive deeper on the brand's commitment to sustainability and receive a free pint. The statement will be printed on the safety seal of each pint, under the lid, and will migrate to the side panel by 2022.

"Carbon labeling of consumer products is a growing trend, and we believe that greater transparency around GHG emission metrics is an important step to promote climate literacy," said Jon Spear, Vice President of Marketing at The Urgent Company. "We want people to understand that the smallest of changes in diet can have an outsized impact on the climate. For retailers interested in reducing their overall impact, Brave Robot Ice Cream is an opportunity for them to carry items in line with the growing demand for planet-friendly options, reducing their own impact in the process."

Elisabeth Skoda

Editor of Touchpoints magazine, writer for Packaging Europe magazine and design enthusiast!

editor@packtouchpoints.com
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