Stora Enso has developed Performa Light, a new plastic-free, lightweight board designed for premium packaging and to help customers decrease their carbon footprint and meet the needs of consumers looking for eco-friendly products.
Performa Light is a renewable and recyclable board for premium folding cartons typically used in packaging of chocolate and confectionery, as well as beauty products.
It is a coated GC2 board with a three-layer fibre construction and CTMP (chemi-thermomechanical pulp) in the middle layer. It is triple-pigment coated on the top side and has a white uncoated reverse side.
Performa Light allows for a 70% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in production compared to alternatives, due to fossil-free energy production and a patented fibre treatment technology – FiberLight Tec – to save energy and raw material. The board has a very low weight and an improved strength due to microfibrillated cellulose in the structure, resulting in less waste and lower carbon dioxide emissions in transport, according to Stora Enso. On top of the strong environmental performance, customers will benefit from Performa Light’s high print quality due to its whiteness and brightness.
The product can be used with different printing techniques such as offset, flexo, gravure and digital printing. In digital printing, the product is suitable for several different sheet- or web-fed presses. Inkjet, dry or liquid toner technology can be used, although in some cases, pre-treatment of the substrate might be required.
Öystein Aksnes, vice president, liquid packaging and cartonboard at Stora Enso, said, ‘Consumers increasingly choose brands who enable them to lead eco-friendly lives. By offering a low carbon product for chocolate packaging, we can help confectionery brands meet this demand by making a difference in the battle against climate change.’
