GWP Packaging achieve FSC® chain of custody certification

Matt Dobson: Last Updated 22nd November 2024

Posted In: Company News | Industry News

GWP Group boosts environmental credentials

Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) "Chain of Custody" certification

GWP can now offer your business FSC®️ packaging products, having achieved certification from the Forest Stewardship Council®️ (FSC).

You can source fully FSC-certified transit packaging, eCommerce boxes and point-of-sale displays.

GWP has achieved FSC chain of custody certification (License number FSC – C161914), which verifies corrugated packaging back to “Well Managed Forests”, certified in accordance with the organisation’s strict rules.

Increasing demand for sustainable packaging

Even with inflation, the cost of living crisis and the ongoing economic uncertainty (which can understandably divert focus to business survival at the expense of other projects), there has been an increasing clamour for ever more sustainable packaging.

Forest Stewardship Council certified packaging being manufactured at GWP. — There has been an increasing demand for sustainable packaging, with FSC certification a fundamental way of offering this.

This growing demand is true across the broad range of customers that GWP supply with corrugated (and other forms of) packaging – from large multinational companies to small-scale startups – and everyone in between.

David Mason, Sales Director at GWP Packaging, commented:

There has been an increasing demand amongst GWP’s customer base for more environmentally friendly packaging.

He added:

Achieving FSC certification demonstrates GWP’s commitment to environmental best practices – sourcing all paper for customers’ packaging from well-managed forests – and complements the wide range of other initiatives implemented over the last five years.

Becoming FSC certified

The FSC framework allows the tracking of products derived from forests – in GWPs’ case, the corrugated cardboard material used to manufacture your packaging – through an independently verified “Chain of Custody” certification.

Fortunately, GWP had a head start in doing this, with the vast majority of the material used coming from FSC-approved suppliers.

However, to achieve the FSC standard, GWP still needed to establish stringent procedures and conduct a thorough audit of its supply chain.

Ruth Cook, Managing Director at GWP, said:

As the material GWP uses is from FSC-approved sources – and the business already has the ISO 14001 environmental standard in place – the logical next step was to become FSC-certified. Achieving this at GWP again shows recognition of the responsibility that packaging manufacturers have to minimise environmental impact.

What packaging is / can be FSC certified?

Being FSC certified allows GWP to manufacture virtually any corrugated cardboard packaging with certification for your business.

Whilst this typically takes in transit packaging (such as FEFCO cartons, crash lock boxes etc.), it is becoming increasingly common – and important – for eCommerce packaging too. This requirement is particularly true for brands and businesses that position themselves as having a minimal environmental impact.

Corrugated packaging FSC — GWP can manufacture the full range of corrugated transit, eCommerce and retail packaging from FSC-certified materials.

However, it is also possible for you to source FSC-certified point-of-sale items (i.e. FSDUs, pallet displays etc.) and specialist items, such as reels, picking bins and custom inserts.

There is even the potential for the anti-static range of Corstat® packaging to be manufactured from an FSC-certified material.

Please get in touch with a member of the GWP team if you would like to source FSC packaging for your business or organisation.

More About the FSC

Established in 1993 and supported by WWF, Greenpeace, and The Woodland Trust (amongst others), the Forest Stewardship Council’s mission is to “promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests”.

As a result, the organisation has set out a global strategy that consists of five main aims. These are:

Advancing globally responsible forest management
Ensure equitable access to the benefits of FSC systems
Ensure integrity, credibility and transparency of the FSC system
Create business value for products from FSC-certified forests
Strengthen the global network to deliver on goals 1 through 4

There are six program areas, consisting of forests, chain of custody, social policy, monitoring and evaluation, quality assurance and ecosystem services.

The ultimate aim, therefore, is to promote responsible management of the world’s forests.

The FSC has, to date, certified approximately 213 million hectares of forests worldwide (accounting for 11 per cent of all productive forests globally). Around 40 per cent of the UK’s forests are also now certified by the FSC, and it has more than 1,000 members across 89 different countries.

An FSC well-managed forest of pine trees — The FSC has, to date, certified approximately 213 million hectares of forests worldwide.

Other environmental endeavours

The GWP Group – having celebrated 30 years in business – is fully committed to driving improvements to benefit the environment across both products supplied and the wider business.

Initiatives include designing and manufacturing cardboard alternatives to products such as plastic reels and foam packaging and installing a development team that specialises in innovative ways of reducing material usage.

Factory lighting comparison — A before and after image highlights the difference in terms of light output following the upgrade to LED.

GWP also has extensive waste collection and recycling procedures at manufacturing sites in Swindon and Salisbury and has even saved over 100 tonnes of C02 emissions since installing LED lighting.

Find out more

If you require further information on the FSC-certified packaging that GWP can manufacture or for details of any other environmental initiatives, please do not hesitate to get in touch.