GS1 Smart Box – Carbon Footprint and Future Potential

Reusable transport packaging causes an average of up to 35% less CO2 emissions than single-use cardboard solutions. For its innovative and sustainable approach, the GS1 Smart Box has been awarded the “Logistics Innovation Gold Award.”

Since May of last year, it has been in use: the new reusable transport box developed by GS1 Germany in collaboration with partners from industry and trade. Currently, 100,000 boxes are being used in the consumer goods segment within a closed pool to transport items from producers to the central warehouses of trading partners. From there, they are delivered back to the suppliers for refilling via the pooling service provider IPP GmbH. This circular economy replaces the one-way system of single-use packaging, which is disposed of after one use. It also makes the constant packing and repacking of items along the entire supply chain unnecessary in many cases. Furthermore, it supports the increasing automation of trading warehouses. By using the standardized GS1 Smart Box, logistics processes can be optimized to save up to 20 percent of logistics costs in this chain. This has been confirmed by practical use in recent months.

But what about the carbon footprint assessment?

Does the use of the GS1 Smart Box result in lower CO2 emissions than single-use transport packaging? After all, the empty boxes must be transported back to the pooling service provider after use. There, they are cleaned, inspected, and returned to the producer. Experts from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg (ifeu) have determined all equivalent CO2 emissions generated throughout the entire lifecycle of the GS1 Smart Box—from raw material extraction through the usage phase to the recycling process—and compared them with those of a single-use solution. The ifeu institute concludes that the GS1 Smart Box emits up to 35 percent less CO2 on average than a single-use cardboard box. “The reusable transport box shows significant advantages in the carbon footprint due to standardization, pooling possibilities, and better utilization potentials compared to single-use cardboard at short and medium distribution distances of up to 1,400 km,” the ifeu experts state.

The carbon footprint assessment by the ifeu institute

With the help of the GS1 Smart Box, supply networks in the FMCG sector can be designed not only more efficiently but also measurably more sustainably in terms of climate impact. The more companies participate in the pool, the more pronounced this becomes, as Matthias Haubenreißer from the Competence Center for Reusable Transport Packaging explains: “As the number of participants and decentralized pooling service providers increases, transport routes within the cycle shorten, eliminating long distances and making the superiority of the Smart Box in terms of CO2 emissions compared to cardboard even clearer.” Another aspect of sustainability, according to the ifeu experts, arises from the fact that using reusable containers along the supply chain from supplier to retailer can reduce cardboard usage by up to 60 percent, thus significantly conserving natural resources.

The enormous future potential for logistics processes

This potential was also recognized at the end of last year by the European technology and research platform for logistics and supply chain management ALICE/Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe. It awarded the reusable solution the “Logistics Innovation Gold Award” in the category of “Implementable Solutions.” In the jury’s reasoning, it states: “The GS1 Smart Box is an innovative and reusable standard transport box designed to enhance efficiency and sustainability in logistics processes. By considering the EUL loading heights of 1.20 m and 2.40 m, optimal transport and storage utilization is enabled for fewer transports, lower costs, and ultimately less CO2 emissions.”

“Logistics Innovation Gold Award” in the category of “Implementable Solutions”

“We are pleased with the award for the GS1 Smart Box, especially as it sends a clear signal that the GS1 Smart Box is recognized as a European standard. The use of the GS1 Smart Box is already taking place in cross-border supply networks and is set to be gradually expanded,” says Haubenreißer.

Currently, the GS1 Smart Box is exclusively used in the drugstore segment. The transport box currently in use, measuring 600x400x211 mm, forms the basis for the future container family. The goal is to offer the boxes within the entire FMCG sector in an open pool to promote cross-company and cross-country exchange, thereby ensuring greater efficiency and sustainability along the supply chain between producers and trading warehouses. The foundations for an open pool management system and a comprehensive set of rules will be developed in the coming months.

Currently, companies participating from the industry side include Beiersdorf, Colgate-Palmolive, Cosnova, Henkel, Kao, L’Oréal, and Procter & Gamble, while from the retail side, Budni, dm drugstore, Edeka, Müller, and Rossmann are involved. The pooling service provider is IPP GmbH. The GS1 Smart Box is manufactured by Georg Utz GmbH.

Photo: © Rossmann / GS1 Germany