Rethinking Printing & Packaging Through Circular Innovation

 

 

 

 

 

 

As ESG expectations rise and reporting standards tighten, many companies face a common question:

“How can we reduce environmental impact across everyday operations without compromising performance or cost-efficiency?”

At NetsEco, we believe circularity offers a practical answer — especially in printing and packaging, often overlooked as a lever for measurable change. Green Printing Solutions, our “Beyond Green” service model helps corporates operationalise sustainability across five interconnected pillars:

♻️ Circular Design

Designing for circularity means choosing materials and formats that reduce waste before production even begins.

✅ Example: A retail brand shifts from multi-layered packaging to a mono-material design — fully recyclable, easier to separate during waste collection, and compliant with EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) goals.

✅ Example: For clients in publishing and retail, we advise on second-life use of printed materials. For instance, a book jacket can be redesigned to transform into an interactive activity sheet, a merchandise wrapper, or even an extension of the book’s content — turning packaging into value-added experiences while reducing single-use waste.

 

📦 Sustainable Printing & Packaging

We help clients transition to FSC® and PEFC-certified papers, vegetable-based inks, and low-impact print technologies.

✅ Example: A bank redesigns its printed annual reports using sustainably certified paper and soy inks, achieving the same print quality while reducing lifecycle emissions by 30%.

 

🔄 Closed-Loop Fulfilment

We implement take-back and reverse logistics systems to reintegrate materials into supply chains.

✅ Example: A telco company collects used promotional displays and corrugated stands for recycling and reprocessing — significantly cutting landfill waste after each campaign cycle.

✅ Example: Our green logistics system is powered by a monitored green fleet, designed to minimise carbon emissions during fulfilment. For retail clients, we offer direct-to-outlet delivery, reducing unnecessary transport steps and improving efficiency. More importantly, we provide traceable emission data that supports ESG and Scope 3 reporting — helping brands not just move products, but move toward measurable sustainability goals.

 

📊 Carbon Management & Reporting

From Scope 1 to Scope 3, we support clients in mapping emissions tied to their print and packaging activities — often a blind spot in ESG reporting.

✅ Example: A listed manufacturer includes packaging-related transport emissions in its CDP disclosure, backed by lifecycle data and third-party verified metrics.

 

💡 Circular Innovation

Beyond compliance, circularity opens new innovation spaces. We help companies explore material recovery, secondary raw materials, and bio-based alternatives.

✅ Example 1: In partnership with a local university, we co-developed LORIAM — a durable new material made from used carton box waste. LORIAM is being explored for applications in furniture, merchandise, and circular product design.

✅ Example 2: Through our integrated ecosystem, we provide food waste collection systems for retail and F&B outlets. These systems enable food waste to be collected together with our certified compostable foodware — such as paper trays, straws, and cutlery. The waste is then processed into compost and channelled to nearby organic farms, forming a closed-loop system from food service to sustainable agriculture.

 

🔁 A Circular Supply Chain in Practice

The five pillars above are grounded in a practical model that guides clients across the full material journey:

Design (Plan & Source) → Produce (Make) → Deliver → Recover (Return) → Report

This closed-loop cycle ensures sustainability is not just a corporate message, but an operational reality — measurable, auditable, and adaptable to evolving ESG standards.At NetsEco, we see printing and packaging not as static cost centres, but as strategic levers — where sustainability and performance can go hand in hand. As the regulatory and investor landscape evolves, companies that act early to embed circularity will be better positioned — not just to meet ESG expectations, but to lead industry change.