SIG announced the launch of SIGNATURE EVO, the world’s first aluminium-free full barrier packaging materials for aseptic carton packs. SIGNATURE EVO extends SIG’s lower-carbon aluminium-free packaging materials – already available for plain white milk – for wider use with oxygen-sensitive products such as fruit juices, nectars, flavoured milk or plant-based beverages.

SIGNATURE EVO is the latest evolution in the SIGNATURE portfolio – SIG’s innovative offering of the most sustainable packaging materials available for aseptic carton packs.

SIG led the industry with the first ever aluminium-free solutions for aseptic cartons. By eliminating the need for an aluminium foil barrier layer, combibloc ECOPLUS cut the carbon footprint of SIG’s standard packaging material by 27 % when launched in 2010. SIGNATURE 100 cut this further in 2017, offering a 58 % lower carbon footprint than SIG’s standard packaging material by linking the polymers to 100 % renewable forest-based materials via a certified mass-balance system¹.

With more than 1.9 billion packs now sold with these aluminium-free long-life packaging solutions for liquid dairy products, SIG has built on this success to create the first full barrier aluminium-free solutions for aseptic cartons.

SIGNATURE EVO packaging materials are expected to offer a similar carbon footprint reduction to combibloc ECOPLUS, to be confirmed through an independent, critically-reviewed life-cycle assessment. Like all SIG packs, SIGNATURE EVO is fully recyclable in existing recycling streams.

With barrier properties comparable to standard aseptic cartons that include an aluminium foil barrier layer, SIGNATURE EVO packaging materials ensure that even oxygen-sensitive products are protected over long periods of time without the need for refrigeration. This enables customers to bring the environmental benefits to many more food and beverage categories.

SIGNATURE EVO will initially be launched in the combiblocMini portion-sized format before being extended to other formats. It is suitable for both oxygen-insensitive products like plain white UHT milk and oxygen-sensitive products like fruit juices, nectars, flavoured milk or plant-based beverages.

SIGNATURE EVO enhances opportunities for customers to differentiate their products with an aluminium-free pack that offers both on-shelf appeal and stand-out environmental credentials.

In the future, it will also be available in more options such as SIGNATURE EVO 100 – SIG’s full barrier solution for aseptic carton packs linked to 100% renewable forest-based materials.

¹Results based on ISO-compliant life-cycle assessment CB-100732c for Europe.

Arla Foods Germany is the first company to opt for the innovative SIGNATURE PACK from SIG – the world’s first aseptic carton pack that is 100 % linked to plant-based renewable material. Arla now offers its 1 litre 1.5 % and 3.8 % organic milk (Arla^® BIO Weidemilch) in the SIGNATURE PACK.

Responding to consumer demand

By choosing SIG’s innovative SIGNATURE PACK, Arla is demonstrating its commitment to sustainability as it strives to increase the market share of its organic dairy products. Arla’s organic milk cartons now carry a clear message to consumers: buying this pack promotes the use of renewable raw materials to protect fossil resources while making a positive impact in reducing the CO₂ level compared with a standard carton pack.

Promoting environmental sustainability

SIGNATURE PACK cartons are made from 77 % paper board from wood and 23 % plant-based polymers through mass balancing. This means that for the polymers used in the SIGNATURE PACK, an equivalent amount of bio-based feedstock went into the manufacturing of the polymers. To ensure the integrity of this process, the mass balancing is certified through internationally recognised third-parties.

The packs are aluminium-free, while maintaining product quality. Their carbon footprint is 72 % lower than a standard SIG carton pack of the same format, based on a life cycle assessment (CB-100732 of 02.03.2018) carried out by independent experts using the ISO 14040 international standard.

These credentials are displayed on Arla’s organic milk packs, together with the FSCTM label which shows consumers that the wood-based content comes from well-managed forests and other controlled sources in accordance to FSC requirements.

The polymers that make up the rest of the SIGNATURE PACK cartons, including the barrier and the spout, are linked to 100 % plant-based material using recognised and audited certification schemes (ISCC PLUS and TÜV SÜD CMS71) to ensure strict traceability and accountability.