Sustainability · 4 min read

Plastic as a force for good — our environmental commitment

At Flexipol, sustainability isn't a marketing afterthought — it's embedded in every product decision, material choice, and customer partnership we make.

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The conversation around plastic packaging is often polarised. But the data tells a more nuanced story: when managed responsibly, plastic outperforms many alternatives across the metrics that matter most — carbon emissions, fuel efficiency, water use, and food waste prevention.

An independent Carbon Trust study comparing our 25kg polythene sack against an equivalent paper bag found that the polythene option produced 36% lower CO₂ emissions. That's not a marginal difference — it's a material one.

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The numbers behind our commitment

36% — lower CO₂ emissions vs equivalent paper bag (Carbon Trust independent study)
7.5% — internal scrap recycling target, up from less than 1%
3 sites — all holding AA-rated BRCGS Packaging Issue 6 certification

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Waste as opportunity

We produce internal plastic scrap equivalent to around 10% of our total plastic usage. Historically, less than 1% of that was recycled. We've set ourselves a target of recycling 7.5% of total plastic used, with the remainder directed toward recycling or synthetic fuel conversion.

That's not a comfortable target — it requires process change, investment, and accountability. But it's the only kind of target worth setting.

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How we approach material development

Our material development programme focuses on four commitments:

Lighter, stronger materials
We engineer thinner films that perform better, using less raw material per unit. Less plastic, not less performance.

Recycled and reusable content
We're actively increasing recycled content across our product range and designing with end-of-life reuse in mind.

Research partnerships
We collaborate with research establishments to develop the next generation of sustainable packaging materials — before the market demands it.

Customer collaboration
We partner directly with customers to match their specific sustainability priorities with the right film solution, not a generic one.

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Working alongside our customers

Sustainability isn't something we do in isolation. We work closely with customers to identify what criteria matter most to them — whether that's reducing packaging weight, improving recyclability, or minimising waste across their supply chain.

In sectors like meat and poultry, where packaging performance directly affects food shelf life and waste, the choice of material — and the expertise behind it — has real downstream consequences. Our technical team works closely with customers across these applications to find the right balance between performance and environmental footprint.

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Our certifications

Our environmental and quality commitments are independently verified across all three of our manufacturing sites:

• BRCGS Packaging Issue 6 — AA rating (all 3 sites)
• ISO 9001 — Quality Management
• ISO 45001 — Occupational Health & Safety
• ISO 14001 — Environmental Management

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Interested in how Flexipol can help your business meet its packaging sustainability targets?
Talk to our team →