Sustainability and environmental initiatives are on top of mind in the print industry. Not just regarding energy use and material consumption, but also relating to product innovation.

Bong is one of the leading providers of specialty packaging and envelope products in Europe and offers solutions for distribution and packaging of information, advertising materials and lightweight goods. Being part of the paper-converting industry, sustainability has always been an important aspect for PrintVis customer Bong.

Krzysztof Pazdyk explains how sustainability impacts Bong’s production processes and their perspective on innovation within packaging:

“We work with a raw material that comes from renewable resources which is also recyclable several times. To make sure the paper comes from sustainable forestry, we chose our suppliers very carefully. And we also look at the other materials we work with such as glue and ink, and we modernized our production to make it more efficient and environmentally friendly. Innovation is an important part of this, in terms of process innovation and product innovation. Our clients expect sustainable packaging solutions, and our product development constantly looks at more efficient solutions which will reduce packaging material, volume, weight and waste, such as our ecommerce mailer e-Green. Another example is our most recent product, a bubble mailer without plastic, called AirPro Green.”

The Bong group has invested heavily in new technologies to be able to produce new products like the AirPro Green. Their efforts for sustainability have been rewarded with certifications such as FSC, PEFE, Blue Angel, and Ecovadis.

“Sustainability is not a trend; it is an ongoing major topic for the industry and consumers. At Bong we will focus further on increasing our efficiency, reducing our environmental impact and on developing sustainable solutions for our clients.”

Cushioned paper mailers are not new to Bong’s product range. They developed “padded bags” years ago, and these paper mailers are padded with shredded paper and offer very good protection for sensitive items. But they saw changes in consumer demands.

“We noticed that the market also demanded cushioned mailers which are as light and flexible as the traditional bubble mailers. This is the reason we developed AirPro Green. The product features and appearance are very similar to those of a traditional air cushion mailer like AirPro. The only difference is the padding: AirPro Green has a layer of embossed paper bubbles inside and can be completely disposed of the waste paper collection, while AirPro has a layer of bubble film inside and needs to be separated for disposal.“ says Krzysztof.

It required some changes in the production to manufacture the new green products.

“AirPro Green required some new machinery. The production of embossed paper for the padding was a completely new production step for us. Combining the padding with two paper layers and converting it into a mailer was not possible with our existing machines. So we needed to invest in new technology, and the development and optimization is still ongoing.“

And it does not stop here. Bong envisions that sustainability will continue to play an even bigger role in the future. Krzysztof explains:

“Sustainability is not a trend; it is an ongoing major topic for the industry and consumers. At Bong we will focus further on increasing our efficiency, reducing our environmental impact and on developing sustainable solutions for our clients. Corporate social responsibility is also part of our sustainability approach, and we will further increase our activities in this area. Sustainability is a huge challenge for everyone, and it requires joint actions to achieve the necessary progress. At Bong, we will do our best work on our environmental footprint, and we appreciate the efforts of our suppliers and clients to work together on this important topic. If we join forces, we can make a difference!”

For more information about Bong’s product range, please visit: www.bong.com