Sustainability Efforts to Develop Renewable Inks for Food Packaging

TAGS:  Inks     Environmentally Friendly Coatings    

In accordance with a long-standing commitment to recognizing sustainable practices that spans nearly two decades, Sakata INX and INX International devoted resources to develop renewable ink technologies for brand owners, consumers and customers that have minimal impact on the environment. A recent agreement with HAVI reinforces this commitment and is expected to resonate worldwide.

HAVI Recommends Inks with Low CO₂ Emissions

HAVI is recommending Sakata’s Botanical ink® brand EcoPlata and INX’s INXhrc™ inks as a natural, clean source and one of the constituent materials of food paper packaging. HAVI, which focuses on optimizing and managing supply chains, supports some of the world’s most recognizable foodservice brands. One of HAVI’s most influential clients using these inks is McDonald’s. The international fast food brand leader serves 63 million customers a day at more than 38,000 restaurants in over 100 countries.
“We are pleased with HAVI’s selection of our high-performance Botanical and INXhrc inks, which are representative of the efforts we are making in contributing to the realization of a sustainable society. HAVI and many other packaging manufacturers are proposing ways to incorporate more sustainable solutions into their packages, including materials such as FSC certified paper,” said John Hrdlick, President and CEO of INX International Ink Co.

“Consumer safety is of the utmost importance to us,” acknowledged Katsuya Tanaka, GM – International Operations Department of the Corporate Planning division of Sakata INX Corp.

“Safeguarding new developments with food packaging materials is not only good for the environment, but we also want to assure that they do not pose any risks for human health. With that in mind and in support of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Sakata INX and INX International will continue working toward our goal of reducing CO₂ emissions by 50% – in comparison to 2013 levels – by 2025, or reduce global warming by 1.5 degrees as a level prior to the industrial revolution.”

HAVI has certified and designated the Botanical series and INXhrc for their wide range of environmental benefits. Both were developed utilizing clean, plant-derived and bio-renewable ingredients, while delivering the same performance, quality and printability as conventional inks.

Another significant aspect these inks possess is the ability to reduce carbon emissions, which is a greenhouse gas. Through 2020, INXhrc water, solvent and conventional offset inks alone contributed to replacing 4.75 million pounds of petro-based chemicals, waxes and additives. It resulted in the removal of 12.8 million pounds of carbon emissions due to the CO₂ footprint being 20-30% less than standard aqueous inks.

Source: INX International