{"id":12519,"date":"2016-11-04T17:08:32","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/thinking-outside-the-box\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T17:08:32","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:08:32","slug":"thinking-outside-the-box","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/thinking-outside-the-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking Outside the Box"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every Tuesday\u2014garbage day\u2014I feel a twinge of guilt as I take this week\u2019s pile of Amazon boxes to the curb. \u201cBut, don\u2019t worry, they\u2019ll be recycled\u201d, I reassure myself. I might not be the only millennial with an online shopping problem, but our collective e-commerce habit is contributing to humanity\u2019s much more troubling climate change problem.<\/p>\n

The United States containerboard industry produced 35.4 million tons of product in 2014.[1] While overall production growth of containerboard (the type of bulk paperboard used to make corrugated cardboard boxes) has recently been just 1-2%[2], the gains from companies optimizing the design of packaging they use, thus reducing material and freight costs, have been offset by increases in demand from e-commerce companies.[3]<\/p>\n

Even though 90% of cardboard is eventually recovered and recycled, greenhouse gases are emitted across the life of a cardboard box.[4] The industry recognizes this and took steps reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 32% from 2006-2010.[5]<\/p>\n

Cardboard is made from raw wood fiber, sourced from a combination of trees and post-consumer recycled material. While certain pulp and paper products can be made from 100% post-consumer recyclables, the durability requirements of the high-quality corrugated cardboard products used for packaging requires the addition of new fiber in all new product. Newly produced cardboard contains an average of 46% recycled fiber.[6] The rest comes from newly harvested trees \u2013 trees that absorb carbon dioxide, helping to abate the impact of greenhouse gases on the earth\u2019s climate. Compounding these effects of deforestation is the industry\u2019s enormous electricity and fuel consumption in the processes of milling, manufacturing, and transporting finished goods to the customer. At the end of its life, the 90% of cardboard that is recycled uses additional energy through this process, while the 10% that ends up in landfills decomposes or is incinerated, emitting methane and carbon dioxide.[7]<\/p>\n

\"Lifecycle<\/a>
Figure 1: Lifecycle of Cardboard Product[8]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Packaging Corporation of America<\/a> (PCA) is the fourth largest producer of cardboard packaging in the U.S., producing over 3.7 million tons in 2015 and generating over $5.7 billion in revenue. The company operates over 100 mills and manufacturing plants, employs 13,000 people, and serves 17,000 customers in 33,000 locations.[9] While industry growth has been muted, PCA has been one of the best performers in the industry over an extended period of time, with the highest volume growth, margins and return on invested capital.[10]<\/p>\n

\"Packaging<\/a>
Figure 2: Packaging Corporation of America Footprint[11]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Recognizing both that their business is a net producer of greenhouse gasses and at risk of increasing environmental regulation (like a carbon tax or cap and trade), and that the company may not remain viable into the future without careful sustainable forest management and use of recycled material, PCA has taken action:<\/p>\n