With the rapid development of online shopping and logistics, is the environmental harm caused by logistics packaging boxes and various plastic bags from e-commerce significant? How can it be addressed?

Currently, efforts from four parties are required: ・Government bodies, state-owned enterprises, and public institutions; ・E-commerce platforms, logistics companies, and enterprises that use packaging; ・Manufacturers of packaging materials, tapes, containers, and cushioning materials; ・Consumers. Below are some examples of initiatives underway in China: Government level: Policies, legislation, standards, and promotion – Plastic ban policies; the State Post Bureau’s formulation of the ‘China Postal Industry Packaging Tape Industry Standard – Part 2: Biodegradable Tape Industry Standard’; the ‘Overall Plan for Ecological Civilization System Reform’; Environmental Protection Tax… – A joint notice issued by ten government departments: aiming to reduce express packaging consumables by 10%, and promoting the use of reusable transfer boxes and cages. – The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC): studying adjustments to the ‘plastic restriction policy’ to extend its scope to emerging sectors such as e-commerce and express delivery. – Policy | The Environmental Protection Tax is about to be officially implemented—how much will your company pay? – Express packaging industry scale exceeds RMB 50 billion! Seven measures to build a green express delivery system. – Green express delivery shows initial results: electronic waybills account for 80% of all shipments; tape usage has decreased by one-third year-on-year. E-commerce and logistics enterprises (and other packaging users): consciously procuring and using eco-friendly, green packaging and containers – Suning.com: plastic express delivery boxes – JD.com: reusable eco-bags; the ‘Green Stream Initiative’ (Green Stream Boxes: recyclable, reusable eco-friendly express boxes) – Cainiao Network: globally launching 20 ‘green warehouses’. These green warehouses exclusively use tape-free packaging boxes and 100% biodegradable express bags. – Cainiao Stations: initiating cardboard box recycling programs – SF Express: developing reusable express packaging; green packaging and other environmental indicators may soon be incorporated into the industry’s integrity evaluation system – Procter & Gamble: bottles made entirely from recyclable and ocean plastics – Sunshine Printing Network: offering free licensing for its eco-friendly cardboard box patents to promote green packaging! – Others: food delivery services have spurred demand for biodegradable food containers—2,800 food delivery merchants in Shanghai piloting paper-based alternatives to plastic food containers under new environmental standards! Manufacturers of packaging, tapes, containers, and cushioning materials: continuously developing greener packaging solutions – Chinese innovation converting waste plastic into virgin-grade polyester pellets: “Ten Years for One Film”—“This endeavor is worth dedicating my entire life to!” – More eco-friendly disposable plates: Seven Germans invented 100% leaf-based plates, reducing degradation time from 730,000 days to just 28 days—a potential global game-changer!

How is Koehler Paper collaborating with German startups to enter a new industrial era?

Koehler is currently partnering with the startup Turn2x. This young Munich-based company recently began producing synthetic natural gas at its pilot plant in Spain and aims to establish a production facility in Germany. Maximilian Matheis, Business Development Manager at Turn2x, emphasized: “Medium-sized enterprises like Koehler are far more agile than large conglomerates—making them highly attractive partners for us.” Turn2x is now working closely with Koehler’s experts on a feasibility study for supplying synthetic natural gas to Koehler’s paper mills. Matheis stated: “Koehler has already achieved substantial progress in decarbonization—but the final 20% of emissions reduction remains the most challenging. That’s precisely where our opportunity lies.” 02 Koehler Group collaborates with 20 startups Matheis’s team holds weekly meetings with Koehler’s experts, during which all issues are discussed in detail. Trust between both sides is deep and transparent—since Koehler does not operate in the energy sector, the risk of Turn2x’s core technology leaking is low. Matheis noted: “We understand Koehler doesn’t need full mastery of our technical details, as this isn’t their core business.” Likewise, Koehler’s Managing Director Prechtl considers this critical: “Startups naturally worry about intellectual property leakage, so we must explicitly commit to protecting their IP rights from day one.” Koehler operates five specialty paper production sites in Germany and three in the United States. According to company data, last fiscal year’s sales reached €1.1 billion, with 70% generated overseas. Its product portfolio includes supermarket receipt paper, playing card stock, beverage coasters, and industrial packaging papers. This medium-sized enterprise has set a target to generate more renewable energy than its paper mills consume by 2030. To achieve this, it continues investing in wind, hydro, solar, and biomass energy—and may soon integrate Turn2x’s eco-friendly synthetic natural gas. Stefan Schusser, expert at Munich-based Prophet Consulting, observes: For medium-sized enterprises, close collaboration with startups represents a vital opportunity to stay at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies. Around five or six years ago, many companies systematically invited startups to support digital transformation—though this trend later waned. With the rise of artificial intelligence, however, the urgency to partner with startups has reemerged—especially since these mid-sized firms often lack both specialized talent and essential expertise in emerging fields. 03 Startups must demonstrate execution capability Prechtl revealed that Koehler launched its partnership initiative two years ago and currently maintains close cooperation with approximately 20 startups. One such partner is the French company Lactips, which provides eco-friendly, biodegradable packaging coatings. Last autumn, Lactips secured €16 million in venture capital funding. Mario Just, an engineer at Lactips, remarked that co-developing customized solutions for Koehler has been highly instructive: “Koehler set exceptionally high standards for us—pushing us beyond our limits.” He stressed the importance of having a dedicated point of contact when partnering with large corporations: “You need a true advocate who actively champions your interests.”

France’s Lactips partners with US-based SmartSolve on plastic-free packaging

3 days ago

Lactips and SmartSolve formalized a strategic partnership to commercialize PureNil 0, the world's first 100% plastic-free packaging substrate approved for direct food contact. This collaboration advances their joint R&D in bio-based, water-soluble materials for consumer markets.

chemweek

2026-09-18

France’s Lactips partners with US-based SmartSolve on plastic-free packaging

France’s Lactips partners with US-based SmartSolve on plastic-free packaging

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