more efficient packaging to protect the environment

Sustainability is an important factor even in the packaging of STIHL products. Various initiatives are moving packaging in the direction of greener alternatives that mean reduced carbon emissions as well as less plastic.

It’s not all over after the competition ends: Wood waste from TIMBERSPORTS® competitions is collected and processed into pellets or made available to local partners for renewable energy generation. — Prototype 2: The transport vehicle with permanently installed charging solution offers space for as many individual batteries as possible.

Using targeted analyses, STIHL has been able to identify effective ways to make packaging more environmentally friendly. A number of new packaging solutions have already been successfully introduced at STIHL sites in Germany. For spare parts packaging, for example, film thickness was reduced by 20 percent; this is expected to save around 16 tons of plastic every year. Additionally, plastic viewing windows in chain packaging started being phased out at the beginning of the year, which will reduce the quantity of plastic required by an additional 48 tons. Using mono-materials makes recycling processes easier and also improves a product’s environmental footprint.

FROM BLISTER TO BOX: NEW PACKAGING FOR MOWING HEADS
And it doesn’t stop there: With STIHL China, Globe Tools, Mogatec and STIHL Inc. working together over two years, all packaging for clearing saw mowing heads and line spools has been changed from blister packs to cardboard boxes. This move is expected to save 111 tons of plastic and 447 tons of CO2 per year. At the same time, STIHL has established a uniform packaging concept and a harmonized design for its retail products. This strategy has made it possible to cut the 53 different packaging types down to just seven standardized sizes. To implement a high degree of automation, STIHL Inc. has invested in a new packaging facility. In this facility the packaging is assembled and base-glued by machine, manually loaded, and then automatically sealed and palletized. Using more compact packaging reduces logistics costs and simplifies handling. These changes mean the effort required for new packaging development and associated data maintenance is also reduced, which ultimately makes processes more efficient.

With all these actions and more, STIHL is well on its way to making its packaging more sustainable and contributing to a cleaner environment.