Case
Optimizing Material Choices for Sustainability
How do material selection and transportation impact the sustainability footprint across the entire value chain?
Challenge
Lerum lacked a research-based decision basis to assess the sustainability impact of their packaging materials—both plastic and glass—throughout their value chain. This created a gap in understanding how material and transport choices influenced their environmental footprint, making informed decisions difficult.
Solution
Terravera collaborated with Lerum to map their entire production process, from raw materials to finished products. Through detailed emissions modeling, Lerum gained insights into the sustainability potential of each packaging material, such as PET bottles and glass. By leveraging Terralight, Lerum now has a holistic overview of their packaging footprint, enabling informed decisions that support sustainable material choices and optimize transportation strategies.
Milestone 1: PET Bottle Analysis
Focused on PET bottles, calculating emissions from production, transportation, and manufacturing processes. Findings were integrated into Terralight for advanced, detailed modeling.
Milestone 2: Glass Packaging Analysis
Expanded the scope to include glass packaging, analyzing emissions from raw material sourcing, production, and transportation. By comparing virgin and recycled glass, the analysis highlighted substantial energy savings and CO2 reductions achieved through cullet (recycled glass) usage.
Terralight
Terralight equips Lerum to tackle sustainability challenges with real-time analysis of material and logistics impacts. The model identifies emission reduction opportunities, optimizes resource use, and enables data-driven decisions for a greener value chain.
Key Deliverables
Comprehensive GHG data for PET and glass. Documented benefits of recycled materials compared with virgin materials. Optimized logistics to cut carbon footprint.
Impact and Next Steps
Lerum gained actionable insights into packaging sustainability. Next, Milestone 3 will assess carton packaging to finalize emissions comparisons and guide sustainable practices aligned with their goals.
