We launched the “Sustainable Paper and Packaging Policy” in 2012 in order to enhance the sustainability of global forest ecosystems. Acer understands that deforestation will cause serious impact to the ecosystem stability and we recognize and appreciate the efforts that undertaken to protect biodiversity. Acer prohibits all business relationships with suppliers that are involved in deforestation and illegal logging. We only permit the sourcing of supplies from non-controversial sources and responsibly managed forests.
Acer incorporates the below principles to strengthen the responsibility of our products, as well as Acer office, commercial printing, and also seeks to encourage our suppliers to adopt the same principles to promote the conservation effects of the whole value chain:
Out of a desire to cherish the resources we have available, Acer has since 2016 been planning reductions in the size of product boxes and scale of packaging. We continue to reduce the amount of iron, plastic, and paper materials used in our packaging. In 2019, our ConceptD series (CT500 & CT900) used over 90% recycled cardboard in its packaging materials, with the second generation of ConceptD notebooks also using more environmentally friendly packaging with less plastic than its predecessor, including outer boxes made up of over 90% recycled cardboard, cardboard boxes, and paper jackets, along with the elimination of plastic bags from all accessories. In addition, the shipping of the ChromeBook 11” uses 5-in-1 packing in place of 1-in-1 packing, not only increasing volume per pallet, but also reducing the amount of material used by 22%.
In 2020, we will be eliminating plastic bags for manuals and cables for a portion of our desktop computers. ConceptD (CM100) will also use more than 90% molded-pulp packaging materials and replace EPE with molded pulp, achieving an overall reduction of 25% in plastic packaging.
The vast majority of product packaging becomes waste after it has finished its job of protecting the product(s) within. Acer carefully considers the materials we use in our packaging, with packaging design emphasizing recyclability and making use of easily recyclable materials a priority.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper, with all printing using environmentally friendly water-based and soy inks. Note: In 2019, the ConceptD desktop computer line used 100% soybean ink for all related printed materials.
Made from 100% recycled PET; new projects in 2020 are expected to entirely use bags made from 100% recycled PET.
Acer is also continuing to look into more environmentally friendly packaging materials to replace plastic bags (e.g., oyster-shell powder plastic bags) to further do our part for the planet.
Every day, tens of thousands of Acer products make their way to consumers' hands. Acer strives to reduce the volume and weight of our packaging, thus improving transportation efficiency and reducing the fuel consumed in the course of transport. This helps further reduce the carbon emissions generated during transport, while also reducing the overall cost of that transport.
Compared with 2018, in 2019 we accomplished a 0.2% reduction in rail shipping globally. Shipping of notebook computers by rail from Chongqing to Europe saved some US$11.73 million in shipping costs.
In 2019, our shipping of notebook computers from Chongqing employed 4% fewer 20-foot containers while increasing container loading rate. At the same time, we additionally optimized our trucking model, transporting 86% of our 20-foot container shipments to Shenzhen by LTL shipping. From September onward, we have expanded this model to include shipping of 40-foot containers, with LTL shipping accounting for 71% of the total container shipping from Chongqing, saving US$2.12 million in transportation costs and 993.19 tons in carbon emissions (a reduction of 483 trips and over 1,600 kilometers).
