Clif Bar Announces Move to 100% Recycled Cartons

Clif Bar Inc. has announced that all of the caddies, or cartons, that hold its energy and nutrition bars on store shelves will be made with 100% recycled paperboard, of which at least 50% will be derived from post-consumer waste.

Clif Bar annually produces more than 10 million caddies, each holding 12 to 16 of its Luna, Clif, or Mojo products. By moving to recycled paperboard caddies instead of caddies derived from virgin wood, the company says it will save an estimated 7,500 trees and conserve more than 3.3 million gallons of water a year.

In addition, the switch to recycled packaging reduces the energy consumed annually in making caddies by 4 billion BTU’s (the amount of energy used to run 39 households for one year) and avoids the annual release of 660,000 pounds of greenhouse gases (equivalent to taking 58 cars off the road), according to company estimates.

“The new packaging represents another big step in managing our company in an environmentally sensitive manner,” said Gary Erickson, Clif Bar owner and CEO. “We’re working hard to be a sustainable business that acts responsibly on behalf of people and the planet.”

Clif Bar has made the development of its sustainability program a priority. For example, earlier this year the company announced it is supporting construction of the first large-scale Native American-owned wind farm to offset the carbon dioxide generated by the energy used in its offices, manufacturing, and business travel. Clif Bar also joined the California Climate Action Registry and will measure and manage its greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of becoming more energy efficient.

Additional environmental efforts include:

• Eliminating the use of shrink-wrap to seal its caddies, saving 90,000 pounds of shrink wrap a year. The company also uses nontoxic, soy-based inks to print its caddies.
• Becoming the first major energy bar to be certified organic.
• Switching to using organic cotton for promotional products.
• Instituting an office “green up” program that included an energy audit, desk-side recycling and the use of recycled paper for all printed material.