What is the real impact of reusing cardboard boxes?

"A Re-used box is more sustainable and cost-effective": we say it often on our site. But what does "more sustainable" actually mean in concrete terms? Below, you will find the exact savings figures, and you can use our tool to see what you have already saved by choosing Re-used boxes.

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A box ready for another round

By using a box just one more time, you ensure that one less box needs to be manufactured. Cardboard is already one of the most sustainable packaging materials available. However, producing new cardboard still requires raw materials, energy, and water, and that is exactly where the biggest gains can be made through reuse.

Ready-to-use for your sustainability reporting

Our savings figures are fully substantiated per unit and traceable to European industry data, allowing you to seamlessly integrate them into your sustainability and Scope 3 reporting. Verifiable data, zero guesswork.

The figures: what is being saved?*

The table below shows exactly what an average reused box saves at RENUBOX. The larger the box, the greater the savings. These figures are based on the average weight of a box processed by RENUBOX.

* The detailed calculations, sources, and explanations can be found in the whitepaper: Reuse of Corrugated Cardboard Packaging.

The savings explained

The numbers above might already tell you enough for now. But do you want to know the story behind them? Below, we briefly explain each type of saving.

CO₂ savings

CO₂ is released during the production of cardboard. When a box does not have to be manufactured, it directly saves CO₂. However, simply claiming the entire production footprint as savings would not tell the full story. We also collect the boxes and transport them to our facility in Ermelo. We deduct these transport emissions to ensure a fair and honest figure. On average, 16.8 kg of CO₂ is saved for every 100 reused or Surplus boxes ordered from RENUBOX.

Water savings

A lot of water is used when manufacturing cardboard. However, a large portion of this is filtered and reused in production or returned to nature. Even so, water is still lost along the way — through evaporation, for example. This water is no longer available for local use. That is why scientists refer to "net water consumption". On average, 96 litres of water are saved per 100 reused or Surplus boxes from RENUBOX.

Trees saved

Cardboard requires wood, which means cutting down trees. This is true, but Europe is already on the right track: about 88% of a cardboard box consists of recycled cardboard fibres, and only around 12% comes from virgin wood fibres. By reusing a box, these fresh fibres do not need to be produced again, saving valuable wood. On average, we save about 0.082 trees per 100 reused or Surplus boxes ordered. Across 1,000 boxes, that adds up to almost one tree saved (0.82).

Social savings

According to research, global warming brings significant hidden costs to society. Think of damage caused by extreme rainfall and droughts, or increased hospital admissions during extreme heatwaves. For every 100 boxes reused, €2.70 in social and environmental damage is prevented.

Want to dive deeper into the data? View the whitepaper

This page provides a quick and clear overview of the key metrics. Would you like to dive deeper into all the calculations, sources, and detailed explanations? View the full whitepaper: Reuse of Corrugated Cardboard Packaging.

Calculate your contribution

Enter the number of boxes below to instantly see your environmental impact.

Choose Re-used or Surplus if:

You want the absolutely lowest CO₂ footprint (because: no production).
The story of 'circular reuse' fits your sustainable corporate identity.
You want to purchase smartly; used boxes are more affordable.

Why pay more when you can go green?

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