Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, and the packaging industry has a unique opportunity to drive sustainable solutions that reduce environmental impact while maintaining product performance and economic viability. Achieving this balance requires collaboration across the value chain. No single company can drive meaningful progress alone. 

Recognizing this, Henkel Adhesive Technologies, Kraton Corporation, and Graphic Packaging International have joined forces in a strategic partnership, bringing together their expertise to develop next-generation packaging solutions. By aligning innovation with circular economy principles, the partnership is accelerating the shift to more sustainable, high-performing materials. 

Innovating for a Circular Future

Packaging is essential to protect and transport consumer products. Every component, from fiber and adhesives to coatings and finishes, plays a critical role in performance and sustainability. Henkel, Kraton, and Graphic Packaging are working together to drive circularity across the entire packaging lifecycle, maximizing material efficiency and minimizing waste. 

At the heart of this effort is Graphic Packaging’s Z-Flute™, an advanced paperboard packaging solution that offers a more sustainable alternative to traditional corrugated packaging. Compared to conventional solutions, Z-Flute reduces fiber usage while maintaining strength, enabling: 

✔ Decreased reliance on non-renewable resources (opting for paperboard over plastics) and reduced material usage overall, supporting circularity 

✔  Increased logistical efficiency through functional high-strength design, allowing stacking without pallets and reducing transportation emissions 

✔ Improved recyclability through convenient, existing household paper waste streams 

Enabling this innovation is Henkel Adhesive Technology’s TECHNOMELT® SUPRA 100 LE, a low-emission adhesive formulated with Kraton’s SYLVALITE™ 2200. This biobased tackifier is derived from crude tall oil (CTO), a renewable byproduct of Graphic Packaging’s paperboard manufacturing facility. TECHNOMELT SUPRA 100 LE is a subcomponent of Z-Flute packaging. 

SYLVALITE 2200 is a rosin ester developed with Kraton’s REvolution™ Technology, designed to enhance color performance and oxidative stability in biobased tackifiers. This innovative technology positions pine chemicals as sustainable alternatives to fossil-based products, enabling adhesive formulators like Henkel to achieve higher biobased content and a lower carbon footprint.  

Henkel’s TECHNOMELT adhesives are trusted for reliability and quality across a variety of applications. The TECHNOMELT product portfolio includes other biobased formulations, as well as innovative low temperature hot melt adhesive formulations. 

The integration of SYLVALITE 2200 into Henkel’s TECHNOMELT hot melt adhesive portfolio will reduce carbon emissions while maintaining the same high-quality solutions the market expects from Henkel. The TECHNOMELT SUPRA 100 LE formula, designed with biobased alternatives, reduces the adhesives’ cradle-to-gate carbon footprint by 25%¹ compared to the legacy formulations. 

By incorporating sustainably sourced adhesives, the partnership enables packaging solutions that are more efficient and contribute to a reduced carbon footprint and reliance on fossil-based materials.  

Stronger Together: The Power of Value Chain Collaboration

“True sustainability isn’t just about end-of-life recyclability. It’s about designing smarter from the start,” said Corbett Wallace, Corporate Vice President of Consumer Goods, Henkel Adhesive Technologies. “Our customers expect packaging solutions that balance sustainability, performance, and cost. By combining Henkel’s adhesive expertise with Graphic Packaging’s material innovations and Kraton’s biobased tackifiers, we are delivering a holistic approach to sustainable packaging.” 

This collaboration is built on the principles of industrial symbiosis, where the byproduct of one process becomes the raw material for another. By optimizing each component — fibers, CTO derivatives, laminating glue and end-of-line adhesives — the companies are maximizing resource efficiency and driving down environmental impact across the entire value chain. 

“For the packaging industry to be truly sustainable, we need to rethink how we use resources altogether,” said Minco van Breevoort, Pine Chemicals President, Kraton. “By leveraging renewable natural resources and adopting a cascading use of pine-based solutions, we are ensuring that each biobased raw material is used to its highest economic and environmental value.” 

Setting the Industry Standard for Circularity 

Through this partnership, Henkel, Kraton, and Graphic Packaging are setting new benchmarks for sustainable packaging innovation. Beyond simply reducing emissions and waste, the companies are shaping the future of circular supply chains, where renewable materials are routinely reused and optimized. 

“As industry leaders, we have an opportunity to lead by example,” said Anne Marie Lochner, Vice President, Global Supply Chain Sustainability, Graphic Packaging. “By integrating sustainability at every stage in our operations and value chain, we’re demonstrating that high-performance packaging and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.” 

Join the Movement: The Future of Packaging is Circular 

As companies across industries continue to prioritize sustainability, now is the time to act. The collaboration among Henkel, Kraton, and Graphic Packaging demonstrates that real change happens when businesses work together to scale solutions. 

Cultivating partnerships at all levels of the supply chain can help companies be more resilient and contribute to global sustainability goals. Let’s collaborate today to explore how innovative, high-performance packaging can further minimize environmental impact and drive business growth. 

Learn more about Graphic Packaging’s strength packaging, including Z-Flute, and our approach to sustainability. 

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¹Carbon footprint calculation estimated cradle-to-gate from Henkel’s internal LCA assessment, excluding emissions in the use phase and end of life. Due to accounting for biogenic CO2 uptake and other net biogenic emissions in constituents of our adhesive, shown CO2 impact can be used only on product level, not on corporate level. Further details are required to derive resp. claims for customer-specific reporting.