Environment

Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA), a Swedish government-funded operation, has highlighted the progressive and sustainability-focused nature of its packaging industry in a bid to bring in foreign investment.

The agency claims that Sweden is the home to technologies that can improve productivity, efficiency and sustainability.

It said that there is a lot of activity in the area of bio-plastics that use substrates such as starch, gluten and xylan and that there is much research conducted by industrial institutes, universities and collaborations between the two.

One company cited by ISA is Ecolean, which has developed environmentally friendly packaging for dairy products including milk, yoghurt and cream. The innovative flexible packaging is manufactured from chalk (40%), air and a very small amount of plastic. It is currently sold in Sweden, China, Russia and Central Europe.

Another example given by ISA is packaging firm Xylophane, which has developed a "green" bio-plastic film idea for preserving foods. The organic, xylan-based material is ideal for packaging food that is particularly sensitive to oxygen, such as juice, coffee, chocolate and crisps.

Xylophane can be painted onto cardboard to create stronger packaging and can even be eaten. It has been developed at the University of Technology in Gothenburg and has won a number of prizes. It will be piloted in the packaging industry later this year.

ISA's third example of materials innovations in Sweden is OrganoClick, the invention of Jonas Hafren, a senior lecturer and researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. It enables the manufacture of cellulose-based materials that are water-resistant and firm.

The material can help reduce the use of non-renewable materials within the paper and pulp industries, ISA claims, and it could have a large economic and environmental impact when it comes to market in 2009.

Hafren and OrganoClick were awarded the 2008 Environment Innovation of the Year award in Sweden.

Dr Carl Olsmats, general secretary of the World Packaging Organisation, backed ISA's assertion that Swedish packaging firms are leading the development of more sustainable forms of packaging.

"Sustainable packaging is a key tool to solve the food crisis, save scarce resources and battle poverty around the world," he said. "Many Swedish companies have long experience and are on the forefront as regards sustainable packaging."

ISA is a Swedish government agency that informs foreign investors about business and investment opportunities in Sweden. Also, the body gives free consultancy to companies that want to set up or expand their business in Sweden.