Jayna Packaging Pvt. Ltd., one of India’s established packaging solutions providers, has long served industries requiring durable display equipment. Easel stands, widely used by artists, educators, retailers, and event organisers, have traditionally been manufactured from metal or wood. These conventional materials carry a substantial environmental burden across their lifecycle, from resource extraction and energy-intensive manufacturing to transportation and end-of-life disposal.
Recognising this, Jayna Packaging embarked on a product innovation initiative to develop corrugated board easel stands, a smart, sustainable replacement that leverages recyclable and biodegradable materials. The company engaged Switch Climate Tech to conduct a rigorous, data-driven environmental impact assessment comparing corrugated board easels against their metal and wooden counterparts.
The display solutions industry has historically relied on metal and wood as the default materials for easel stands. This dependence presents several environmental challenges that required quantification and resolution.
Metal easel stands demand energy-intensive extraction and smelting processes, resulting in exceptionally high material emissions. For a production volume of 100 lakh (10 million) units, metal easels were found to generate 4,02,601 tonnes of CO₂e in total lifecycle emissions, with material-related emissions alone accounting for 3,35,837 tonnes.
Wooden easel stands, while perceived as a more natural choice, still require significant timber harvesting, chemical treatment for durability, and energy-intensive processing. At the same production scale, wooden easels were assessed at 69,919 tonnes of CO₂e in total emissions.
Jayna Packaging needed a credible, independently validated methodology to quantify the environmental advantage of their corrugated alternative and to provide verifiable data that would support customer decision-making.
Switch Climate Tech deployed its proprietary SaaS-based carbon accounting platform to conduct a comprehensive lifecycle emissions assessment across all three material types. The assessment followed the globally recognised GHG Protocol standard, with emission factors referenced from DEFRA, IPCC, and the US EPA.
The analysis covered seven emission categories: electricity consumption, fuel usage, heat and steam generation, raw material sourcing, operational waste, upstream transportation, and water consumption. Both Scope 2 (purchased electricity) and selected Scope 3 (value chain) categories were evaluated based on relevance and materiality.
Switch Climate Tech also validated the biodegradability of the corrugated board material through documented evidence, including a field trial in which a 2ft × 2ft corrugated board sample, buried in August 2012 and exhumed in May 2013, showed significant natural decomposition within nine months, leaving minimal traces of its original structure.
The environmental impact assessment revealed transformative savings when switching from conventional materials to corrugated board easel stands at a production scale of 100 lakh units.
Replacing metal easels with corrugated board alternatives delivers the most dramatic emission reductions. Total lifecycle emissions drop from 4,02,601 tonnes CO₂e (metal) to just 35,158 tonnes CO₂e (corrugated board), representing a saving of 3,67,443 tonnes CO₂e.
Even against wooden easels, corrugated boards offer meaningful environmental gains. Total lifecycle emissions fall from 69,919 tonnes CO₂e (wooden) to 35,158 tonnes CO₂e (corrugated board), saving 34,761 tonnes CO₂e.
* All calculations based on production of 100 lakh corrugated board easel stands. Scope 3 emissions estimated for selected categories based on relevance and materiality.
Beyond the quantified emission savings, Jayna Packaging’s corrugated board easel stands deliver several additional sustainability advantages that strengthen their case as a superior alternative.
The corrugated board is produced using recycled paper and agricultural residues, significantly reducing the demand for fresh timber. The manufacturing process requires far less energy and water compared to metal smelting or wood processing, contributing to a lower overall energy footprint.
Corrugated board easels achieve complete biodegradability within nine months, unlike chemically treated wood which can persist in landfills for years. This has been validated through field trials conducted by Jayna Packaging.
The stands are made with non-toxic, eco-safe materials, ensuring no harmful chemicals enter the environment during production or disposal. Their significantly lighter weight also reduces fuel consumption and emissions during transportation and logistics.
Finally, corrugated board is more affordable than hardwood or metal, making sustainable display solutions accessible and scalable for a wider range of applications, from art studios and classrooms to retail environments and events.
This assessment demonstrates how data-driven sustainability analysis can unlock transformative environmental value within established product categories. By switching a single product line to corrugated board, Jayna Packaging stands to prevent up to 3,79,443 tonnes of CO₂e compared to metal alternatives, or 34,761 tonnes compared to wooden ones.
The success of this initiative provides a replicable model for the broader display solutions and packaging industry. It shows that material substitution, when backed by credible lifecycle data and recognised accounting standards, can deliver meaningful climate action without compromising product functionality.
Jayna Packaging’s corrugated board easels offer sustainable, versatile display solutions for artists, educators, retailers, and event professionals who are increasingly seeking planet-friendly alternatives.
