Packaging Balance Calculator

It compares your current takeaway and delivery packaging against an alternative across two dimensions at once: the total euro cost over a year's volume and the total CO2 footprint. That gives you the cost delta (how much more or less the switch costs) and the CO2 avoided, so you can weigh the financial and environmental trade-off rather than guessing at one in isolation.

For each item, multiply the number of pieces used per year by the cost per piece, then sum across all items. Doing this for both the current mix and the alternative gives two annual totals; the difference is the cost delta. Because volumes in takeaway and delivery are high, even a few cents per piece can move the annual figure by thousands of euros.

Multiply the pieces per year by the CO2 per piece for each item and sum them, for both the current and the alternative packaging. The CO2 avoided is the current footprint minus the alternative, and the percentage avoided is that saving divided by the current footprint. These CO2 values are indicative and depend on materials, manufacturing and end-of-life handling, which vary by region.

Often it costs more per piece, so the cost delta is positive while the CO2 delta is negative, as in cardboard versus plastic trays. But not always: lightweighting, bulk sourcing or simplifying your packaging mix can sometimes cut cost and CO2 together. The point of the calculator is to make the trade-off explicit so you can decide whether the CO2 reduction is worth the cost difference for your business.

They are estimates. Packaging emission factors differ between materials and suppliers and depend on whether items are recycled, composted or landfilled, all of which vary by region. Treat the CO2 avoided and the percentage reduction as indicative for comparing options, not as a certified life-cycle assessment.