Can case green procurement accept a declaration alone for 30% recyclate?

Answer: No. A declaration proves intent only. Pair it with a batch record and a PCR report, whose ±3% interval makes 27% to 33% acceptable.

Is a higher recyclate share always greener?

Answer: No. At 30% the melt flow rises from 8 to 10 or 12 g/10min; past 50% impact strength drops 20% and walls thicken, cancelling the carbon gain.

Can 2.8 kg CO2e be compared across suppliers directly?

Answer: Only on one boundary. The 2.8 kg excludes foam, hardware and packaging, adding 0.6 kg; an unstated boundary does not score.

The SVHC list updates twice a year, so is an old report void?

Answer: The report stands, but check which list version it names. No version means it goes back, and anything above 0.1% must be declared.

Is a 10% weight enough to change anything?

Answer: Yes, because price gaps between bidders often run 5% to 8%. A higher weight crowds out capacity, a lower one buys no new equipment.

Case Green Procurement: Green Procurement for Cases

Quick answer: Case green procurement fails on proof, not on the target share. A supplier claiming 30% recyclate with no batch record scores zero.

The first document: batch ratio records
Three ways to verify 30% recyclate
RoHS 10 substances and the SVHC list
What the 2.8 kg CO2e boundary covers
Recyclable marking and single material
Twelve questionnaire items and a 10% weight
FAQ

1. The first document: batch ratio records

Three suppliers quoted 30% recyclate and attached a self-declaration signed by sales. Case green procurement stops here: a ratio is a formula, and it only counts on a batch.

A batch record carries four things: recycled pellet weight, virgin pellet weight, both lot numbers and the weighing record at the hopper. With all four, 30% is calculable; with three, it is a claim.

The requirement screens out plants without ratio control, because a moulder that never weighs its feed also drifts on wall thickness.

2. Three ways to verify 30% recyclate

A ratio record proves what went into the hopper, not the origin. Case green procurement cross-checks with three more routes.

Infrared comes first: compare the carbonyl band near 1720 cm⁻¹ and the methylene band at 1450 cm⁻¹ with virgin PP. Recyclate carries more heat history and adds small peaks. It proves material, not percentage.

Case green procurement lab check of a clear rectangular case on a bench, orange labels, microscope and glass slides

Melt flow comes second: virgin PP runs 8 g/10min, 30% recyclate lifts it to 10 to 12, and 5 lots between 9 and 13 with a deviation under 0.8 hold. The PCR report comes third: EN 15343 returns ±3%, so 30% lands between 27% and 33%.

Evidence	Proves	Does not prove
Declaration	The promised ratio	Actual feed
Batch record	Weight and lot	Recyclate origin
Infrared, melt flow	Material and ratio	The percentage
PCR report	An interval of ±3%	Each batch

The four only work together: a report without a record covers the sample sent, and a record without a report is the supplier's own number. State the source type too, post-industrial or post-consumer, because their factors differ by more than double.

3. RoHS 10 substances and the SVHC list

RoHS covers 10 substances: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBB, PBDE and four phthalates. Cadmium is limited to 0.01%, the rest 0.1%; risk sits in masterbatch, stabilisers and mixed recyclate.

Read three places: whether the sample is pellets or a case and matches the part number; whether the method is X-ray screening or ICP measurement, since a screen cannot release; and the date, as anything over 12 months expires.

Substance	Limit	On a case
Lead Pb	0.1%	Masterbatch, stabilisers
Cadmium Cd	0.01%	Mixed recyclate
Mercury Hg	0.1%	Pigments
Chromium VI	0.1%	Plated hardware
PBB	0.1%	Flame-retardant parts
PBDE	0.1%	Flame-retardant parts
Four phthalates	0.1% each	Soft parts

SVHC is a duty to declare, not a limit: anything above 0.1% passes downstream and is notified. The list updates twice a year, so a declaration must name its version. Recyclate is the high-risk zone, so source type belongs in the contract: post-consumer needs an origin note and washing record, post-industrial scrap one grade.

Case green procurement compresses the check into one line: 10 substances by report and limit, SVHC by version and the 0.1% threshold.

4. What the 2.8 kg CO2e boundary covers

A 2.8 kg CO2e footprint compares only once the boundary is stated; move it and the same case reads 1.9 kg or 4.5 kg.

This figure runs from pellet to factory gate: production, drying, moulding, regrind and in-plant transport, excluding foam, hardware and packaging, which add 0.6 kg, so a whole case is 3.4 kg.

Case green procurement incoming check of a long black case on grey, foam slots of terminal blocks and an IP67 label

Three inputs: net weight 2.4 kg, virgin PP at 1.45 kg CO2e/kg, recycled at 0.55. Blending 70/30 gives 1.18, and 2.4 kg gives 2.83 kg, matching the claim.

The factor is easiest to swap: a grid factor and a supplier green-power factor differ by 0.4 kg, so the sheet names source and year. State trade-offs: 95% regrind at zero, drying 0.12 kWh per kg, transport 30 km.

Compare on one boundary: 2.1 kg may mean moulding was dropped, and a footprint without a boundary column does not score.

5. Recyclable marking and single material

Recyclability rests on one material, parts that come apart and marking that survives. Do all three and a 3.2 kg case holds value.

Body and lid in the same PP, one masterbatch system, no PC or ABS mixing: mixed scrap fetches 60% of single-material prices and recyclers refuse it. Hardware on screws not heat-staked inserts, hinges and latches replaceable, lining lifting out in one piece: four minutes to strip keeps a recycler interested.

Under ISO 11469, parts over 50 g carry the material code and recycled content, moulded in where it will not wear; paper labels last two years.

Case green procurement writes these three into the drawing, not the inspection note: the drawing delivers marking from the first shot, while the note means a tooling change and another 3 weeks.

6. Twelve questionnaire items and a 10% weight

Twelve items are enough. Four cover compliance: environmental permit, discharge licence, hazardous waste contract and ISO 14001. Five cover process: moulding and drying energy, regrind rate, wastewater route and recyclate source. Three cover product: RoHS report, SVHC declaration and carbon sheet. Four need a file and eight a number with a stated basis.

The 10% weight is deliberate: on 100 points green holds 10 and price plus delivery 90, since green measures add 3% to 5% to the unit price, enough to justify investment without crowding out capacity.

Split it in the tender: recyclate and carbon 3 each, RoHS and SVHC 1.5 each, design 1; an unsplit 10 becomes an impression score. Then grade: all 12 pass, A and main supply; 9 or more, B and backup; under 9, 6 months to fix.

Conclusion

Case green procurement is not a debate about whether to be green, but whether each claim can be proven. Recyclate at 30% rests on a batch record, a melt flow series and a PCR report; RoHS 10 on the sample, method and date of a report; 2.8 kg CO2e on a boundary, a factor and stated trade-offs; recyclability on one material, detachable parts and moulded marking. With those four sets in place the 10% weight means something. Every row needs a pass line rather than a tick, because the second-year review asks only two things: is the evidence still valid, and has any indicator slipped? A pass line outlives any slogan and any slide. Run it in order: questionnaire and grade, sampling and checks, and only then the contract annex.

Check	Evidence	Pass line
Recyclate share	Batch record, PCR report	27% to 33% is 30%
Ratio stability	5 lots of melt flow	9 to 13 g/10min
RoHS 10	Quantitative report	0.1%, cadmium 0.01%
SVHC	Declaration with version	Above 0.1% declared
Footprint	Sheet with boundary	2.8 kg, one boundary
Marking	ISO 11469 on drawing	Required above 50 g
Detachability	Strip time	Under 4 minutes
Questionnaire	12 items, 4 documents	9 or more passes

This article discusses container-side specifications and design implications only, and does not cover any handling, loading or use of the contents.