The goal of the Green Fiber Bottle (GFB) project is to develop the world’s first fully biodegradable wood fiber beverage bottle. The bottle will be made from sustainably sourced fibers and is intended to become part of the transition towards a circular economy. The Green Fiber Bottle project is run in collaboration with Carlsberg, ecoXpac and Innovation Fund Denmark.
Among the many interesting aspects of this project, the opportunities for ecodesign are of particular interest. What is special about this project is that both the product itself (the GFB) and the production process needed to make it are radical innovations that are being developed simultaneously. This provides many challenges in terms of the amount of uncertainties and the many stakeholders that need to be involved. However, it also provides unique opportunities to include environmental sustainability early on, exactly because so many aspects are still open.
DTU is part of the development team of both the Green Fiber Bottle and its production process. Our aim is not only to develop a breakthrough product, but also to consider and implement ecodesign in the stages of a development track like this. This will provide insight into the unique challenges and opportunities of applying ecodesign to the situation where both the product and the production technology are under development. As a result, development teams working on these type of projects can be supported to develop more environmentally sustainable products.
