A BOX TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT
In the new issue of Reputation Review (a corporate reputation magazine) on sustainability, our VP Mrs. Lara Botta talks about the importance of choosing a sustainable business approach.
Here is the English translation of the interview:
“My name is Lara Botta and I am VP, Business Development & Innovation Manager of Botta Packaging, the company my grandmother Alfonsina founded in 1947 in Trezzano Sul Naviglio (Milan) which for three generations has been working in the field of corrugated cardboard boxes and packaging.
My career in the family business began as a challenge: after 10 years working abroad between London and Basel for a well-known multinational pharmaceutical company, I decided to return to Italy and join the company. The years abroad have given me valuable knowledge and experience that I absorbed, such as the ability to search for innovation and to trigger change, which has led us to the TecnoVisionaria 2020 award and to be among the 100 Europe’s Digital Champion according to the Financial Times. Today I work with my father Floriano, that currently runs the company as a President and my brother Flavio with whom I share the company responsibilities. My father has always encouraged me to take responsibility, giving me the opportunity to try and even make mistakes and I believe that this forma mentis has been fundamental to my growth as an entrepreneur. I have a natural propensity for innovation and an eye constantly turned to the future, thanks to which in the latest years we have focused on sustainable packaging research and development with a broader vision of packaging and supply chain in which it enters; not just box but also what goes inside, around it and how it is handled. The sustainability of packaging as a whole is an essential element both for brands and final consumers.
Corrugated cardboard is a natural circular material: it is 100% recyclable from renewable sources and biodegradable. Despite this, the packaging has long been seen almost as an additional cost and not as a “tool”. Today, also thanks to the spread of e-commerce, packaging plays a key role to brand communication and its values to consumers; first of all, sustainability. Our expertise on sustainable packaging and circular economy led us to receive important awards, including Packaging Excellence Award 2020, Case Study on the book “Green Business”, Italian EcoPack from Politecnico of Turin and Esperti di Packaging Sostenibile (Experts in Sustainable Packaging) for Comieco. From an open innovation perspective, we have also created a Pallet Calculator: an algorithm able to optimise loads of boxes on pallets as efficiently as possible, in order to reduce waste of space, reduce costs, reduce the number of transport and, in doing so, protect the environment.
An easy-to-use service available for free on our website www.botta.it. That’s because we try to make our contribution not only through a line of eco-packaging products but also by offering a tool that could help to reduce environmental impact. Therefore, what we do is not just provide packaging boxes, but we go beyond the box, believing that sustainability is an important added value for consumers, for brands, and, above all, for the environment.”
