According to a life-cycle assessment conducted by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU), carton packs performed better on environmental impact tests than other packaging solutions including metal cans, glass jars, retortable pouches and plastic pots. Carton packs were found to save CO2 emissions by up to 63 percent over other methods, and reduce fossil fuel consumptions by up to 69 percent.

The life-cycle assessment included all environmentally relevant factors and processes across the life cycle of the packaging system. That includes the extraction and processing of the raw material used to manufacture the packaging, the processes of manufacturing and transporting the packages, the packaging of the food, distribution to retailers and the recycling or disposal of the packaging after use.The key factors in determining environmental impact were found to be the material used and the amount of it.