Greener Package Awards Competition Honors Eight Entries
The second annual Greener Package Awards competition recognizes innovations that significantly reduce packaging’s environmental footprint. Members of the Greener Package Expert Network selected sustainable packaging winners in five categories, plus Innovator of the Year, choosing from nearly 100 entries.
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) August 30, 2010
Summit Publishing Company is pleased to announce the winners of the second annual Greener Package Awards for packaging sustainability. Greener Package (www. greenerpackage. com), the online sustainable packaging knowledge exchange, received 98 entries for this year’s competition – an impressive investment of resources by consumer packaged goods companies, suppliers, and individuals to move the packaging community toward greater sustainability. The eight winners, chosen by members of the Greener Package Expert Network, demonstrate that sustainability can be found in a myriad of technologies and materials. The event’s increased number of entrants – up 57% over last year – also shows that innovation around sustainability continues at a fast pace, providing many companies with a positive economic payback during challenging financial times.
Outstanding among the entrants was this year’s Beyond the Package Award winner and Innovator of the Year, corrugated converter Vanguard Packaging. In October 2009, the company completed the three-year development of a 250,000-sq-ft subterranean manufacturing facility, adjacent to its existing 150,000-sq-ft underground fulfillment and assembly plant, in the Hunt Midwest Subtropolis industrial park in Kansas City, MO. The operation and facility boast a variety of green initiatives, which have resulted in big sustainability gains and cost savings for Vanguard.
Seven other companies also received awards, including The Coca-Cola Co. for its 30% plant-based PlantBottle™. This is the first commodity resin partially derived from plants that is fully recyclable in community programs, which also ties into Coca-Cola’s commitment to recycling via their “Give it Back” campaign, said to be the largest in the world. KFC Corp.’s sustainable sides container was also a winner. The new polypropylene container and lid replaces KFC’s former single-use expanded polystyrene version for side dishes. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare’s new 6-oz Aquafresh White & Shine toothpaste carton won for its use of a technology that enables the package to achieve a shimmering holographic appearance without the use of a film lamination. This process results in a package that can be recycled in traditional paperboard recycling streams without the concerns of contamination due to a polyester layer and metal content.
Also a winner was Ball Horticultural Co.’s new SoilWrap® bio-based plantable, compostable plant container, said to completely eliminate 100% of the environmental impact of the package, while reducing related fuel emissions. The bottomless pot design depends upon the use of Mirel polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) sugar-based resins. Household Essentials LLC won an award for its Ironing Board Cover & Pad. The laundry and storage products company eliminated the polyvinyl chloride pouch package and designed a cover and pad with a sewn-in pouch that becomes the primary package when the product is folded up and tucked into it. A 100%-recycled paperboard bellyband around the cloth construction carries marketing information in nontoxic ink.
Bway Corp. won for its 100%-recyclable pail that provides an enhanced package footprint. The 5-gallon Eco-Pail™ affords a number of sustainability advantages over a traditional high-density polyethylene pail. And ultimately, it provides a cradle-to-cradle alternative to a package that typically is disposed of in a landfill. Cryopak Industries, Inc. won for its TimeSaver72 insulated shipper for temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products. Through the use of its Phase 5™ phase-change material (PCM), the TimeSaver72 is able to maintain products within a 2°C to 8°C temperature range for up to 72 hours in a package that is smaller and lighter than conventional shippers of similar capacity.
Award winners will be on display at this year’s PACK EXPO International, October 31-November 2 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. For complete coverage of all the 2010 Greener Package Award winners, visit http://www. greenerpackage. com/optimization/2010_greener_package_awards_honor_eight_sustainable_innovations (http://www. greenerpackage. com/optimization/2010_greener_package_awards_honor_eight_sustainable_innovations)
About Summit Publishing Company
Chicago-based Summit Publishing Company is a privately held B2B media company offering business information for packaging professionals via print publications Packaging World, PACK EXPO Showcase, Healthcare Packaging, and Contract Packaging, plus Websites GreenerPackage. com and Shelf Impact. com. In addition to packaging newsletters, Summit Publishing Company also produces Webcasts and a variety of conferences and Workshops for packaging professionals. Sister publication Automation World is published by Summit Media, LLC.
###