SUSTAINABILITY WATCH
GEW Honored with First Label Industry Green Award
SURREY, UK—GEW Ltd. has been awarded the first Green Award for suppliers at the Label Industry Global Awards 2009. Presented by the Tarsus Group at Labelexpo Europe, the award honors companies taking collaborative action to reduce their impact on the environment before restrictive legislation is imposed.
The Green Award competition included a number of different entries that offered a broad range of solutions for label converters to reduce their impact on the environment. All submissions were cross-evaluated using five criteria: pollution reduction/prevention and environmental leadership, economic effectiveness, relevance to the industry, responsible sourcing, and potential for advancement.
GEW Ltd. was presented the first Green Award for suppliers for its e-System UV ink curing equipment. The e-System reduces running power by 30 percent and decreases carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent, while extending lamp life and bringing significant cost savings to users.
"This award is the result of proactive efforts put in by the design and development team at GEW based on reducing energy costs for printers and concerns about climate change and the environment," said Malcolm Rae, managing director for GEW Ltd. "We are delighted to have received this award in the face of such strong competition."
Roger Pellow, Labelexpo managing director, commented, "The environment is an important issue for all printers and converters, and indeed the label industry needs to engage in this debate. I personally, and we as a group, believe that by adopting Green initiatives a company can gain a commercial competitive advantage while becoming more efficient and more profitable."
NewPage Corp. Becomes SGP Patron
LOVELAND, Ohio—The Sustainable Green Printing (SGP) Partnership announced the addition of NewPage Corp. to the SGP Patron Program as a Platinum Patron. NewPage is the first paper company to join as an SGP Platinum Patron, the highest patronage level. "NewPage is pleased to support the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership," states Dave Bonistall, vice president of environmental health and safety for NewPage. "By working together with our supply chain partners, we can more effectively lower the environmental footprint and improve the social responsibility of printed communications."
Mitsubishi Receives TLMI L.I.F.E. Certification
GLOUCESTER, Mass.—Mitsubishi Polyester Film, Inc. has recently been awarded L.I.F.E. (Label Initiative for the Environment) certification from the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute (TLMI). The Project L.I.F.E. program was developed in order to assist TLMI members to find cost-effective ways to reduce their companies' environmental footprints. It is designed specifically for the narrow-web marketplace and addresses four key elements: clean production, energy and greenhouse gases, product and environmentally preferable materials, and management practices.
Kraft Foods Selects Sonoco Composite Cans
HARTSVILLE, S.C.—Kraft Foods is making the switch from metal cans to Sonoco's high-performance, lower cost, and more environmentally responsible paperboard composite container for its Maxwell House Coffee brand. Maxwell House is the second-largest coffee brand in the U.S.
Six different components make up the new Maxwell House composite can. The can itself is spiral-wound from 100-percent recycled paperboard and includes a high-barrier liner that helps preserve the taste.
The use of Sonoco's composite containers will eliminate more than four million pounds of raw materials in package production each year. And, when compared to metal cans, composite cans made by Sonoco require less energy to manufacture and result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
To help differentiate the look of the new Maxwell House container, Sonoco uses its advanced gravure cylinder engraving operations and rotogravure presses to create a premium image that enhances shelf appeal and branding. And, because there are no ribs on the can, the smooth surface provides superior graphic billboarding for Kraft's newly created graphics. pP
