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Commitment to the environment brings in new business

Shortly after the announcement that Curtis Packaging, (www.curtispackaging.com), sourced 100 percent of its electricity from wind and hydro power, vice president of Marketing Don Droppo Jr. began receiving calls from companies interested in sourcing sustainable packaging. This award-winning state-of-the-art designer and manufacturer of custom folding cartons also holds certifications from the Forestry Stewardship Council and the SmartWood Sustainable Forestry Program of the Rainforest Alliance.

Pw 8957 3 Arden Curt

“At Curtis, we ask two questions that are fundamental to sustainable practices,” says Droppo. “Can we reduce the product-to-package ratio? Can we use more environmentally friendly coatings and substrates?” For the Modern Friction brand of dermabrasion health and beauty aides from Origins Natural Resources, Inc., Curtis worked with Mohawk Fine Papers (www.mohawkpapers.com) to create an environmentally sound .018 pt. board that is 100 percent recycled, composed of 50 percent post-consumer waste, and made with wind power.

For Elizabeth Arden packaging, Curtis applied its CurtCHROME coating, an environmentally safe and recyclable alternative to non-recyclable metal foil bonded to a paper substrate. “Our emphasis on sustainable practices is helping us win new customers and expand into fast-growing market segments such as organic products,” says Droppo.

Design, recovery, reuse, and inspiration at Coca-Cola

In 1969, The Coca-Cola Company commissioned the industry’s first packaging lifecycle assessment. The company continues to build on that heritage today. “We are dedicated to the fact that efficiency and profitability go hand-in-hand with eliminating waste and improving the environmental performance of our packaging,” says Scott Vitters, director of sustainable packaging, Coca-Cola.

Environmental considerations are integrated into the company’s stages-and-gates based packaging development process. In the design stage, for example, the company has made significant advances in the efficiency of its packaging. Vitters said that 8-oz glass bottles are overall 57 percent lighter than when introduced, 12-oz aluminum cans 33 percent lighter, and 2-L PET bottles 32 percent lighter.

Coca-Cola’s Ultra-Glass bottle, which holds the same amount of product as earlier glass containers, is 20 percent lighter, 50 percent stronger, and 14 percent more efficient to manufacture. This stronger, lighter bottle improves consumer satisfaction. In 2005, this design breakthrough reduced glass use by 52,000 metric tons globally and cut nearly 30 tons of C02 emissions—the equivalent of removing nearly 6,000 cars from the road.

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