Food & beverage companies again did well in the 23rd DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation, announced in June. The annual packaging competition honors breakthrough developments in plastic packaging, not necessarily using DuPont products.
"The nominees and winners this year show how sustainability considerations are driving innovation," says Shanna Moore, global director of sustainability at DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers. "We see how sustainability takes many shapes – ranging from use of organic or renewably sourced materials to the relentless drive to reduce waste and weight."
That bears out the results of a recent DuPont global survey of packaging professionals, which found sustainability as the top challenge facing the industry, closely followed by cost concerns.
John Bernardo, principal, Sustainable Innovations LLC, head of the jury panel, said, "Nearly all of the winning innovations related to reducing waste in the system. The jury could see a much deeper consideration of sustainability concerns, starting with responsible sourcing, thoughtful package design, all the way to end-of-life factors."
This year's jury panel evaluated more than 200 entries from around the world and awarded two diamond winners, six gold winners and eight silver winners.
The diamond winners, while not from the food world, are worth mentioning. Procter & Gamble Co. was named for its Be Green Packaging for the Gillette Fusion ProGlide, which moved away from a clamshell approach and opted instead for a formable pulp tray made of renewable bamboo and bulrush fiber-based materials.
The other diamond winner, Ecovative Design, looked to nature for protective secondary packaging used for items such as electronics. EcoCradle is grown from mycelium (mushroom roots) and regionally sourced agricultural byproducts, such as cotton burrs and oat hulls, and also is home compostable. It is a cost-effective and sustainable replacement for Styrofoam and other protective materials.
