SPC Introduces Framework to Gauge Metrics in Packaging Sustainability

The SP Metrics Framework is the outcome of an 18-month project that involved extensive research, stakeholder engagement and a comprehensive review process. Its indicators and metrics are organized into eight categories related to material use, energy use, water use, material health, clean production and transport, cost and performance, community impact and worker impact. Each module explains why the measurements should be made, defines each indicator as it relates to packaging, specifies the metric to be used, defines terminology and provides recommendations for what to measure and what not to measure, including references to applicable international standards and protocols. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Survey Shows Bright Future for Sustainable Packaging

A survey of top retail- and manufacturing-related companies reveals that more than 65% of companies have some type of sustainable packaging policy in place, while 28% are currently developing a policy.

The report, developed by Tompkins’ Supply Chain Consortium, states that for 79% of companies, packaging sustainability impacts their strategic direction in the area of energy and material costs, and 76% see an impact in environmental and economic concerns. At the same time, executives see less of an impact in the areas of increasing competitiveness and access to new markets, indicating that sustainable packaging may be more about “hard” savings rather than “soft” benefits. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Empire State Development Announces More Than $1 Million in Upstate Regional Blueprint Funding for Finger Lakes Region

Empire State Development today announced that Diamond Packaging has been awarded $700,000 in Round 1 of the Upstate Regional Blueprint Funding. Diamond will retain 90 existing jobs and create 100 new jobs with this investment. The announcement of $17.5 million in Round I of Upstate Regional Blueprint funding was made today by Governor David A. Paterson. More than $1 million in funding was awarded to the Finger Lakes Region.

The Upstate Regional Blueprint Fund was designed to finance business investment, infrastructure upgrades and downtown redevelopment that will advance New York’s economic vitality. The $120 million Fund, announced by Governor David A. Paterson in May, supports projects that help provide a framework for future growth in regions with stymied development.

Diamond Packaging is a high-end printing and packaging company that will invest in a new multi-million dollar printing press to service new and existing customers. This investment will ensure that the company retains its largest customers, as well as assist in attracting new business. In addition to the Blueprint funds, Diamond will be financing the acquisition with SBA 504 funds approved through the Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation, bank financing, and cash equity. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Diamond Packaging Wins Four Awards In FSEA Gold Leaf Awards Competition

Diamond Packaging won four awards in the 16th Annual FSEA Gold Leaf Awards Competition, the industry’s premier showcase for foil stamping and embossing designs and techniques. Awards were announced at the annual awards banquet, held in conjunction with the 2009 IADD•FSEA Odyssey in Atlanta, GA.

The competition, which is sponsored by the Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA), recognizes creativity and superior execution of designs that reflect positively on the industry as a whole. Entries are judged on several criteria including design, execution, and level of difficulty. Winning an award is a mark of excellence in the packaging field and recognition of superior achievement.

Competing against hundreds of entries from around the country, Diamond earned recognition by winning two Gold Leaf awards, one Silver Leaf award, and one Bronze Leaf award. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

EPA Recognizes Diamond Packaging For Leading Green Power Purchase

Diamond Packaging announced today that it appears on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new Top 20 Printers List of the largest green power purchasers in the commercial printing business. Diamond Packaging is purchasing more than 6 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 100 percent of the organization's purchased electricity use. Diamond Packaging is buying a utility green power product from RG&E.

The Top 20 Printers List, which debuted on July 27, is one of nine Top Partner Lists that EPA releases quarterly, highlighting some of America's largest green power purchasers. Diamond Packaging currently ranks No. 7 on EPA’s Top 20 Printers List. All of EPA’s Top Partner Lists are available at www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists.

This purchase also qualifies Diamond Packaging for EPA’s Green Power Leadership Club, a distinction given to organizations that have significantly exceeded EPA’s minimum purchase requirements. Green Power Leadership Club members must purchase ten times the partnership’s minimum requirement organization-wide. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Yau Bon Achieves FSC Certification

Yau Bon Offset Printing Ltd. today announced that they have earned Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody certification. This certification reflects a growing trend to enhance the development of forest certification in China, create synergies between the regional and international forest certification systems, and encourage public involvement in the process of forest certification through seminars, training and publications.

China is growing at a dramatic rate positioning itself as the ’manufacturer of the world’. As the most populous country sporting a remarkable two-digit economic growth for a number of years, it is calling for large and ever increasing amounts of energy and resources.

Given China’s role in the world’s timber markets, the development of an FSC accredited National Initiative (NI) in China presents truly global opportunities for creating incentives for better forest management both in China and in some of the world’s most threatened forests. At the same time, significantly more responsibly produced wood products should become available on the North American and European markets. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Diamond Packaging Wins Four Awards in 2009 National Paperboard Packaging Competition

Diamond Packaging earned four awards in the 66th Annual National Paperboard Packaging Competition, the industry’s premier showcase for all that is new and outstanding in paperboard packaging design and technology. Awards were announced at the 2009 Outlook & Strategies Conference in Atlanta, GA.

The competition, which is sponsored by the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC), is a celebration of the industry and its potential. It is also an affirmation of paperboard as the clear and intelligent choice for packaging in today’s eco-conscious world.

Competing against entries from around the country, Diamond received recognition by winning two Gold Awards and two Excellence Awards. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Sustainable Packaging Trend Gathering Pace

A new report from independent market analyst Datamonitor identifies sustainable packaging as a growing consumer issue, revealing that, although sustainable packaging is not yet a primary motivator of purchases, it is becoming a consumer expectation.

"Sustainable packaging has the potential to become the new breakthrough consumer issue of its time, in the same way as organic food or fair-trade products a decade or so previously," Matthew Adams, consumer analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report, told Manufacturers' Monthly last week. "Consumers' relationship with packaging in many ways is complex because few will admit to its importance because it is often taken for granted, but increasing consumer concern about ecological matters means packaging is an issue that is rising to prominence. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Diamond Packaging Receives Forest Stewardship Council Certification from the Rainforest Alliance

Diamond Packaging today announced that they have earned Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody certification from the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program. This certification reflects a growing trend in the paper and printing industry of companies making more environmentally and socially responsible supply chain decisions.

The FSC is the global standard-setter in responsible forest management. Chain-of-Custody certification guarantees that wood that comes from certified, responsibly managed forestlands is tracked throughout the supply chain, from the forest to the consumer. Conscientious consumers can look for the FSC logo on wood products to know they are supporting forest management that protects biodiversity and supports local communities.

"FSC certification demonstrates our continued commitment to environmental responsibility," said Dennis Bacchetta, director of marketing at Diamond Packaging. "By utilizing paperboard sourced from responsibly managed forests, we can help businesses empower consumers to make more sustainable choices.” more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Diamond Packaging Featured in Global Cosmetics Industry (GCI) Magazine

Diamond Packaging is featured in the March 2009 issue of Global Cosmetics Industry (GCI) magazine.

The article, titled "Sustainable Packaging - A Value Proposition", discusses how growing consumer awareness and material options bring new value to this emerging packaging proposition. In the article Diamond coins the term "green chic" to describe brands that promote an upscale or luxury identity while supporting environmental concerns. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Diamond Designs Greener Package For Highland Lilac™ Perfume

Diamond Packaging and Highland Lilac of Rochester today announced a new, greener package for the renowned Highland Lilac™ perfume. The new packaging will debut at the 2009 Lilac Festival May 8-17 at Highland Park.

Both Diamond and Highland Lilac have deep roots in the Rochester community. Dan Morgan first designed, developed and manufactured Highland Lilac™ perfume 40 years ago, and partnered with Diamond to package the product for its initial launch at that time. Today, Highland Lilac™ is one of America's finest perfumes, winning numerous national awards and international gold medals, and having been presented to 11 first ladies of the United States. It has also been featured on The Martha Stewart Show and in several national magazines, including Shopping Etc. and Affluent Lifestyles.

"We're excited to partner with Diamond in this green initiative," said Charles Morgan, president of Highland Lilac of Rochester. "We’re matching a world class packaging company with a world class fragrance.” more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Global Packaging Alliance Holds Annual Meeting in the Americas

Rochester, NY – The Global Packaging Alliance (GPA) held its annual meeting in the United States and Mexico during the week of January 19, 2009. With members convening from all over the world, the yearly event was a much-anticipated chance to discuss strategies and goals for the upcoming year.

GPA members spent the first half of the week at Diamond Packaging’s facility in Rochester, NY. Members shared the latest developments in their packaging operations, including new equipment, technical advancements, materials, and productivity improvements. The meeting also provided an ideal forum for members to discuss trends in their respective markets, with special consideration given to the current state of the global economy.

“Packaging is an essential part of life, and remains relevant despite the vagaries of economic cycles,” said Alex Commins, managing director of Colorpak Limited and secretary of the GPA. “The GPA continues to focus on ways and means of building greater operational efficiencies into our business through techniques such as lean manufacturing. Now more than ever our customers rely on us to be at maximum efficiency. Furthermore, our ability to share our local experiences and benchmark on a global basis is an advantage shared by few peers of our size. The end result being that our customers benefit from dealing with organizations that are focused, flexible, and world class in their outputs.” more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

New Study Confirms the Recyclability and Repulpability of Foil-Decorated Paperboard

The Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA) has released a new study confirming the recyclability and repulpability of foil-decorated paperboard.

Pira International, Surrey, UK, a third party research firm, was commissioned by the FSEA to conduct the study and produce the findings, which have been compiled in a nine-page report.

To conduct the study, foil stamped paperboard was utilized from both the more traditional hot foil stamping process and also the cold foil process. The evaluation included foil decorated product that represented 25 percent post consumer waste up to 100 percent post consumer waste, meeting levels that far exceed normal conditions.

“It has become quite apparent that this study is extremely important to the long-term health of our industry and association,” stated FSEA Executive Director Jeff Peterson. “We are very excited with the positive findings of the study and are making every effort to communicate these findings to the graphic arts and packaging industries as quickly as possible.”

Along with the findings, the study describes the pulping and screening methods used in the research, and provides a complete analysis of the reporting results from the testing methods. The main conclusion from the study validates the recyclability of paper products decorated by both the traditional hot stamp and new cold foil processes. In addition, the study finds that neither hot nor cold foil-decorated products would give rise to problems found in other decorating processes that may render the decorated paper products unsuitable for recycling. more

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

What's the Score?

What's the Score?

As they say, you can't tell the players without a scorecard!
By Tom Polischuk (PackagePrinting.com)

Wal-Mart has clout—there’s no doubt about that. When Wal-Mart speaks, people listen—especially its suppliers.

The company created a real buzz for RFID a few years ago, when it announced that it was mandating the use of this technology from its suppliers. Although this effort has faded from the limelight and has been largely redefined in scope, RFID technology received more attention during a two-year period than it would have gotten in a decade. RFID technology still has a ways to go in terms of reliability and cost, but Wal-Mart’s initiative probably did a lot to advance its development.

Before the dust had a chance to settle on its RFID efforts, Wal-Mart took on another noteworthy initiative—sustainability. In September 2006, the company announced that it would institute using a Packaging Scorecard with its suppliers to help the company meet its commitment to reduce the use of packaging materials across its global supply chain by 5 percent by 2013.

The Scorecard, unveiled at Pack Expo 2006, is based on metrics for how packaging impacts sustainability factors throughout many aspects of the entire supply chain. They were developed over many months by the Packaging Sustainable Value Network, a group of 200 suppliers, experts, and other Wal-Mart stakeholders. These metrics and their Scorecard weighting factors are: greenhouse gases/CO2 per ton of production (15 percent); material value (15); product/package ratio (15); cube utilization (a measure of storage efficiency in warehousing and shipping trailors/containers, 15 percent); transportation (10); recycled content (10); recovery value (10); renewable -energy (5); and innovation (5).

The Scorecard has been in various stages of use and implementation since its introduction. Even before it officially went online in February 2008, Wal-Mart reported that more than 97,000 products had been entered into the Scorecard by more than 6,300 vendors.

Diamond Packaging and CardPak are just two package printers that have been actively involved with the Scorecard and have been experiencing its impact firsthand.

Diamond Packaging has been proactive on the sustainability front for a number of years now, having committed to the use of renewable wind energy, and started a program called the greenbox initiative to develop and implement sustainable packaging solutions for its customers.

Dennis Bacchetta is director of marketing for -Diamond Packaging. Although he believes that sustainability has gained a great deal of traction from “a confluence of legislative, corporate, and consumer interest,” he also says that the Wal-Mart Scorecard has done its part in raising the stakes.

“Wal-Mart’s Packaging Scorecard tool has helped put the concept of sustainable packaging in the forefront of many companies’ and consumers’ minds, and thus been a key driver in trying to understand what sustainability truly is,” he says. “As a result, many consumer product companies [CPCs] have requested information on sustainability, including our efforts to design more eco-friendly packaging, and our experience with the Wal-Mart Packaging Scorecard tool. We anticipate that as sustainability continues to grow in the public and corporate awareness, it will become ingrained in our corporate and social structure.”

David Himmelein, regional sales and marketing manager for CardPak, also recognizes the impact that the Scorecard has made and the opportunities that it presents to his company and others. “The Packaging Scorecard is one of the first tools of its kind to judge the entire package that hits the Wal-Mart shelves,” he notes. “This has been beneficial to CardPak because our EcoLogical Line of Packaging eliminates the harmful PVC plastic clamshells from the waste stream. The scorecard now gives us an opportunity to measure the differences in the original packaging and our solution.”

The ability to provide a tangible measurement system lies at the heart of the Scorecard’s value to its users. When something can be measured, it can be improved. “The value we get from the Wal-Mart Packaging Scorecard is that it provides measurable evidence that our designs have increased a package’s sustainability,” says Bacchetta.

CardPak uses the Scorecard as an additional sales tool in its arsenal, and performs mock-Scorecard analyses to show the impact that its packaging system has when compared to traditional clamshell alternatives. “This information is then presented to our customers for them to use in making their decisions on the engineering of each product package. They are well aware of Wal-Mart’s objectives for the Scorecard, so will want to have the best possible score for each package,” notes Himmelein.

It is not surprising that Himmelein reports all of CardPak’s customers that sell to Wal-Mart are involved with the Scorecard in some form. To provide a value-added service to its customers, CardPak hosted an exclusive training event early in 2007 with ECRM and Mars Packaging that allowed its customers to get answers to their questions concerning the Scorecard.

Bacchetta notes that even companies that do not directly supply Wal-Mart have been impacted by the Scorecard due to increased sustainability awareness. “They see it as an opportunity to support a sustainable use of resources and cultivate a positive emotional connection to their brand,” he says.

Diamond Packaging has used the Scorecard for many customer projects. One in particular—done for a well-known personal care company, says Bacchetta—rated various products and developed a plan for redesigning their packaging based on weight, environmental impact, and material. “We then scored the new packaging to ensure that, when compared to the existing packaging, it resulted in a score improvement,” he explains.

CardPak successfully implemented a redesign for the packaging of GE’s compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) that are carried in Sam’s Club stores, says Himmelein. “The original package was in a PVC clamshell, and scored a 3.5. By switching to the ClubPak™ style, we were able to more than double the scorecard value to a 7.5.”

Of the Scorecard’s nine metrics, both Himmelein and Bacchetta agree that a package printer can have the greatest impact on the product/package ratio.

In CardPak’s case, the traditional PVC clamshell is a prime target. “Oftentimes, the overall weight and size of the clamshell is too much,” says Himmelein. “We have reduced the footprint of the package and removed up to 85 percent of the plastic materials, resulting in a better score for this particular metric.”

According to Bacchetta, reducing the weight of a package can impact several areas in the Scorecard’s metrics, including conserving raw materials and energy, reducing greenhouse gases, and minimizing discards. “This can be achieved through careful material selection, reduced board usage, and the elimination of components (e.g., thermoform and shrink wrap).”

Another area of focus for package printers is cube utilization, says Baccetta. “However, this requires a higher level of collaboration with other partners throughout the supply chain (marketing/sales, distribution, retailer, etc.) in an effort to reduce material and energy usage, and maximize shipping efficiencies.”

Going forward

Since it was first announced in 2006, Wal-Mart’s Packaging Scorecard has made a significant impact throughout the consumer products arena. Last November, Wal-Mart again used Pack Expo as a forum to announce evolutionary changes to the system.

In a keynote presentation, Amy Zettlemoyer-Lazar, packaging director, Sam’s Club and co-manager of Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Value Network, reported that the Scorecard’s metrics would be adjusted to increase the focus on greenhouse gas and packaging weight reductions. She also said that in 2009, Scorecard implementation would begin to move beyond the U.S. and include other countries such as Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and China.

For many North American package printers, the Scorecard’s impact has already been felt. Himmelein attributes some of CardPak’s success with its EcoLogical Line to the Wal-Mart Scorecard. “Wal-Mart is the driving force in sustainable package leadership,” he says. “Our customers know this and we, in turn, want to be able to meet our customers’ needs. This is a growth opportunity for us as a company. Two years ago the EcoLogical Line of packaging did not exist at CardPak, and today it is almost 50 percent of our total product mix.”

“The Scorecard has had a positive impact on how we approach our business and our customers,” adds Bacchetta.

With the focus that the Scorecard is receiving from the packaging arena, it appears that Wal-Mart is well on its way to achieving its 2013 goal of a 5 percent reduction in packaging throughout its supply chain.

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging

Diamond Packaging Introduces Its Green Promo Kit

Diamond Packaging announced the introduction of its new green promo kit. The kit is an extension of Diamond’s greenbox initiative, the company’s commitment to research, design, and implement packaging solutions that are innovative and sustainable.

The green promo kit is designed as a tool for brand managers and designers when developing their own eco-friendly packaging concepts.

It includes printed samples of several different paperboard options and their environmental attributes, all enclosed within a green-themed folder and shipper.

The samples were printed from virgin, recycled, and mixed sources paperboard. One sample is printed with an optional MiraFoil® coating which adds environmentally friendly metallic effects in-line. All materials were produced using 100% wind energy.

Also included in the kit are green-themed press releases, case studies, and production samples.

Click here to request a free green promo kit and get started on a path towards greener packaging.

For more information visit Diamond's green website.

Dennis Bacchetta
Diamond's greenbox initiative
Packaging