2Sustain

Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ), a non-profit organization that promotes recycling, has announced winners in its “Greener Containers, Packaging and Printed Matter: Today’s Reality, Today’s Opportunities! Recognition Program.”

This year’s awards went to:

• A. Lassonde Inc., for improving the design and reducing the weight of its 300 ml fruit juice and beverage plastic bottle.
• Cascades Fine Papers Group, for designing a ream wrapper made from 100% recycled and recyclable fiber.
• Revenu Québec, for significantly reducing the amount of paper used for its administrative communications.
• TELUS, for eliminating plastic packaging and using only 100% recycled and recyclable paper for its accessories box packaging.
• Yves Rocher, for marketing its Eco-Refill, Inositol Végétal line of products.

In addition, EEQ gave two special awards to highlight the contributions of:

• Les Eaux Naya Inc., for marketing a water bottle made of 50% post-consumer recycled plastic, and
• Société des alcools du Québec, for eliminating single-use bags.

I’m mentioning these awards today because EEQ has also prepared comprehensive “information sheets” on each of the winning achievements listed above.
Essentially, these informational documents offer valuable insights into the eco-responsible vision at each of the recognized companies. You’ll learn how (and why) each sustainable package or recycling initiative was developed, and what environmental (and bottom line) benefits have resulted – very worthwhile reading if you’re working on sustainable packaging/recycling initiatives at your company.

Sustainable packaging –what some have called the new “breakthrough consumer issue of our time” –and recycling continue to make headlines. Just last week, John Gormley, Ireland’s Minister for the Environment, announced an ambitious new target of recycling 75% of the country’s packaging waste by 2013.