Both Heineken and French design company, ORA-ÏTO, teamed up back in 2002 and created the Heineken aluminum bottle packaging which won a myriad of awards. Fast forward to 2010.

Back at it again, they’ve created the Icone Pure; a 100% sustainable aluminum bottle with a simple design. Heineken and ORA-ÏTO reinforce the notion that great custom packaging can be minimal and still maintain a stylish look. The bottle is covered with a white veneer and features Heineken’s iconic green logo with a minimal green dotted pattern. Truly unique- can’t say I’ve ever seen a beer bottle like this before- and it’s green.

The Heineken Pure green packaging is successful in branding the bottle as “pure” and “green” while still maintaining the aesthetic of the Heineken brand.

Cereplast, Inc. designs and manufactures proprietary starch-based, renewable plastics created from breakthrough technology. They have recently announced that by the end of the year, they will be making plastic from algae. The algae-based resins carry the potential of replacing 50% or more of petroleum content used in traditional plastic resins. Developing alternative feedstock unrelated to fossil fuels and to the food chains is the next ‘frontier’ for bioplastics and Cereplast is aggressively staying on the forefront.

Cereplast CEO says the algae is close enough to the starches that the company already turns into plastics such as corn, wheat, and tapioca. The problem is not the science, it’s the demand. Getting enough of the green stuff to produce mass quantities is the challenge that the Cereplast team is facing. Difficulties with growing and processing algae cheaply has kept it just out of reach for making it a pliable bio-plastic alternative. The process includes finding and cultivating a precise strain of algae from thousands, harvesting and drying, and then extracting the oils from the plant in a cost-effective manner.

What could this mean? In the not-so-distant future, the algae plastics could be and integral part of a trillion dollar plastics industry. Bill Francis, President of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, which documents the effects of stray plastic on the world’s oceans, is optimistic on algae’s future in the plastics marketplace. “I do believe there will be a time when we look back and say, ‘Oh yeah, that was the plastic age”.

Algae-based plastics could be a huge breakthrough for the green packaging industry depending on how the product performs when used in different plastic manufacturing processes. Up to this point, there has been a lot of limitations with bioplastics.

I was recently inspired by an article I read about how much money Ford saved just by implementing a power management strategy in their offices. The headline read:

“Ford Saves $1.2 Million and Reduces CO2 Emissions by Around 20,000 Tons by Turning Computers Off”

The cost savings and reduced carbon footprint are obtained by developing “Power Profiles” for each PC in the company. When the power profiles are enabled, each PC monitors its usage patterns and determines when the unit can be turned off. Additionally, the PC can detect when a Microsoft Office product is active and is able to save open documents before shutting down.

Why don’t more companies do this? I’m not sure. Everybody wins. The company saves money on their electric bill and less pollution is produced by power plants.

Here’s a few other simple ways to green your business:

1. Recycle: A great place to start. I know it might sound unbelievable but there are companies out there who still do not recycle. Please, find it in your budgets to do so.

2. Reduce Paper: The average office worker uses approximately 10,000 sheets of copy paper per year. Go electronic. Route faxes, memos, and newsletters via email. Set your printer to print double-sided. Make double-sided copies when possible. Preview documents before printing. Only print the pages you need. For more paper reduction tips click here.

3. Carpool: Start a carpooling program or encourage employees to take public transportation when possible.

4. Buy Plants: Plants not only make your office look nicer but as they absorb airborne pollutants and negative ions from computers, whilst emitting oxygen. Plant waste like bark and leaves can also be recycled and used as garden mulch.

5. Lights: Besides turning off lights around the office that are not being used, buy the efficient ones. Use Energy Star-rated lightbulbs and fixtures, which use at least two-thirds less energy than regular lighting.

More on Ford via Treehugger

Did you know that leaving your phone charger plugged into the wall, regardless if your phone is plugged in or not, draws electricity? I didn’t. In fact, most mobile users are unaware of this. In the U.S., it’s enough to power 24,000 homes per year, or brew three to four million cups of coffee each day*.

Introducing AT&T’s Global First Automatic ZERO Draw Charger. Available only in AT&T stores in May 2010, the charger does not waste any power when left plugged in. Additionally, it improves charging efficiency when powering a device. It also features a “block and cable” design for maximum interchangeability, allowing customers to use the same charger for future handsets. Over time this will cut the number of chargers being produced, thus reducing future landfill waste.

How does it work? The Zero Charger works by automatically sensing when a mobile phone is not plugged up to the charger and cutting the power supply from the wall socket. Pretty nifty!

The cost of the unit will be the same as existing replacement chargers which is great news for customers and more reason to change to a greener solution. The charger will be sold in packaging with 100% recycled paper. AT&T recently announced a transition to smaller and more eco-friendly packaging for the wireless device accessories. The change means elimination of more than 60% of the paper and more than 30% of the plastic previously used for AT&T’s accessory products.

*Energy saving calculations based on the following assumptions by AT&T: 277 million wireless users in U.S., minimum one phone per user; user charges device 3 to 4 times per week for 8 hours; 80% of users leave charger plugged in wall socket; average charger wastes 170 mW (0.17 watts) when idle.

View the press release here

Many look at cardboard and see it as a simple packaging material.  To often it finds its way to the trash instead of being recycled.  But as the cliche goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  This is the case for Mark Langan, who is an artist based out of Ohio that has made his life’s work out of corrugated boxes.

As his website states;

…I see it as an endless supply source that I purge from my trash and neighborhoods, reusing it towards my creations.  Artwork that is intriguing to the viewer whereas one might ponder quite some time over. A form of green art, that makes a definitive statement with its contribution to the recycling movement.

With a touch of brilliance Mark takes “reuse” to a new level.  Revamping simple cardboard into breath taking works of art.  Here are a few samples of his work.

http://keetsa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/langan3.jpghttp://cwoca.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Salutation-Mark-Langan1.jpg

For more information visit:

Langa Art

Google Images

Although both of these products may not be out for the common population to buy yet, Acorn and Greensulate, invented by Evocative Design, are two products that are worth paying attention to.

Acorn is a compostable packaging material, that may end up replacing ‘popcorn peanuts’ and other packaging products.  It looks like styrofoam and can be made in any shape or size.  It may be a long awaited answer to reducing waste.  If these products can replace styrofoam, then there really will be a reason for celebration.

Greensulate is an organic insulation, that may offer an alternative to the traditional pink insulation found in most American homes.

The resin of the mushroom Fungal Mycelium is the basis of these green products.  As the mushrooms are not allowed to grow into full mushroom state, there is no belief that spores or allergens can result from these products.

Inventorspot.com asks: “What inspired Gavin McIntyre and Eben Bayer to use mushrooms?”

“They “were fascinated by mushrooms growing on wood chips, and observing how the fungal mycelium strongly bonded the wood chips together. This inspired them to think of new ways of using mycelium as a resin.” Their idea worked and ever since they have won grant after grant to continue testing and developing these ideas.”

An invention like this has the possibility of changing the world presumably for the better, making it greener and more sustainable.  Good luck to these inventors!

For more information:

Ecovative Design

Inverntor Spot

It could be argued that color is one of the most important choices one makes when choosing a packaging design.  Whether it’s done well or poorly, color evokes emotions.

It’s known that serving diners food on a blue plate will encourage them to eat less, while serving food on and orange or yellow plate will encourage them to eat more.  Colors like dark navy, hunter green, burgundy or black can evoke tradition, respect, or even somberness, and deeper purples can evoke royalty, status or class.  Pastel colors can often be associated with children, while reds can evoke desire, passion, authority, happiness, or conversely fear.

Color can be used well or poorly.  One opinion of color used poorly is below.

Of course, poor color choice is selective, but why was this design chosen specifically?

Green is a good color to promote a feeling of nature, or a feeling of money (especially in the US).  It is also a good color to be used to catch someone’s attention.  On the other hand, once their attention is caught, what part do we pay attention to?  Do we really see the apps over the overwhelming green of the background?

it is one writer’s opinion that if the above color was on packaging for a product, the packaging would not work.  While it does have a ‘wow’ factor, the green of the packaging, like the green in this picture, would seem to shout louder than the product.

However, it would be interesting to notice that if the same picture was in a different color, such as a similar color like teal, how the message of the product or applications might have stood out over the packaging.

Using Apple as an example, here is another example of color choices.

Both packages pictured above use colors to emphasize and brighten without overpowering.  The ‘natural’ and the ‘white’ state traditional while caring about the environment, while the colors used in the center add balance, freshness, and ‘likability.’  Although they don’t scream “Look at me” like the above example, they do say, “I’m trustworthy.”

When we think of being “green” and environmentally-friendly, we think of the 3 R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle.  TreeHugger showed some ways that companies are offering reusable packaging in a new way, in which the packaging is actually a part of the product itself.

With this product, lite2go by knoend, the clear packaging is actually the lampshade for the lamp:

This design, created by Tom Ballhatchet, utilizes the box that the TV is packaged in as a stand for the TV with shelves for your DVD cases or Blu-Ray cases:

With this laptop in a bag, HP won Wal-Mart’s Reduced Packaging Award for its Pavilion dv6929.  Instead of coming in a box with styrofoam inserts, this laptop comes in a reusable messenger bag (made from recycled fabric) with a few plastic bags inside to hold the parts.  With this design, HP was able to reduce the conventional packaging by 97 percent:

Steve Haslip designed the HangerPak, so that the packaging that holds the product can also be used for the product; the package transforms into a hanger for the t-shirt inside:

Although I’m not too keen on the idea of sitting on a cardboard chair, I do give props to David Graas for coming up with a line of flat packaging that can be put together into furniture:

These are all examples of how companies are encouraging customers to reduce waste by reusing the packaging of their products for other purposes.  By doing this and recycling when you are finished, you can be on your way to being more eco-friendly.

From lists to directories, to informational articles, the following 7 resources will help any planner make their next event more environmentally-friendly:

1. A 10-step checklist to a more environmentally-friendly destination event from Blue Green Meetings.
2. Three reasons why green meetings are a good idea from the Association for Green Meetings and Events. Not only are green meetings good for the environment, but there are also economic and social benefits that come with it.
3. Article: Green Meetings Are Free from Meeting Professionals International. Going green does not have to cost you a lot of money. By reducing and reusing, you can save money that you could invest in other green expenses.
4. Information on environmentally-friendly cuisine from MeetingsNet.com Look for organic, local foods and foods that can be reused if not eaten at that meal.
5. A list of GreenHotel.com members by state, so you can be sure the hotel you are using is truly environmentally-friendly.
6. How to calculate your meeting’s carbon footprint from http://www.greeneventsource.com/. Being aware of your carbon footprint can help you see how much you are affecting the environment, where your problem areas are, and how you could improve.
7. Don’t forget to use eco-friendly name badges, luggage tags, folders and ring bindersthat are reusable and recyclable! All of these eco-friendly products can be created to match and coordinate with each other and with your meeting or event. Then you can just send them back to us to recycle when you are finished.

Bonus Resource: The Meeting Planner Survival Guidefrom MeetingsNet.com

Advertising agency, Colenso BBDO, which is located in Auckland, New Zealand, created this anti-litter ad campaign, “The Heart of the City: Rubbish”:

Each day, the litter around the bus stop was collected and placed inside the bus stop.  This ad was intended to show how quickly litter can add up when people don’t put in the effort to recycle or throw their trash in the garbage can.  It may just seem like a big deal to litter one wrapper, but if everyone does it, it really adds up.  If we all come together and be more environmentally-friendly, we can really make a difference.  Who wants to look at trash all over the city anyway?  Let’s just hope people don’t start to think the bus stop is the new garbage can!