As always, with news trends come new terminology. When researching products and companies its important to understand the meaning of common green phrases.  From Green Living Tips, here are a few words and acronyms used within the industry that will help broaden our vocabulary.

• The 3R’s -Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

• Carbon Footprint - This measures your impact on the environment based on how much carbon dioxide you produce to support your daily activities.

• Alternative Energy- Energy that is considered clean because it isn’t taken from fossil fuels such as coal and oil.  Wind is an alternative energy.

• Renewable Energy-Energy that is generated from resources that are naturally renewed.  Common examples of these are wind and solar.

• Greenhouse Effect-Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun resulting in warmer global temperatures.

• Greenhouse Gas- Any gas that contributes the the greenhouse effect of our atmosphere.

• LEED- This acronym stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  This is a green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.  Buildings can be varying levels of LEED certified.  The levels from most efficient to least are platinum, gold, silver, and certified.

These are some of the common terms and phrases but there are many more out there.  If you are interested in further familiarizing yourself with these terms visit:

USGBC

Live Science

Green Living Tips

With the growing concern for sustainable packaging, Greener Package decided to recognize the green efforts of companies moving in the right direction with environmentally-friendly innovations.  The winners come from a range of different industries, including food, pharmaceutical, personal care, and household care.  Here is the list they came up with:

Greener Package Award

• Entropy Solutions–Greenbox thermal management (Winner of Innovator of the Year)
• Estee Lauder–Aveda Vintage Clove Shampoo & cap collection program
• Bryce Corporation–SunChips bag from 33% PLA
• Robbie Mfg.–Hot N Handy Bio-Pouch
• ConAgra-rPET in CPET trays for Healthy Choice
• Ampac–Patch Perfect
• Rexam PLC–rPET in APET drug ovals
• Unisource Worldwide–recycled toys with 100% recyclable packaging

Retail Leadership Award

• Marks and Spencer

Clean Manufacturing Award

• J.L. Clark

All of these companies are setting the mark for their competition.  If they want to stay in the game, they must follow suit with their green efforts, or go above and beyond, because eco-friendly packaging is here to stay.

If you’re like most people, you keep hearing about companies going green to both please customers and help the environment.  It can be overwhelming to try to manage your company’s green efforts if you don’t have much experience, but even small steps towards becoming more environmentally-friendly can help.  That is why it is important to set goals for yourself and your company that you can achieve.

I found some tips and goals to benchmark your environmental progress from the marketing magazine, Deliver, that can help your company in its start to become more eco-friendly:

Paper Procurement & Use

• Increase wood/paper purchases from recognized forest certification programs (by X percent by X year).
• Indicate use of suppliers affiliated with sustainable forestry practices that protect forest ecosystems and biodiversity as well as provide the wood and paper products our company needs.
• Increase purchase of environmentally preferable paper used for marketing pieces, product packaging, and/or internal consumption (by X percent by X year).

It’s been said that 30 percent of all garbage is packaging…but who says packaging has to be garbage?  many forms of packaging can be recycled, such as cardboard, paper, glass, and some plastics.  But there still are other options if the packaging is not recyclable.  It can be reused again or re-purposed to do something else.

Rodney had the idea to re-purpose one of the most un-eco materials around, Styrofoam, into stunning lamps.

It’s amazing where a little creativity can get you.

]]> http://www.sunpack.com/blog/2009/08/repurposing-packaging-materials/feed/ 0 http://www.sunpack.com/blog/2009/06/anti-litter-ad-campaign/ http://www.sunpack.com/blog/2009/06/anti-litter-ad-campaign/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:01:13 +0000 admin http://www.sunpack.com/blog/?p=873

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!

With growing environmental concerns, we are constantly hearing the phrase, “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” This is especially apparent with shopping bags and wasted wrapping. According to a study by the Clean Air Council, the United States generates an extra five million tons of waste in the winter holiday months, four of which come from gift wrapping, gift bags, and shopping bags. That is an enormous amount of waste that could be reduced by using reusable materials.

If you are looking to help the environment and reduce waste from gift wrapping, we found the BOBO Wrapping Scarf online, which can do both for you. Not only are these wrapping scarves classy and fashionable, but they are also good for the environment. They are reusable and typically made from already existing fabrics, rather than wasting and using raw materials. I thought this wrapping scarf was a great green alternative to gift wrapping. It is reusable, durable, and stylish.

When you think about packaging any of your products, think of a reusable package that will last. At Sunrise, we make durable packaging, which you will not have to replace nearly as often, so you can help reduce waste. Many of our products are also made from recyclable, biodegradable or recycled materials, and we recycle all of our excess materials. So get out there, do your part to reduce waste, and help our environment.

Greenhouse environmental management – the green house provides businesses with tailored waste management programs to minimize their waste output and costs.

It seems like now, more than ever, people are paying attention to the environment, and they are showing this by recycling and choosing more eco-friendly options.  Reduce, reuse, and recycle.  This is what some artists are doing by making a living selling art that they made out of waste.

Anouk Zijlma showed off some great pieces of recycled art she purchased while visiting Cape Town, South Africa.  There were a variety of different objects made from soda cans, plastic bottles, barbed wire, chip bags, bottle caps, metal scraps, etc.  These pieces of art make great souvenirs, and they all work, even the radio and the pen!

Radio with casing made from beer cans, bottle caps, and wire. © Michael Daecher

Flower pen made from soda cans. © Michael Daecher

Toy guitar made from soda cans and wire. © Michael Daecher

Angel made from soda cans, steel wool, and wire. © Michael Daecher

Car made from soda cans, plastic bottles, bottle tops, and wire. © Michael Daecher

Cow made from plastic can and bottle tops. © Michael Daecher

Toy motorbike made from soda cans, barbed wire, spray can tops (wheels), and plastic tubing. © Michael Daecher

Crocodile made from insect repellent can. © Michael Daecher

Placemat made from chip bags, sticks, and black thread. © Michael Daecher

Flower made from soda cans and barbed wire. © Michael Daecher

Not only do these pieces of art help reduce waste, but they make great souvenirs.  Since she bought these in South Africa, the waste used can remind her of her trip and the brands of food and drinks that were available there.  By reusing and recycling these materials, less waste is being generated, which is better for the environment.  Give one as a creative gift and show that you know what it means to recycle.

May is Green Packaging Month at Sunrise. In May, we focus on communicating ways to create packaging that is unique, helps you stand out from the crowd, and is also environmentally responsible… yes, you can have all three. Check out our Green Packaging Pages for more information.

To get us started, since Mother’s day is next weekend, we found a web site that will help you turn an unused CD case into a beautiful card for Mom!

Here’s a picture of the completed project. check out the craftylife blog for complete instructions.

Be sure to let us know how your card turned out. In fact, send us a picture and we’ll highlight it in a post! (We’ll wait until after Mother’s Day to keep the surprise)

The next time you need a binder, CD/DVD/USB case, box or sales kit, give your favorite Account Manager a call and we’ll help you create a work of art that will be environmentally friendly too.