Dungannon-based Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland won the Innovation in Sustainability category at the Business Eye Sustainability Awards, for its K3® r100 self-separating packaging solution.
GPUK was also highly commended as Sustainable Manufacturing Business of the Year, and for Sustainability Team of the Year.
“We are delighted to have won the Innovation in Sustainability category at the Business Eye Sustainability Awards,“ says GPUK General Manager Paul Millar. “Greiner Packaging’s K3® cardboard-plastic innovation is celebrating its 40th birthday this year and was first produced at our Dungannon factory in 2007. It is already one of the most sustainable packaging solutions on the market, with a significantly smaller carbon footprint than other alternative packaging solutions, but our latest innovation – K3® r100 – takes it to a whole new level.”
“K3® r100 is a product innovation that has made the impossible possible – separating cardboard wraps and plastic packaging from one another during the waste disposal process without the need for human intervention. Unlike all previous K3® packaging solutions, an outstanding level of recyclability can be achieved without having to rely on end consumers to separate the items correctly.”
Innovation, sustainability and team work
“Sustainability is central to everything we do at Dungannon, so to be highly commended as a Sustainable Manufacturing Business and for our hard-working team to be recognised in the Sustainability Team of the Year category are important accolades,” says GPUK Sustainability and Innovation Manager Rachel Sheldon. “Last December, we were the first packaging manufacturer in Northern Ireland to gain the Sustainably Sourced Plastics (SSP) Certification, and the first Greiner Packaging factory in the world to be awarded Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) Chain of Custody certification. These two certifications came only three months after the European Food Standards Agency approved the process we use to recycle post‐consumer PET into food contact materials.”
“While it is great to see our sustainability team celebrated, we value every individual in our 310+ workforce – from the many younger employees on our apprentice schemes to the 33 colleagues with over 25 years’ experience,” says GPUK People & Culture Leader Kyla McCracken. “Alongside our award-winning Greiner Gold Apprentice scheme, we have just launched our new Greiner Process Apprenticeship, and are proud that for the second time, we have been awarded Gold accreditation from Investors in People. For the third year, we have also retained our Bronze Diversity Mark accreditation.”
“As a leading packaging producer, we are committed to delivering innovative products, so winning an award for K3® r100 is a tribute to our innovation and ongoing commitment to sustainability,” concludes Paul Millar. “We are just back from the Packaging Innovations show at the NEC where we parked a truck carrying our ‘We love sustainable packaging’ message at the entrance, to remind everyone that we aim to maximize plastic reduction, introduce reusable systems, incorporate recycling content, and strive for the best recyclability for our products, working towards a circular economy.”
