We are excited to announce that GreenBlue’s 2011 Annual Report is now available! Since GreenBlue became one of the first sustainability organizations founded to work exclusively in collaboration with business nearly ten years ago, we’ve launched several groundbreaking programs, released numerous landmark research reports, and attracted many uniquely talented staff, Board members, partners and stakeholders. Last year brought several milestones and accomplishments for GreenBlue, and some 2011 highlights include:
- As part of our new Forest Products program, in October 2011 we launched the Forest Products Working Group to bring together leading companies that rely on paper, wood, and other forest products to share their knowledge and develop innovative solutions to support thriving forests and the forest products industry.
- In June 2011, we unveiled a new brand identity that includes a new mission statement, a new logo, and a redesigned website that was recognized in the AIGA (Re)design Awards 2011. We also introduced our new sustainability blog, In the Loop, which provides resources and perspectives from our work in forest products, packaging, chemicals, and other product types, as well as regular features to make sustainability issues accessible to a broader audience. These include documentary film reviews, features on how products are made, music mixes, and more.
- Building on the success of CleanGredients, we launched our newly expanded Chemicals program to develop additional tools and resources for industry to select safer chemicals and materials in product design and manufacturing.
- We announced the How2Recycle Label, a voluntary recycling label for packaging that is being piloted by leading brand owners in 2012, and concurrent www.how2recycle.info website.
- Our first education course on packaging (through our Essentials of Sustainable Packaging curriculum) expanded beyond North America with trainings in Latin America and additional sessions planned in Asia throughout 2012.
- We released an updated version of the Environmental Paper Assessment Tool, EPAT 2.0, to help paper buyers make better purchasing decisions.
- We released more reports than in any other year: Assessing the Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Biodegradation in Landfills, which explores the generation of greenhouse gases in landfills and the natural and engineered strategies used to mitigate their effects; Closing the Loop: Design for Recovery Guidelines for Aluminum, Steel, Glass, and Paper Packaging, a suite of reports that provide technical guidance on designing packaging to be compatible with common recovery methods; Another Closing the Loop report, entitled Labeling for Package Recovery, which examines what an effective labeling system should include.
You can download the full report to read more.
