Dow Wins UPM Raflatac Label Life Awards 2016

The Label Life Awards promote responsible sourcing among UPM Raflatac's suppliers and other stakeholders. Photo:UPM Raflatac

The winner of the UPM Raflatac Label Life Awards 2016 is Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, a business of The Dow Chemical Company. The UPM Raflatac Label Life Awards recognize strong performance in responsible sourcing from the company's suppliers. The awards are dedicated to suppliers who develop sustainable business practices that are safe and friendly for the environment and beneficial to society.

Dow was one of four Label Life Awards finalists that were faced with a round of rigorous questioning from jury members during the event hosted at UPM Raflatac's Wroclaw factory in Poland. The other finalists were DRT, Henkel and Mondi. As was the case last year, the competition entries were of a high standard and evenly balanced.

Dow presented The Dow Chemical Sustainability Footprint Tool that helps company employees and other players in the industry bring sustainability into the innovation process. The tool helps evaluate new projects through different facets of sustainability: social, economic, organizational, greenhouse gas emissions, water and resource efficiency. It also facilitates sustainability education in the company.

"Congratulations to Dow. We consider The Label Life Awards an important opportunity to recognize our suppliers' performance in responsible sourcing and share best practices. Our finalists' projects are inspiring and something we can all learn from. Going forward, we will deepen our partnerships with the finalists to design products that are fit for the future," comments Sami Poukka, VP, sourcing, UPM Raflatac.

The winner of the UPM Raflatac Label Life Awards 2016 is Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics. Photo: UPM Raflatac

"Each presentation brought something new and unique to the conversation which was valuable. The Label Life Awards format is extremely well-structured and encourages discussion and collaboration across the whole label value chain — suppliers, converters and end-users. It's really important to work on sustainability together," appraises Patrick van Leeuwen, corporate account executive, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics.

"Business has an important role and responsibility for developing sustainable business practices and reducing the usage of natural resources. Looking at the Label Life Awards finalists, I am glad to see that every year we have more bold and meaningful commitments to sustainability. We have only one planet, and we must work together to preserve it for next generations," summarizes Piotr Nieznanski, conservation director, WWF Poland.

Source: UPM Raflatac.