Kraft Foods has met its goal to reduce its packaging by 150 million pounds two years ahead of schedule with a variety of lightweighting and material replacement efforts. In 2005, Kraft set its packaging goal, hoping to achieve it by 2011 along with other goals covering energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, waste creation and water use.

The company developed a tool, the Packaging Eco-Calculator, to help develop efficient and optimized packaging, and by 2008 Kraft had cut its packaging by 116 million pounds. A number of packaging redesigns in the last year helped put it over its goal.

Nestlé Waters Canada unveiled its next-generation Eco-Shape 500 ml. bottle, one of the lightest such containers in the Canadian beverage industry and the Company's latest step in an ongoing commitment to reduce plastic consumption across its brand portfolio.

Weighing just 9.16 grams on average, the bottle contains 27 per cent less plastic than its predecessor Eco-Shape bottle, which was introduced in 2007, and 60 per cent less plastic than the Company's original, pre-Eco-Shape 500 ml. PET bottle, first introduced in 2000. The Eco-Shape plastic beverage container introduced in 2007 was among the first branded 500 ml. bottles in the beverage industry to be light-weighted.

While the current economic climate put pressure on Par-Pak to step up its energy conservation plans, the process began three years ago when the company hired its first Continuous Improvement Manager. The packaging industry has a large impact on the environment, and the company wanted to do its part to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases its processes released into the atmosphere. Although, with a four million dollar annual energy bill, the massive cost reductions were fairly enticing as well.

The Continuous Improvement Manager was looking to reduce wastes wherever they occurred in the company, from labor to materials to resources. Energy was immediately identified as an area with significant opportunities. With corporate direction and a goal of 5 per cent energy reduction per unit of production, Par-Pak began to streamline energy processes. Their energy management team contains executive level participation and a company wide energy policy helps keep the team focused. This top down approach is complemented with the bottom up efforts that drive many energy reduction projects.

The Toronto Congress Centre reached out to its industry suppliers and customers by initiating a pledge in the amount of $20,000.00 to be donated to The Canadian Red Cross Haiti Earthquake fund, encouraging industry to follow.

“The dedication and compassion of our industry suppliers and customers truly shined because the response was immediate” explains Mr. Alain Sutton, Chair and CEO of Congress Centres Inc. “in just10 short days The Toronto Congress Centre was able to contribute a combined total of $56,175.00 with the overwhelming support of our industry partners.”