248 award-winning ecodesignprojects submitted by 118 companies made it onto the podium of the 11th edition of Eco Pack, the CONAI Call for Ecodesign. And, as every year, five circular design innovations that get the five super prizes for circular innovation, as well as a special mention. This is a snapshot of the palmarès of a record year for the Call for Entries which, for the first time, exceeds 400 cases submitted (414) with an increase of11 percent compared to 2023.
“A participation that confirms the growing attention of Italian companies to a more sustainable production model, “ comments Simona Fontana, CONAI general manager. “We are talking about 118 companies that have been able to take up the challenge of rethinking their packaging, reducing its environmental impact: a fundamental step not only for individual production realities, but for the entire supply chain and for the country, which is increasingly sensitive and close to the European objectives of circular economy. The 248 award-winning cases are concrete examples of how process efficiency and sustainability can be integrated: they can surely inspire many other companies to move in the same direction. And, as CONAI, we have the task and the duty to support this path.”
For the cases awarded at this eleventh edition, the average environmental benefits of the life cycle analysis indicators show how the ecodesign interventions promoted have made it possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 27 percent, cut energy consumption by 20 percent and cut water consumption by 18 percent compared to how the packaging would have been before the interventions to reduce its environmental impact.
The Italian business fabric’s growing focus on efficient use of resources is also confirmed in 2024. In fact, among the most frequently used ecodesign levers are the choice to use recycled material, the saving of raw material (i.e., the deflaking of the pack) and – a lever introduced just this year – the saving of virgin raw material to emphasize the importance of using less and less primary material.