Smurfit Kappa Calls on the World’s Innovation Community to Take on its New Better Planet Packaging Design Challenge

Smurfit Kappa has called on the world’s innovation community to contribute to the development of the sustainable packaging solutions of the future.

The company has launched a new competition as part of its drive to solve one of the biggest challenges in the packaging industry – to reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste that is generated every day.

Smurfit Kappa is challenging designers, engineers, inventors and creative thinkers, both inside and outside the company, to come up with packaging innovations that will replace the amount of un-recyclable waste generated every year.

The two challenges outlined in the competition are:

• To develop an alternative for the plastic stretch wrap which is used around pallets to provide stability during transport and storage; and
• To develop a fully paper-based parcel with thermal protection for chocolates, to use in the eCommerce sales channel.

The competition is open until Friday, March 29, 2019 and applicants, who can be any innovator in the world, can submit an idea to address one or both of the design challenges. The winner of each design challenge will receive a prize of €8,000 (approximately $9,000) and their ideas will be showcased at the Smurfit Kappa Innovation Event in May 2019.

“Packaging design has an essential role to play in reducing the amount of waste generated in day-to-day life, and in delivering a more sustainable future,” said Arco Berkenbosch, vice president of innovation and development.

“Our Better Planet Packaging Design Challenge aims to inspire the world’s design community to work on concrete problems in sustainable packaging design. We are looking forward to seeing the applications, and discovering the first winning innovations of the Better Planet Packaging Design Challenge.”

Interested applicants can visit the Smurfit Kappa website for more information on the Better Planet Packaging Design Challenge and how to apply.