At  Finat's sustainability awards show this year, the efforts of the self-adhesive label industry to increase sustainability was recognised. At the 2022 awards show, five initiatives had entered the competition and covered a variety of areas like innovative paper-based labels, renewable energy generation, and decorations optimised for environmental impact, and compostable flexible packaging. 

The winners were announced during a ceremony at the  Finat Technical Seminar 2022 held in Barcelona on 23 November, 2022.The jury, consisting of Jacques van Leeuwen (chair) and Rosalyn Bandy (TLMI), judged the submitted data for their demonstration of improved environmental and social impact, achievements, relevance, cooperation along the value chain and overall uniqueness. The Jury decided to award two initiatives among the received ones, in the categories of Converter (small and medium), and Converter (large).

Securikett Ulrich & Horn won in the category of Converter (small and medium) with their entry It's Paper series– Void Labels and Void Tapes. The jury was fascinated by the company’s ability to incorporate renewable content, contributing to the recyclability of packaging including security features, and for providing a unique solution that replaces film with fibre-based materials.

The winner of the Converter (large) category was All4Labels with their initiative, Starshine. The jury was impressed with the reduced environmental impact of the products, including a reduction of use of hazardous materials, reduced energy consumption and the elimination of plastic filmic materials required for the process. The initiative is the result of outstanding cooperation within the organisation, from R&D and sustainability to marketing and sales.

"We were pleased to receive diverse initiatives from suppliers and converters of all sizes, showcasing how sustainability is in everyone’s mind. With so many other issues affecting businesses, such as supply shortages and ever-increasing energy costs this year, it is refreshing to see that sustainability still plays a major role in the development of products and services in the self-adhesive value chain," said Pablo Englebienne, regulatory and sustainability affairs manager, Finat.