Bowled over: London Bio Packaging win National Business Award

HAMMERSMITH, U.K. - Nov. 22, 2013 - PRLog -- London Bio Packaging has been revealed as a 2013 National Business Awards winner, receiving the ICAEW Sustainable Business Award.

As Marcus Hill, Managing Director of London Bio Packaging, stepped onto the stage to collect their award, the voiceover rang out, “Conceived with sustainability in mind, London Bio Packaging is changing the world one cup, plate and bowl at a time through closed loop zero waste to landfill principles.”

London Bio Packaging, a team of 32 based in West London, was up against some big names - including waste management company, Veolia Environmental Services, and publishing giant, Reed Elsevier.

But the judging panel were impressed by London Bio Packaging’s approach to sustainability and the growth they have achieved as a result. The firm started life in 2005 with just one employee, Marcus Hill. He noticed the scale of the food packaging problem – how much we use and send to landfill every day. Thus London Bio Packaging was born; to offer food and catering businesses an environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional packaging.

From compostable coffee cups to recyclable salad containers, all of London Bio Packaging’s food disposables have been developed with three simple sustainability considerations in mind. Firstly, what the packaging is made of. Typically the materials used are either recycled (recycled plastics or paper for example) or renewable. Corn, starch, palm leaf and sugar bagasse are all examples of renewable materials; they can be re-grown at a rate that’s comparable or faster than the rate at which they are consumed. Using renewable or recycled materials conserves finite resources, such as oil (the basis of most plastics), and results in lower Co2 emissions.

London Bio Packaging’s second consideration is how food packaging is made: ensuring all manufacturing practices are ethical. The third addresses what happens to the packaging after use. When packaging is sent to landfill it can take hundreds of years to break down and release methane gas, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than Co2. For that reason, all of London Bio Packaging’s disposables are either recyclable or compostable.

Recycling packaging means re-using materials, conserving the world’s resources. Meanwhile the benefit of compostable packaging is that food contamination represents no issue. Compostable packaging waste can be collected with food waste and taken to what’s known as a commercial in-vessel composting facility. Once there it will break down into compost within 12 weeks – ready to help grow more plants and food. (Read more here: http://www.londonbiopackaging.com/about-our-products/)

Following on from this eco food packaging range, the next logical step for London Bio Packaging was helping food businesses correctly dispose of their packaging waste; ensuring it is composted or recycled, and diverted from landfill. So through a ‘closed loop’ service, London Bio Packaging began helping others ‘close the loop’ on their waste - and in 2012 they got to do this on a mammoth scale. After partnering with LOCOG they became the main packaging supplier for the London Olympic Games; supplying over 120 million pieces of packaging to 100’s of Olympic venues. They also helped compost or recycle the resulting waste, diverting 6,330 tonnes from landfill.

The judges at the National Business Awards commended London Bio Packaging for their work at London 2012, helping to make it the first ever zero waste Olympic Games, as well as for their recyclable and compostable food packaging range. Michael Izza, the chief executive of ICAEW, who sponsored the Sustainable Business Award, said “London Bio Packaging was a fresh, engaging, profitable and sustainable business model… They are a model for an upcoming generation of innovative businesses who are transforming the meaning of sustainable business without even needing to label it as such.”

Read more here: http://www.londonbiopackaging.com/national-sustainable-business-award-winner/

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About the National Business Awards:

The National Business Awards recognise exceptional British businesses, of all sizes and across all industries.  In the 2013 Awards, the 12^th year that the awards have been running, there were 17 different categories. All the finalists, as well as business leaders from around the UK, gathered at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on November 12^th for the announcement of the winners. The ceremony opened with a video message from Prime Minster David Cameron, followed by an address from keynote speaker, Sir Bob Geldof.

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About the ICAEW Sustainable Business Award:

The Sustainable Business Accolade is awarded to companies that demonstrate a company-wide commitment to sustainability and have embedded sustainability practices and principles. The judging panel look for evidence of how a sustainable approach has led to improved commercial performance, as well as how it has influenced the behaviour of, not just internal staff, but also customers and suppliers.

Previous winners of the award include retailer Marks & Spencer and flooring company InterfaceFLOR.

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For further information or interview opportunities contact:

Claire Hodge
Marketing Manager – London Bio Packaging
Tel: 0207 471 3718
Email: Claire@londonbiopackaging.com
Website: http://www.londonbiopackaging.com/ (http://www.londonbiopackaging.com/national-sustainable-business-award-winner/)