The publishers of Packaging World announce the 2008 launch of GreenerPackage.com, a sustainable packaging Website, and a companion competition, the Greener Package Awards.

Throughout the packaging value chain, from packaging materials suppliers to the retailers who sell products to consumers, companies are increasingly focused on making packaging more sustainable. Summit Publishing Company, publishers of Packaging World magazine, announces the development of a new Website and awards competition to help professionals ascend the sustainable learning curve more rapidly. GreenerPackage.com (http://www.greenerpackage.com) will offer tools and resources for materials suppliers, package design and development professionals and packagers who strive to make environmentally responsible business decisions.

With a target launch in the fourth quarter of 2008, GreenerPackage.com will offer four assets for packaging suppliers and end-users: a continuously updated directory of the latest sustainable packaging materials; an interactive forum, staffed and moderated by industry experts; a news blog, complemented with interpretation and analysis of current developments; and a sustainable packaging awards database, allowing packagers to submit and learn from sustainable progress made by their colleagues and competitors. Packages that have made significant progress towards sustainability can be entered in the Greener Package Awards competition, slated to debut in the fourth quarter of 2009.

GreenerPackage.com builds on the knowledge and experience Summit's Packaging World team has developed within the sustainable arena. In 2003, Packaging World published groundbreaking coverage of the Cradle-to-Cradle design concept. This cover story was a catalyst for a meeting of industry professionals who became the founding members of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC). Over the years, Packaging World has continued to report on sustainability developments and in 2007 published the Field Guide to Sustainable Packaging, now in its second edition. Shortly thereafter, Packaging World published an exclusive interview with Sam's Club Director of Packaging regarding progress on Wal-Mart's packaging scorecard and related issues.

Packaging World publisher Joe Angel, comments on GreenerPackage.com. "This new site offers an excellent opportunity to combine our resources and those of the packaging community into a focused, interactive resource for advancing environmentally responsible packaging. GreenerPackage.com expands on what we can offer via our magazine, Web site and e-newsletters. We look forward to building GreenerPackage.com into a state-of-the-art resource for packagers, and to celebrating excellence through the Greener Package Awards competition."

About Summit Publishing Company

Chicago-based Summit Publishing Company is an integrated media publisher offering business information for packaging professionals. Print magazines include flagship monthly Packaging World (www.packworld.com); the annual PACK EXPO Showcase; quarterly Healthcare Packaging magazine; and Contract Packaging magazine, published three times annually. In addition to packaging e-newsletters such as Shelf Impact!, Summit Publishing Company also produces Web casts and conferences for packaging professionals.