REDUCING the amount of poly-styrene in its packaging has not only produced greater efficiency for East Tamaki company Criterion – it has also led to the firm being recognised at a national level for its environmental focus.

New Zealand’s largest furniture manufacturer, Criterion Group, won two awards for excellence in environmentally acceptable packaging, at the Packaging Council’s 2007 environmental awards in late August.

Criterion won the Keep New Zealand Beautiful packaging systems award and also received high commendation in the reduced environmental impact category, for a project conducted last year on reducing polystyrene content in product packaging.

Packaging Council executive director Paul Curtis says: “When the awards started in 1999, being environmentally aware was regarded as ‘green stuff’. Now it has very much become a central part of business in the packaged goods industry.

“Criterion particularly impressed the judges with its commitment to improving transport efficiency and reducing waste throughout the entire packaging-shipping process.

Criterion Business improvement manager Mehdi Shahbazpour says: “Through collaboration with Auckland University, we’ve managed to reduce our polystyrene by up to 15 per cent, which results in significant reduction of polystyrene dumped in land fills.

“Minimising the size of our polystyrene packs has also enabled us to pack and export our mainly flat panel products more efficiently, decreasing transportation, and ultimately, expelling less carbon emissions into the environment,” he says.

Criterion chief executive Brian Smaill says: “We’re very proud of this achievement and see this as a significant step towards meeting our environmental responsibilities.”

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