Packaging: Menasha Corp. receives Business Friend of the Environment Award

Menasha Corporation and its companies, Menasha Packaging and ORBIS Corporation, earned the prestigious Business Friend of the Environment Award for their commitment to sustainable practices. The award, sponsored by the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), recognized nine Wisconsin companies for outstanding achievements in pollution prevention, environmental innovation and environmental protection. Morgan Wiswall, purchasing manager at Menasha Packaging, accepted the award on behalf of the company at the WMC Environmental Policy and Awards Conference on May 12, 2011.

“Menasha and our companies focus on green solutions that help provide profitable and sustainable growth for both our company and customers,” said Jim Kotek, CEO of Menasha Corporation. “We are honored to receive this award and will continue to make strides as a socially and environmentally responsible company.”

Menasha Corporation received the award in the environmental stewardship category. In 2010, the company released their first annual sustainability report and erected five 20-kilowatt wind turbines as part of their renewable energy strategy. By 2020, the company plans to reduce carbon emissions, water consumption and solid waste by 20 percent.

Environmental achievements for Menasha Packaging include installation of high-efficiency lighting; equipment upgrades to reduce consumption of raw materials, electricity, gas, and water; and a heat recovery system in its Neenah facility that reuses energy generated from the corrugator as a primary source of heat for the building. Menasha Packaging’s facilities are also certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), and its Folding Carton Group is certified under Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain?of?custody fiber?sourcing standards.

ORBIS Corporation, a manufacturer of sustainable reusable packaging and an expert in supply chain optimization, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Menasha Corporation based in Oconomowoc, Wis. ORBIS’ recent environmental accomplishments include launching a new set of services that help customers compare the environmental impacts of reusable packaging to single-use packaging alternatives, as well as increasing customer participation in Recycle with ORBIS, its comprehensive materials recovery, recycling and reprocessing program.Recycle with ORBIS provides customers with an alternative to the disposal of excess, surplus, damaged or obsolete plastic reusable packaging. At the end of its service life, plastic reusable packaging products can be fully recycled into other useful products at ORBIS manufacturing plants.