2023 Paper Industry Gold Awards

22 March 2023 | House of Commons Terrace

 
On Wednesday 22nd March 2023 over 100 representatives from across the UK’s Paper-based Industries gathered on the House of Commons Terrace to celebrate the achievements of the industry.  

The event was kindly hosted by Mark Pawsey MP, who chairs the APPG on Packaging, and attended by a number of Parliamentarians from across the chamber, including Shadow Cabinet Members and Constituency Members of Parliament.  

The awards recognised success across five categories: Recycling, Sustainable Innovation, Community Engagement, Health and Safety, and Skills. The six winners, with two winners in the Sustainable Innovation Category, listed below were recognised with a glass trophy.   The Paper Gold Medal, given to an individual who has demonstrated excellence and achievement, beyond their normal duties, and who has made a unique contribution to the wider UK’s Paper-based Industries, was also presented.

See CPI press release announcing the winners here.

Winners
Click on each of the Awards below to find out who won.

  • Recycling Award

    This award aims to identify successful projects, initiatives, and campaigns run by paper-based companies to enhance recycling and more broadly contribute to the UK’s sustainability through activities supporting paper and board recycling.

    Winner - VPK UK and Ireland

    VPK UK and Ireland was presented with the winning award for showing a strong commitment to waste minimisation, backed up by a clear knowledge of recycling streams leading to a measurable benefit to the company of nearly £1m. 

  • Sustainability and Net Zero Award

    This year, due to the timing of certain projects, the judges felt that the Net Zero and Sustainable Innovation categories should be merged, with more than one award being made, to recognise the breadth of the entries received. 

    Winners – DS Smith Plc and Swanline Group
    Highly Commended – Fourstones Paper Mill Limited

    The first winner is a company who has invested heavily in a laboratory for fibre and paper development – congratulations to DS Smith, for their Fibre Lab and the technology research that it is driving.  

    The second winner is a company that has looked closely at the implications of the growth in e-commerce and innovated to improve the sustainability of the packaging used – congratulations to Swanline, for their EzeE-comm pack design. 

    Fourstones Paper Mill received a Highly Commended certificate for their initiative to reduce chemical usage in their tissue paper production.

  • Community Engagement Award

    The Award is for a company which has clearly demonstrated an outstanding and successful Community Engagement campaign which has had a positive effect on the public at large or specific groups.

    Winner - Smurfit Kappa Inspirepac Chesterfield

    Smurfit Kappa has forged a close relationship with a local infant and nursery school, based on both providing hands on support and assistance, and assisting the school to receive a British Council International School Award. 

  • Health and Safety Award

    This award recognises companies that have gone above and beyond to ensure a safer and healthier working environment for their staff, whether that be through innovative safety projects or initiatives to support the health of their staff.

    Winner - SAICA Group

    This year’s winner, in the opinion of the judges, has made a very substantial commitment to improving both their own health and safety performance and that of the industry, across the whole range of their operations.
     
    The winner is Saica, both Pack and Paper, an award for the whole company that recognises the efforts made in fire prevention, licences to operate safely and a highway code for safety. 

  • Skills Award

    The Skills Award will recognise a company that has made a significant investment in skills development and training. Companies can enter specific programmes or initiatives which focus on the development of skills within their workforces and which benefit the future development of the industry by facilitating innovation, greater sustainability and the attractiveness of the industry to new recruits.

    Winner -Essity UK Limited

    In the opinion of the judges, Essity has made a sustained investment in employee training to address business needs, and had seen tangible improvement in business performance as a result. Congratulations go to Essity UK Limited, for their Prudhoe Mill Skills Development Academy.

  • The Paper Gold Medal Award

    The Paper Gold Medal is now over 50 years old and is presented annually to an individual, in recognition of personal excellence and achievement beyond their normal duties, who has made a unique contribution to the UK’s Paper-based Industries. Find out more about the award at: https://papergoldmedal.org.uk/the-medal/

    Bud Hudspith
    This year's Paper Gold Medallist is Bud Hudspith, formerly of the Trade Union, Unite.  Bud's commitment to improving the health and safety of the paper industry, and other industries is second to none.

    Congratulations to all!

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