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Chespa Receives 2024 FTA Sustainability Excellence Award

Interest in sustainability from every member of the flexographic workflow, all the way to Consumer Product Companies and end customers, continues to grow.

The number of entries vying for the 2024 FTA Sustainability Excellence Award—the largest in the competition’s 20+ years—is the latest data point to support that observation.

These innovations in sustainability and sustainability programs show flexographic printers and suppliers putting sustainability front and center in their business’ day-to-day operations, in the products they produce, in their go-to-market strategies and in how they approach solving problems.

The award winners and honorable mentions in this year’s record-breaking competition are:

“This year’s FTA Sustainability Excellence Awards have seen an unprecedented number of entries, showcasing the industry’s dedication to sustainability like never before,” said FTA Sustainability Committee Chair Justin Green of Comexi. “The sheer volume is matched only by the outstanding quality of submissions, reflecting the commitment of companies towards environmentally conscious practices. It underscores the vital importance of sustainability in our industry, driving innovation and responsible stewardship for a better future.”

Chespa’s Commitment

When Chespa examined how to apply sustainability and an environmentally friendly approach to its operations, the company left no stone unturned in employing everything from geothermal heating to underground tunnels. Its program also utilizes a heat recovery system, photovoltaic farms, a rainwater recovery system, electric vehicles, water and sewage management, a reuse system for ink packaging—even beehives, stork nests and bird houses added to the land surrounding its Chorula, Poland offices.

Quantifying the results of Chespa’s sustainability program reveals large drops in the consumption of oil and energy in several areas:

“Chespa is unique in itself, as it is the only company producing all three essential tools for packaging—inks, plates and cutting dies. Therefore, the concept of sustainable development is three times more complex,” says Marek Siekiera, CEO of Chespa. “Nevertheless, we manufacture in energy-efficient buildings, use renewable energy and heat recovery systems, recycle our own wastewater and recover rainwater. We are the first to test and implement automated production lines and robots from industry leaders. Sustainability is embedded in our philosophy and driven by care for our employees, our customers and the local community.”

Speaking to those three “essential tools,” Chespa outlines how it has sought out technologies to support its sustainability program:

“A wonderful effort using low-hanging fruit to make a big impact on the environment. Chespa seems to have real green DNA in its business model,” notes one competition judge. “This is a good move for the manufacturer to invest in equipment and processes that yield toward an ESG solution. And the company went the extra mile to quantify their activity for market use toward North American sustainability goals,” adds a second judge.