UPM Raflatac has won the Sustainability Award for its Ocean Action label at the Label Industry Global Awards 2023. The announcement came on Monday, September 11, at the Label Industry Global Awards gala on the first night of Labelexpo Europe 2023.

The Sustainability Award recognizes companies demonstrating progress towards a sustainable future for the global labels industry. UPM Raflatac’s Ocean Action label is an excellent example of that. It is the world’s first certified label material to fight ocean bound plastic pollution.

The Ocean Action labels are made with ocean bound plastic using mass balance approach. Ocean bound plastic is abandoned plastic waste recovered from areas up to 50km inland from waterways, defined as “at risk of ending up in the ocean” by OBPCert. The new innovative label material is made possible by close collaboration with multiple partners in the product’s value chain.

“Our team is excited and proud to receive the Sustainability Award 2023. In addition to the award committee, we want to thank our partners in the value chain for the collaboration. Ocean Action label is a great example of value chain collaboration and highlights the importance of the whole value chain working together to make new sustainable innovations”, says Eliisa Laurikainen, Business Development Manager, UPM Raflatac.

The awards judging panel consisted of FINAT, TLMI, and the editors of three leading label industry publications.