Are you going above and beyond in your sustainability programs?

While sustainability programs have become the new normal at most manufacturing facilities, there is always room for improvement and another project to tackle. Attaining zero landfill, optimizing wastewater treatment, harnessing solar and wind power, and implementing new energy reductions remain key objectives for our readers.

To honor exceptional sustainability achievements within food, beverage and consumer products manufacturing operations, Food Engineering and PMMI’s Alliance for Innovation & Operational Excellence are partnering in an annual peer-reviewed awards program. The Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards will recognize manufacturing plants with improved performance in sustainability and honor companies and individuals that seek to go beyond environmental compliance.

This new awards program will recognize projects and programs that focus on pollution prevention, enhanced environmental protection and stewardship as well as compliance assurance. Multiple awards will be named in various categories such as:

reduction in water and energy
waste conservation
pollution prevention
packaging reductions.

The judging committee, composed of food and beverage manufacturers and industry solution providers, will award points to each entry based on the project/program’s:

environmental impact/social significance
efficiency and cost effectiveness
originality or adaptive reuse
technical value and transferability.

The 2014 Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Award winners will be honored in a special presentation at Food Engineering’s Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference scheduled for April 12-15, 2015 at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach, FL.

Entry applications are due no later than October 15, 2014. For more information about the application requirements, please visit www.pmmi.org/AIOE and click on the blue box titled 2014 Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards. All questions concerning the awards and application process should be addressed to Steve Schlegel, AIOE managing director, at sschlegel@pmmialliance.org.

Good luck! Food Engineering and AIOE look forward to learning about your outstanding environmental accomplishments.

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Joyce Fassl has spent most of her career in magazine management. As the former editor-in-chief of Food Engineering, Fassl has directed the magazine’s editorial staff since 1986, except for a two-year stretch where she oversaw content direction for the debut of Packexpo.com. Her expertise is creating dynamic print and online content, building top-notch editorial teams and managing innovative custom publishing projects and live events. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Penn State University. In addition to supervising all Food Engineering content, Joyce is Program Director for the Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference.