Proving it pays off to be sustainable, Sunny Delight Beverages Co. and Agro Tech Foods Ltd. were awarded first place in the inaugural Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards, presented by PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, and its OpX Leadership Network (formerly the Alliance for Innovation and Operational Excellence).

The awards were presented April 15 during Food Engineering’s Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference in Clearwater Beach, FL. According to PMMI, the peer-reviewed awards recognize facilities for projects or programs that improve sustainability efforts in food, beverage or consumer product manufacturing operations, focusing on pollution prevention, compliance assurance and environmental protection.

Sunny Delight’s South Brunswick, NJ facility received first-place honors in the “Projects” category, with the Musco Family Olive Co. (Tracy, CA) and Keystone Foods (Camilla, GA) taking second and third, respectively.

The Guragon, India facility of Agro Tech Foods Ltd. received first place in the “Programs” category, while the Snyder’s Lance, Inc. facility in Charlotte, NC took second.

“We were thrilled with the number of companies that participated in the inaugural awards program, and we were highly impressed with each facility’s dedication to innovation, quality and environmental sustainability,” says Bill Gill, assistant vice president, environmental affairs, Smithfield Foods, who led the program for the OpX Leadership Network. “We are excited that the Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards program has resonated globally and look forward to seeing further improvements to sustainability in food, beverage and consumer products operations next year,” he adds.

OpX Leadership Network is the new name of the former Alliance for Innovation and Operational Excellence (AIOE), founded by PMMI in 2011 to help CPGs and original equipment manufacturers solve common operational challenges, make smarter decisions and achieve operational excellence.

 “First and foremost, the Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards are a means to recognize CPGs for creativity and innovation. We hold these companies and their work up as examples of best practices. Hopefully, they’ll inspire other manufacturers’ pursuits of sustainable manufacturing goals,” says Steve Schlegel, co-managing director, OpX Leadership Network.