Be Green Supplies Packaging to the 84th Annual Academy Awards

The Academy Awards has been taking major steps recently to reduce its carbon footprint and embrace sustainable products.  This year, Be Green teamed up with the Academy by supplying compostable and recyclable plates and clamshells in support of their mission to reduce the environmental impact of the awards.  The collaboration also served to raise awareness of existing green technologies that attendees may not have otherwise been aware.

Be Green wholeheartedly supports the efforts of the Academy and applauds the organization for embracing the principles of sustainability by adopting plant fiber packaging at this years awards.

Be Green Supports the Organic Center’s Mission to Educate Society on the Benefits of Organic Agriculture

As a major source of evidence-based science supporting organic agriculture, the Organic Center is a crucial part of the movement to rehabilitate our food systems.  The non-profit organization publishes reports throughout the year on various topics related to organic agriculture ranging from healthy eating choices and the benefits of organic food, to in-depth studies on the effects of reduced pesticide usage on soils.  The Center consistently produces groundbreaking research on relevant issues and maintains an extensive archive on its website, making it a major resource for anyone interested in the burgeoning organic food movement.

The Organic Center is an incredible resource for anyone interested in the hard science behind why organic agriculture matters to us as a society.  Be Green is proud to support the organization with annual donations in recognition of its ongoing research and active role in the organic food movement.

Proctor & Gamble Report Documents Substantial Improvements in Packaging Using Be Green’s Plant Fiber Trays

When Gillette decided to adopt Be Green’s plant fiber technology for use on the new Fusion ProGlide Razor, neither company could have foreseen the overwhelmingly positive response that the tray would receive both from P&G and the packaging community at large.  The latest highlight in a long string of achievements for the tray (which included the receipt of DuPont’s Diamond Award for Packaging Innovation in June of last year) is a recently released report by Gillette’s parent company, Proctor & Gamble, highlighting the substantial improvements made by switching to plant fiber from traditional plastic packaging.  The report details how the new packaging has helped P&G to meet it’s sustainability targets and make substantial reductions in packaging materials usage while still maintaining Gillette’s distinctive branding.

The PDF document can be downloaded on P&G’s Innovations page here: P&G Innovations Gillette Fusion Proglide & Proglide Power

Whole Planet Foundation 2012 Annual Prosperity Campaign

Article originally appears at: http://www.wholeplanetfoundation.org/blog/2012/02/whole-planet-foundation-2012-annual-prosperity-campaign/

By Lauren Evans

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Lauren Evans

Do you believe that small change can bring big change? We do! Read on to find out how you can share your story in our Facebook essay contest for a chance to win a trip for two to India, courtesy of Intrepid Travel.

So far, we’ve supported more than a million people in 50 countries in changing their own lives. Did you know that we fund projects right here in the United States? Watch how Whole Planet Foundation’s partner Grameen Americaputs microcredit into action. Grameen America, a nonprofit microfinance organization, follows the successful model of Nobel  Laureate  Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank.  To date, they have reached over 8,500 low-income borrowers across New York City, Omaha NE and Indianapolis, IN.  We can’t wait to watch them grow!

With your help during our Annual Prosperity Campaign this year, we can empower a millionmore people to lift themselves out of poverty! Now through March 31st, we hope that you will join fellow Whole Foods Market® shoppers, team members, Supplier Alliance for Microcredit partners and online donors in raising $4.1 million to help impoverished people living in communities around the globe where Whole Foods Market sources products.

With your help, we empower the very poor with microcredit loans to create or expand home-based businesses, such as small-scale farming, food carts and raising livestock, providing an opportunity to lift themselves and their family out of poverty in a sustainable way. Microcredit loans are small, usually $300 or less, and require no collateral or contract. Providing impoverished women access to this type of credit enables them to escape the vicious cycle of poverty by using their own energy and creativity to help themselves.

What makes microcredit so amazing is the fact that the loans are repaid and reloaned again and again, and when you make a donation, 100% of your contribution benefits microcredit clients because Whole Foods Market covers all operating expenses for Whole Planet Foundation. If you’re not near one of our stores, you can donate online or start your own campaign on Whole Planet Foundation’s website and spread awareness to your friends and family about how together we can help people change their own lives.  Read the stories of women who have benefitted from this support.

Click here to read the rest of the article and find out how to enter to win a 7-day trip for two to India: http://www.wholeplanetfoundation.org/blog/2012/02/whole-planet-foundation-2012-annual-prosperity-campaign/

Government to Buy More Biobased Products

[Be Green Packaging Note: In June 2011, Be Green Packaging received an official USDA Biobased Certification.  Our products were tested in the USDA Biobased program and were found to contain 96% biobased content, one of the highest results in the program.]

Read the article here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/environment/story/2012-02-21/biobased-products-government-boost/53181882/1

Be Green Packaging Sponsors 2012 Sustainable Packaging Coalition Spring Meeting

Every year, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition hosts its annual Spring Meeting, bringing together researchers, heads of business, innovators, and thought-leaders in the field of sustainable packaging for a three-day conference on the future of the industry.  This year, Be Green Packaging has announced that it will be one of the events primary sponsors.  As a long-standing member of the SPC, Be Green is proud to partner with the organization in support of their efforts and mission to further the ideals of sustainability in the packaging world.

This years event will be held in Toronto, Canada and will feature over 20 speakers from the sustainable packaging and related industries.  More info on the event including workshops, tours, and registration can be found on the SPC website here.

Be Green Partners With Whole Planet Foundation for Free Stuff Friday

TGIF, right? Well, if you had a busy week, you’re in for a treat. Be Green Packaging is offering, what I think, is one of the coolest prizes yet! 5 people will win a sampling of their product line of compostable plates, cups, bowls and more - perfect for a family picnic in the park (or wherever life takes you).

Be Green Packaging designs, manufactures, and distributes Cradle to Cradle™ certified, tree-free, compostable packaging for the food and industrial packaging industries. You know those containers at the Whole Foods Market food bar? Exactly.

Be Green Packaging’s business model has been created to address the international concern of teeming landfills and poor waste management. As a progressive, socially conscious, and for-profit company, they are driven to create and offer alternatives to traditional packaging, and to educate people about their impact on the environment. They make it easy for everyone to do their part for Mother Earth. Be Green is committed to offering the world a simple way to participate through the responsible use and disposal of packaging in their everyday lives!

In addition to being nominated for awards in social business innovation, their commitment to their corporate social responsibility, Be Green is a part of Whole Planet Foundation’s Ten Thousand Dollar Fund, donating $10,000 and changing the lives of 50 impoverished families for generations.

To enter the competition and read the rest of the article, follow this link: https://www.wholeplanetfoundation.org/blog/2012/02/free-stuff-friday-be-green-packaging/

Mike DeGruy: Filmmaker, Friend, and Father

On Saturday, February 4th, 2012 world-renowned filmmaker and Santa Barbara local Mike DeGruy passed away unexpectedly in a helicopter crash in Eastern Australia.  Mike was an “Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and marine biologist who through the lens of his submersible cameras transported viewers to the deepest crags of the oceans and face to face with swirling, pulsing sea creatures…” (LA Times).  Mike will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Hooked by an octopus: Mike deGruy on TED.com

Underwater filmmaker Mike deGruy has spent decades looking intimately at the ocean. A consummate storyteller, he takes the stage at Mission Blue to share his awe and excitement — and his fears — about the blue heart of our planet. (Recorded on the Mission Blue Voyage, April 2010 on the National Geographic Endeavor, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Duration: 16:10)

Justmeans Announces 2012 Social Innovation Awards Finalists: Be Green Up For an Award in Two Categories

[Be Green Packaging Comments - Be Green is in the running for an award in the following categories: Best Sustainability Performance & Best Product Design]

Originally appears at: http://3blmedia.com/theCSRfeed/Justmeans-Announces-2012-Social-Innovation-Awards-Finalists

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) February 3, 2012 – Since their inception in 2009, the Social Innovation Awards have become a barometer for innovation in both of the business and nonprofit sectors. And if 2012 is any indication, the landscape of innovation has shifted from previous years. Where as in the past the large-scale business sector dominated the social innovation arena, this year saw more interest and applications from the widest range of organizations to date. From small startup nonprofits to Fortune 100 companies and from the domestic companies to the international community, this year, applications came in from over 17 countries on all five continents.

The remainder of the article can be read here: http://3blmedia.com/theCSRfeed/Justmeans-Announces-2012-Social-Innovation-Awards-Finalists

Be Green Partners With The Santa Barbara International Film Festival in Support of the Arts

The Santa Barbara Film Festival is increasingly becoming a major stop on the worldwide film festival circuit.  Every year the event expands in scope and attracts some of the planets finest talent to the so-called ‘American Riveria’, which is converted for a 10-day period into a star-studded frenzy– complete with top-name actors, actresses, directors, and film enthusiasts.  For those living in Santa Barbara, the film festival has become the wintertime answer to the city’s infamous Summer Solstice parade.

As longstanding community partners with the SBIFF, Be Green donates its compostable and recyclable foodservice containers for use throughout the festival at various events and parties.  In addition to helping to raise awareness about alternatives to traditional plastic packaging, Be Green also sees the opportunity as a way to give back to the local community.  ”It’s truly a win-win situation.” commented Justin Faerman, Director of Media and Marketing at Be Green. “Our annual contribution to the film festival not only helps to support a local organization, but also exposes a group of influential people to sustainable packaging.  Events like these help spread the word that there are legitimate alternatives to styrofoam and plastic packaging and as the trend catches on, it will eventually help to shift our society towards packaging solutions that have a significant, positive impact on the health of our planet.”

To learn more about the film festival visit their website here: Santa Barbara International Film Festival