An innovative and pioneering system involving smart and circular packaging, the digitalization of wholesale purchase and the automation of the processes, receives the €25,000 prize.
Novo Verde, announces ZeroCups as the winning project in the latest edition of the Novo Verde Packaging Enterprise Award. The awards ceremony took place on the 6th of June and the Secretary of State for Environment and Energy, João Galamba, attended the opening session.
The winning project, ZeroCups, is the result of a joint venture between The Loop Company and Loja Do Zero. It is an innovative and pioneering system of large-scale retailing with the aim of replacing single-use packaging with smart reusable packaging (ZERO Cups) with full history, traceability and measurement of environmental impact throughout its life.
Pedro Simões adds that “choosing the winner of the Novo Verde Packaging Enterprise Award was challenging, as the five finalists presented solutions that were absolutely in line with the mission of this award – to promote the best circular economy solutions in packaging. The ZeroCups project stood out for its innovation, the way it rethought packaging and, above all, its impact on the consumer. The fact that this project aimed to replace single-use packaging with smart reusable packaging – Zero Cups – has been crucial.”
The aeroREPC project received an honourable mention for bringing together two areas that are currently considered top scientific topics: Aerogels and waste reuse. The aeroREPC project, which focuses on the development of new aerogels from post-consumer packaging (REPC) waste, is expected to make a significant contribution to the circular economy by aiming to create new value-added products from waste.
The Novo Verde Packaging Enterprise Awards recognize innovative solutions in the packaging sector and culminated in an event where the five finalists presented their projects to a jury composed of Fernanda Ferreira Dias, Director General of Economic Activities, Gonçalo Lobo Xavier, Chairman of the Portuguese Association of Distributors, Nuno Lacasta, Chairman of the Portuguese Environment Agency, Paulo Praça, Chairman of the Waste Management Association and Ricardo Neto, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Novo Verde.
This edition of the Novo Verde Packaging Enterprise Award received numerous applications, which were evaluated by the Monitoring Committee, composed of Novo Verde and EY (Ernst & Young), according to strict analysis criteria established in the program regulations.