ALPLA Sustainability Award 2025: innovation, commitment and real impact
With the internal ALPLA Sustainability Award, the company once again honoured projects and initiatives in 2025 that specifically and measurably promote sustainability within the company. Three winning projects were selected from 39 submissions that exemplify effective solutions along the three pillars of People, Planet and Profitability.
First place was awarded to the ALPLA team in Thailand for a closed-loop project with local customers.
High participation, wide range of topics
In 2025, ALPLA once again honoured those projects that promote sustainability within the company along the three pillars of people, planet and profitability with the internal Sustainability Award. With 39 projects and initiatives submitted, the Sustainability Award 2025 recorded an increase of around 35 per cent compared to the previous year. The Mexico & Central America region was particularly well represented. In terms of content, the projects reflected the entire spectrum of the sustainability strategy and impressively demonstrated the innovative strength, sense of responsibility and local commitment of the ALPLA teams worldwide. In 2025, the focus was on product development and initiatives with local communities to raise awareness of plastics, waste avoidance and the circular economy.
"Every year, the Sustainability Award shows anew how much creative drive and innovative strength there is in our teams worldwide. It is particularly impressive that many projects address local challenges and at the same time have a global impact," says Linda Staib, Senior Corporate Sustainability Manager at ALPLA.
After a pre-selection of ten submissions by the Corporate Sustainability Team, a three-member jury selected the three winning projects for the ALPLA Sustainability Award 2025.
First place: Closed Loop Recycling - Thailand
The first-placed project impressively demonstrates how the circular economy works in practice. Together with ENVICCO and the local customers Neo Corporate and I.P ONE, ALPLA has established a completely closed recycling loop for HDPE bottles. Collected bottles are sorted by the customer, processed into high-quality recyclate at ENVICCO and then moulded by ALPLA into new bottles that are reintroduced to the market. The project combines material circularity, CO₂ reduction and security of supply while strengthening long-term customer partnerships.
Second place: PET Collection "Fish Buddy" - South Africa
With the "PET Fish Buddy" project, ALPLArecycling is focussing on environmental education and community involvement in South Africa. Large, fish-shaped collection bins at schools serve as collection points for PET bottles and make recycling tangible for children and families. The project not only increases the amount of PET collected for the ALPLArecycling plant in Ballito, but also actively contributes to reducing littering. At the same time, it promotes awareness of the circular economy far beyond schools.
Third place: Ultra-Lightweight CSD Bottle (600 ml) - Mexico
The third-placed project stands for sustainable and long-term product development. The team in Mexico developed an ultra-light 600 ml CSD bottle weighing just 15.3 grams for the customer Coca-Cola FEMSA. This corresponds to a reduction of almost 50% over the last 25 years. This was achieved through intelligent design and minimal mould adaptations without compromising on performance or recyclability. The impressive result brings significant material and CO₂ savings as well as a scalable solution for other product portfolios.
Recognition for all nominees
In addition to the three winning projects, the other seven nominated initiatives and all other submissions also deserve great recognition. They make an important contribution to the implementation of the ALPLA sustainability strategy - be it through technological innovations, social projects or improvements in processes and value chains. The Sustainability Award 2025 makes it clear once again: sustainability at ALPLA is lived practice - worldwide, diverse and measurable.
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