London, April 2023 – Curtis Packaging, a leading sustainable packaging manufacturer, is proud to announce its recent certification as a B Corporation™ (B Corp™), demonstrating the company’s continued commitment to producing beautiful, printed cartons with innovative design that are kind to the environment.

The B Corp certification, administered by the non-profit organisation B Lab, evaluates a company’s social and environmental performance through a rigorous review of the impact of its operations and business model on governance, workers, customers, communities, and the environment.

Curtis Packaging’s dedication to environmental responsibility is at the heart of the company, and the B Corp certification is a testament to its ongoing efforts. Based on the B Impact assessment, Curtis Packaging earned an overall score of 91.3, well above the median score for ordinary businesses who complete the assessment.

The company’s Managing Director, James Williams, stated that “joining a group of organisations with a shared belief will create a significant unified improvement to the environment. We are delighted to be the first UK carton manufacturer to have achieved this accreditation and become part of the B Corp community.”

Steve Mallett, Sales Director of Curtis Packaging, emphasized that “sustainability is an essential part of making sure we’re protecting our planet into the future,” and that the company’s adoption of Curtis the red-eyed tree frog as its representative was not just for the vibrancy of his colours, it is symbolic of its commitment to ensuring a stable climate and safe environment for all.

Steve went on to say, “I am proud that we began our environmental journey many years ago, long before accreditations like B Corp existed and along the way have received many accolades and reviews from our customers and national periodicals”.

Curtis Packaging will continue to increase its work in the community with innovations like the Curtis Centre of Excellence, which encourages the next generation of packaging designers, sponsoring Bee Hives with Bee1, and reaching out to local schools to help children understand the impact of climate change on the environment.

Curtis Packaging is proud to join the rapidly growing movement of more than 6,583 Certified B Corporations from 161 industries across 89 countries.

The company’s QHSE Director, Richard Pope, praised the staff for their efforts and whole-hearted buy-in to the Ethos of the Company, adding that “by adopting truly sustainable packaging, we’re helping to make sure Curtis the red-eyed tree frog has a positive future – but not only that; we’re also making sure we’re managing the planet and our finite resources in a way that means a positive and healthy future for all generations to come.”

Sustainable packaging specialist Curtis Packaging has done its part to help Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate her platinum jubilee by doing what it does best – helping to secure the planet for future generations.

This time, it’s through the Queen’s Green Canopy Initiative (QGC), which aims to celebrate the British monarch’s 70 years on the throne by encouraging people and companies to plant trees.

The initiative’s website explains, “Tree planting will commence in October 2022 through to the end of the jubilee year. With a focus on planting sustainably, the QGC will encourage the planting of trees to create a legacy in honour of the Queen’s leadership of the nation, which will benefit future generations.”

On top of this, the Queen’s Green Canopy will also dedicate a network of 70 ancient woodlands throughout the UK, as well as identifying 70 ancient trees. The number was specifically chosen to reflect the Queen’s 70 years of service.

Ovenden Papers, one of Curtis Packaging’s suppliers, has pledged to donate 250 trees to the Queen’s Green Canopy Initiative, and they reached out to Curtis to see if they’d be willing to help. Curtis Packaging agreed to pay for 25 trees, which Ovenden Papers will double to make 50. Given that a tree absorbs approximately 25 kilograms of CO² per year, the Curtis/Ovenden partnership will help to negate 1,250 kilograms of CO² every single year.

This commitment to the environment is clearly important to the royal family, as well as to the planet as a whole. Speaking during the Queen’s jubilee celebrations, Prince William made an emotional speech in which he pledged to “restore the environment”.

“I’m in awe of people like the great Sir David Attenborough, who look at the beauty and power of our earth and then work to celebrate and preserve it,” Prince William explained. “[Over the past century], mankind has benefited from unimaginable technological developments and scientific breakthroughs.

“And although those breakthroughs have increased our awareness of the impact humans have on our world, our planet has become more fragile. Today, in 2022, as the Queen celebrates her platinum jubilee, the pressing need to protect and restore our planet has never been more urgent. But like her, I am an optimist.”

Prince William went on to recognise that more and more businesses were getting involved in the fight to protect the planet, and he acknowledged that the climate movement is “spearheaded by an amazing and united generation of young people across the world.”

“Together,” Prince William concluded, “if we harness the very best of humankind and restore our planet, we will protect it for our children, for our grandchildren and for future generations to come.”

Curtis Packaging also carries out a variety of other conservation and preservation activities, such as sponsoring hives in partnership with Bee1 and adopting a red-eyed tree frog called Curtis. You might have seen Curtis on the side of the company’s vans.

Curtis is also ISO14001 and FSC® certified, and they were the first company in the UK to offer World Land Trust certified carbon balanced packaging. Since 2012, the company has helped to preserve over 100,000 m² of tropical rainforest.

A platinum jubilee happens only once in a lifetime, but for Curtis Packaging, sustainability and protecting the planet is part of business as usual. The jubilee was a great excuse for the company to do a little more for the environment, but the hard work is just beginning.

Congratulations again to Queen Elizabeth and the royal family on this iconic milestone! And if you haven’t already, please do consider planting a tree through the Queen’s Green Canopy Initiative by clicking this link to get started.

Sustainable packaging company Curtis Packaging has teamed up with Bee1 to combat the decline in bee populations and to help to pave the way towards a brighter future.

Bees pollinate 70% of everything that we eat, but they’ve also been in decline over the last 30 years. This has happened for many reasons, including loss of habitat, lack of awareness and increased pesticide use.

Almost all beekeeping in the UK is now carried out by volunteers and hobbyists. It’s impossible to overstate how important individual beekeepers are when it comes to safeguarding bumble bees and honeybees for present and future generations.

That’s why Curtis Packaging has partnered with Bee1, to support the growth of the bumble bee and honey bee populations and to safeguard our vulnerable ecosystem.

At Curtis Packaging, ‘sustainability’ is much more than just a buzzword, pun intended. The company’s sponsorship of Bee1 underscores its commitment to the environment by providing much-needed assistance to the vital pollinators that make the world around us possible.

Bee1 specialises in the delivery of corporate and social responsibility, focusing on the environment, biodiversity, education, community, health, mindfulness and wellbeing. Company founder Mark Douglas is a qualified beekeeper who combines his passion for bees with his determination to highlight local environmental challenges.

Mark Douglas explains, “We’re fanatical about protecting our vital ecological system and putting practical measures in place that will improve and preserve our planet for the wellbeing of future generations. We’re hugely excited to have found a likeminded ethical packaging company”.

“We have hives right across the UK including London, as well as currently 20 sited on our 800-acre farm above the Neath Valley looking out over Swansea Bay. Each hive has approximately 30,000 bees and pollinates circa 200 million plants, flowers and fruits within a three-mile radius. Together, the bees in these 20 hives pollinate around 4 billion plants.”

Bee1 is also working with Cardiff University to develop a beeswax wrap that’s designed to replace Clingfilm in the food industry. The beeswax wraps are reusable and are also more hygienic than traditional plastic wrapping.

Bee1’s initiatives help to provide suitable homes for bees to prosper and grow, and they achieve these goals in partnership with local businesses, schools and the community, as well as sponsors like Curtis Packaging.

Curtis Packaging is also continuing its sponsorship of a red eyed tree frog. Curtis the frog isn’t just an image – he’s a real red-eyed tree frog that the company adopted from Paignton Zoo. By adopting Curtis, the company helped to support the vital conservation work that the zoo carries out. His image is plastered across the side of their vehicles as they follow the company’s low-carbon footprint delivery schedules. 

These initiatives are part of Curtis Packaging’s wider commitment to the environment and sustainability. Each of their business operations is held up against stringent international standards by the world’s foremost environmental organisations. They’ve met or exceeded the standards of multiple prestigious organisations, including FSC® certification, PEFCTM certification, ISO 14001 accreditation, BPIF Zero Foil 2 Landfill accreditation and World Land Trust certification.

Medication Packaging Holdco Limited, owners of Medica Packaging Limited, a folding cartons and leaflet manufacturer, based in Crewe, Cheshire, is pleased to announce the acquisition of F.G. Curtis plc, a folding carton manufacturer based in Redhill, Surrey. The Curtis business has been operating for over 80 years, and specialises in the manufacture of folding cartons for the cosmetics and beauty markets. This successful business is a market leader in supplying sustainable packaging, supported by a strong ethos of environmental excellence achieved through conventional manufacturing methods and using the latest sustainable materials and technology.

F.G. Curtis will continue to be led by the current management team, headed up by James Williams, Managing Director, Ben Curtis, Commercial Director and Steve Mallet, Sales Director.

Gerard Harford and Mark Stokes, Directors of Medication Packaging Holdco Limited and Medica Packaging Limited, will also join the Curtis Board of Directors.

“This acquisition is complimentary to the Medica business, the larger Group will give both businesses a stronger market presence and there are opportunities to learn from each other’s strengths. The Curtis team have many years of knowledge and experience in the folding cartons sector and have built a very successful business”, said Harford.

Williams commented, “For the Curtis Family and senior management team it was important to find the best possible partner to help our continued growth, providing security and stability for the Curtis Team. We could not be more pleased than to be acquired by Medica Packaging, two long established British carton companies coming together to forge a bright future. We very much look forward to working with Gerard and his team”

F.G. Curtis and Medica Packaging will continue to trade under their existing names, reflecting the strong identity and reputation both businesses have already established.

The deal has been facilitated by financial support from Harwood Capital.

Additional funding was provided by Shawbrook Bank.

This year has been a tough year for all, no one could have foreseen the challenges 2020 would have brought.  The team at Curtis have shown their dedication and commitment through these testing times.  Pulling together to keep the business a success and continuing to put our customers first. 

On Wednesday 25^th November we were delighted to announce we won an award from the UK Packaging Awards for ‘Entrepreneurial Business of the Year’.

We would like to say a huge thank you to the team and to our customers for their continued support.  We couldn’t have done it without them.

Thank you!

Check out “UKPA 2020 – Entrepreneurial Business of the Year” from Impact CMW on Vimeo. at https://vimeo.com/483646893

You may also notice we have also been undergoing some rebranding, look out for Curtis the red-eyed tree frog he symbolises what we do, who we are and what we are about! 

A lovely thank you letter arrived at out our offices today from The Royal Surrey Hospital after our team in 3D Creative had been working tirelessly over the last three weeks producing the plastic visor for PPE equipment.

In that time they cut nearly 2000 plastic visors, together with the 3D printer at Frensham Heights School who produced the headbands we could supply The Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford with PPE equipment.

The rest of the Curtis team would like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved and to all our front line workers. 

The team at Curtis Packaging are running a colouring competition to help reduce those lockdown blues!

Why not help keep your home office looking tidy by designing your own personal pencil pot. 

To get you started email BridgetDuPlessis@curtispackaging.co.uk to receive your free set of colouring pencils sent straight to your door, we have 30 sets to give away. 

It’s open to all ages so why not get your children involved?  All you have to do is download the template (here)  and print it off.  Once your masterpiece is completed send to Bridget in the Customer Services team. (email above).

Be sure to state the artists name and age so we can judge accordingly.

Closing date is 15^th May 2020 so get colouring! 

Since 2010, the Two Sides campaign has changed or removed misleading environmental claims of over 500 organisations, including many of the world’s largest corporations.

2019 was the busiest year to date for Two Sides’ Anti-greenwash campaign. Globally, 388 organisations were found to be using unsubstantiated claims about print and paper’s impact on the environment. These organisations were identified by Two Sides throughout Europe, North and South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Two Sides are pleased to report that 131 of those organisations engaged in 2019 have removed or changed their messaging. This brings the total number of companies to over 500 since the campaign begun in 2010.

Read the full press release here

This story was originally published on: https://www.twosides.info/UK/two-sides-anti-greenwash-campaign-131-companies-remove-misleading-anti-paper-statements-in-2019/

Some of the Curtis team attended the 2019 PrintWeek Awards in October. This is one of the prestigious events in our calendar.

This year we were thrilled to be shortlisted for three awards. The evening was yet again superbly organised and was a great opportunity to catch up with fellow professionals in our industry.

It was a proud evening for James Williams, Managing Director, and all the staff at Curtis. We were shortlisted for Company of the Year; here we were highly commended for the second year running. We then went on to win Post Press Company of the Year. For this category, our Charlotte Tilbury packs were put forward to the judges. The Icon Palette packaging really caught the eye of the judges; they praised the intricate work quoting “This Company made the challenging look simple” adding “every sample submitted was perfect”.

The most momentous part of the evening was winning FMCG Packaging Printer of the Year for the third consecutive year! Our Neals Yard packaging submitted was said to have been “great examples of precision print with the feel of quality and the look of luxury”.

Steve Mallett, Sales Director, added “To be recognised for these awards reflects the passion that every member of our team demonstrates for every customer on every project we work on. Thrilled would be the one word I would use”.

The awards calendar is not yet finished for Curtis, we have been shortlisted for SME of the Year at the UK Packaging awards being held on the 7th November.

Curtis Packaging are proud to be sponsoring the Oakdale Runners from Poole.  On 21/22nd September a relay team will be taking part in the Reebok Ragnar – a 170-mile course from Sittingbourne to Brighton in aid of Target Ovarian Cancer. 

Whilst raising money for this very worthy charity the ladies are hoping to raise awareness to women of all ages. Ovarian cancer is the 5th most common cause of female cancer death and as yet there is no test to prove whether or not you have it. 

Setting a target of £5000 they have accomplished it!  Subsequently, raising their target and hoping to smash that one too!  

We wish all involved the best of luck and if you too would like to donate or know more, visit their virgin page with the following link.

Good luck ladies.