The winner of the Nordic Council Environment Prize 2017

Vinnare av Nordiska rådets miljöpris 2017
Photographer
Magnus Froderberg/norden.org
RePack from Finland has won the Nordic Council Environment Price 2017. Director Jonne Hellgren accepted the prize at the award ceremony in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, on 1 November.

The Adjudication Committee wrote:

E-commerce is growing rapidly in the Nordic Region and the rest of the world. Volume is expected to double in the next few years. It is a trend with multiple implications for the environment, not least due to the massive use of disposable packaging. While the Adjudication Committee remains critical of the general tendency toward higher levels of consumption, it notes with satisfaction that the Finnish company RePack has managed to solve part of the problem by developing a practical and reusable packaging and return system for e-commerce.

The Environment Prize 2017 goes to RePack because its product turns the environment into a business opportunity, using accessible and innovative techniques to draw attention to opportunities for recycling and highlight the unnecessary use of resources and generation of waste. The company also works with consumers to reduce the volume of waste. The Repack carrier bag is made of recycled plastic bags and can be reused up to 20 times. 75% of its bags are returned to the company. RePack is a market-driven environmental initiative with the potential to be rolled out in many other countries and sectors.