During FTA Forum 2019, taking place this week in New Orleans, FTA has announce the recipients of the 2019 Sustainability Excellence Award are IGT Global Solutions, for its volatile organic compound (VOC) reduction program, and Comexi, for the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of its F2 MC flexo press.

One of IGT Global Solutions’ primary products is instant lottery tickets. IGT wanted to produce a more sustainable printing operation that would have less of an environmental impact, increase press efficiency, reduce operational costs and minimize hazardous waste. The company received a 2019 FTA Sustainability Excellence Award in the Sustainability Programs category for implementing a VOC reduction program in its flexographic printing operation, transitioning from using solvent inks to a full water-based ink system.

After the transition to a full water-based ink system in 2017, 2018 was the first full year IGT used this new system. In addition to using full water-based ink, IGT experienced optimized job changeover times, minimized materials waste and increased print quality. The printer reduced VOC output in 2018 by 66 percent when compared to 2015. IGT has also experienced 40 percent sales growth.

The second winner, Comexi began developing the LCA as a decision-making tool for its F2 MC flexo press in 2017. It is the first part of this project that earned this company a 2019 FTA Sustainability Excellence Award in the Innovations in Sustainability category. Promoting healthier working conditions, the LCA examines the environmental, social and economic impacts of the machine in order to make improvements across the board.

Creating a tool that can quantify and compare a project’s environmental impact usage and the entire life cycle of the F2 MC, Comexi says the data collection has yielded environmental improvements in every aspect of the machine’s use, from beginning to end. Aside from having a positive impact on the engineering departments, other areas of Comexi have also been positively affected, including sustainability, procurement, marketing, and technical and operational teams.