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 Innovation Takes Root 2012, Program Announced!
February, 20-22 | Orlando, FL
The biennial global biopolymers forum Innovation Takes Root (ITR) delivers a unique conference and exhibition for those now actively pursuing Ingeo applications and those desiring to learn more about this important and growing class of biopolymers. The newly announced special focus tracks for this conference are designed to highlight the evolving technologies, markets and legislative issues in the Ingeo green market space.
Special focus tracks include:
- Advances in Ingeo Packaging Films
- Ingeo in Fibers and Nonwovens
- Expanding Ingeo Applications in Durable Products
- Growth of Ingeo Lactides and Lactide Derivatives
 Driving Economics to Sustainable Commercialization - Opportunities in Food Service and Food Packaging
- Legislative and Regulatory Issues
Read more about the ITR 2012 program & speakers >
Early-bird registration is now open and runs through October 31 for ITR 2012 at the Omni Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida. Save over $200 off the regular conference price by registering today!
For the latest updates & speaker announcements:
 Follow us on Twitter (@natureworksllc)
 Sign up for our events emails.
NatureWorks receives 2011 Leader of Change nomination from the Foundation for Social Change and United Nations Office for Partnerships
 The award recognizes visionary executives of companies, financial institutions, and advocacy groups that have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to the pursuit of sustainability. Read the press release.
 NatureWorks CEO Marc Verbruggen on Green Jobs
NatureWorks President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Marc Verbruggen recently spoke before the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. His topic was the potential for improving the job picture in rural America through the sustainable biochemical industry. Read Dr. Verbruggen's complete testimony or watch the full hearing video.
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Ingeo product & partner developments
DURABLES
 LG Hausys, Seoul, South Korea, developed the world’s first biopolymer flooring and wallpaper – both made with Ingeo. One model of the new laminated flooring simulates wood parquet. In addition to Ingeo, both flooring and wallpaper feature environmentally safe materials. These new products for home and office eschew such chemicals as formaldehyde and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
FIBERS & NONWOVENS
 Elements Naturals®, the company that developed the first 100% biobased baby wipe, has earned the coveted B Corporation certification – a certification awarded only to those organizations that use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. There are fewer than 500 B-certified corporations in the world.
 Renewable Fibers LLC, an international manufacturer, converter and printer of 100% Ingeo nonwovens spunbond material, offers promotional bags and reusable shopping totes made from Ingeo. Available in a variety of colors and sizes, these bags offer superior softness, strength and water resistance.
FOOD SERVICEWARE
 Stalk Market products and Ingeo are featured in a series of public service announcements (PSAs) by the Portland Trail Blazers. At the Trail Blazers’ home arena, the Rose Garden, 90% of the food and beverage disposables are compostable, while an eye-popping 80% of the stadium’s overall waste is now being diverted from landfills. Waste-stream related costs have fallen at the arena due to reductions in landfill tipping fees and solid waste hauling charges. Petroleum-based plastics are no longer used at the Rose Garden Arena. Watch the video PSA.
 Repurpose Compostables developed a paper and Ingeo coated insulated cup as an alternative to Styrofoam hot cups. This award winning cup keeps beverages warmer longer, is more comfortable to hold than similar cups, and is made predominately from renewable based materials (paper and plant based plastic) and is compostable. The Repurpose cup was recently honored with a first place prize for Best New Product in the sustainability category at the Specialty Coffee Association of America annual conference and a first place prize for the Most Innovative New Product at the Coffee Fest annual conference. Repurpose has also recently developed a matching BPI certified cPLA Ingeo hot lid, allowing a complete compostable solution for serving hot drinks. The Repurpose lid is formulated to add strength and flexibility, allowing customers to easily put on and remove the lid and is heat resistance up to 200 degrees F.
 Earlier this year Couleur Café, the 20-year-old Belgium music festival that attracts more than 80,000 people annually, received the Belgian Biopackaging Association’s Bio Packaging Award. To decrease the amount of plastic waste generated at the festival from ending up in landfills, organizers specified that only Huhtamaki cold drink cups made from Ingeo were used on the festival’s grounds. Festival goers took cups back to “Recup” collection points or disposed of them in specially marked bins. To decrease litter, anyone bringing 40 cups to a Recup site received a free drink. The bioplastic cups from the Recup sites and bins were subsequently transported to Galactic, where they were recycled back into lactic acid, the basic building block of Ingeo for cradle-to-cradle reuse.
FILMS
 Excellent Packaging is now offering a range of Ingeo-based clear, re-sealable “lip-n-tape” bags for retailers to use for snacks and sandwiches. When announcing the new line, company president Allen King said, "There is really no need to package your (retailer’s) food in oil-based products since these bio-based alternatives perform just as well and deliver a powerful environmental statement." Read more.
 Taghleef Industries of Dubai developed an Ingeo compostable film that is utilized by the global floral industry for wrapping fresh flowers. This innovation earned Taghleef a Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association 2011 Innovation award. Read more.
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Biobased & USDA BioPreferred
 NatureWorks was one of the first 11 companies to receive the BioPreferred designation for Ingeo, which is certified 100% biobased. Other companies receiving BioPreferred certification with Ingeo based products include:
 Clear Lam Packaging for its 99% biobased thermoformed produce containers. Clear Lam was the first company to receive a BioPreferred certification.
 Fabri-Kal for its 100% biobased Greenware cold drink cups and lids.
 World Centric for its biobased paper hot cups with Ingeo lining.
 Stalk Market for its 100% biobased Planet+ Ingeo hot cups and its Jaya line of Ingeo clear cups and containers. The company’s hot cup lids and line of CPLA cutlery are certified 97% biobased.
Elements Naturals for its 99% biobased baby wipes.
The BioPreferred program, which was introduced earlier this year, is designed to help consumers and Federal Agencies easily identify products that are made from renewable resources. Federal Agencies give preference to biobased products when purchasing decisions are made. Although Ingeo is 100% biobased, finished products like containers or cutlery may be certified at less than 100% because sometimes finished products require additives or are blended with other plastics to meet strength, stiffness, heat resistance, and other performance requirements.
@natureworksllc on Twitter
 We're excited to announce that we're now on Twitter! For the latest news updates on NatureWorks, our partners, Innovation Takes Root (#ITR12) and the occasional cool video be sure to follow us at @natureworksllc.
IN THE NEWS
 For the North American market’s first bioplastic yogurt packaging, Stonyfield Farm has won awards from the Packaging Association, Greener Package and DuPont. This packaging is 93% Ingeo.
 PepsiCo Foods Canada received an innovation award from the Packaging Association for the snack food company’s Ingeo-based SunChips compostable chip bag.
NatureWorks plans major investment at biopolymer plant.
NatureWorks will offer new high-performance Ingeo resins and lactides in 2013
INDUSTRY NEWS
 Sustainability in Action, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing sustainable operating practices to the corporate community, recently recognized NatureWorks' Doug Kunnemann, Foodservice Director, and Chris Moyer, National Restaurant Association Conserve Program Director, for their contributions as co-chairs for the Sustainable Food Court Initiative. This initiative is an industry task force dedicated to bringing zero waste programs to food court operations, developing industry sustainable best practices for Back-of-the-House and Front-of-the-House operations, and active participation on the POWER (Perishable Organics Waste to Energy Recycling) Steering Committee. Read more about Elemental Impact.
 NatureWorks Mark Vergauwen, Commercial Director Europe, has been elected Vice-Chairman of the European Bioplastics Association. Read more.
 Britain rewards utility companies for using renewable resources to generate electricity and assesses a charge to those utilities that do not meet their “Renewable Obligations.” Many utilities burn household refuse to generate electricity, and until now it’s been impossible to distinguish non-renewable petroleum products from biopolymers. Such a distinction would help the utility to meet is Renewable Obligations. Now Carbon 14 dating, the same process used in archeology, has been found to be useful in distinguishing which household wastes such as packaging are made from renewable materials and which are not. Read more.
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