Plastic innovation challenge continues for second year
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The Circular Plastics Case Competition, a challenge for emerging business leaders to eliminate plastic waste in their operations using innovative solutions, has kicked off its second iteration.
The competition is the result of a partnership between Batesville-based Hillenbrand Inc., The Coca-Cola Company and California-based not-for-profit Net Impact.
Participants will seek to use more post-consumer recycled material while shifting status-quo industry ideas regarding plastic use, Hillenbrand said.
This year, the challenge will focus on adapting recycled polyethylene, which is often used in the packaging of food, beverages, cosmetics, and household products, into the supply chain and processes.
“The conversation around making a circular economy for plastics is dynamic and incredibly exciting, and this program brings emerging professionals into that conversation by allowing them to grapple first-hand with the complex questions that sustainability practitioners are facing today,” Net Impact CEO Karen Johns said in a news release. “Program participants will learn about material circularity, life cycle analysis, and responsible supply chain management and learn to think like a sustainability manager at a large corporation today.”
The inaugural competition in 2023 saw more than 150 participants from 13 countries.
Students and professionals alike are encouraged to apply, though existing businesses and startups that are worth or have raised more than $100,000 in capital are ineligible. Teams must include between two and five members.
Submissions are due at 11:59 p.m. March 29, and finalists will present virtually on a showcase broadcast during NPE, a international plastics trade show.
The first place winner will receive $10,000; second place will bank $2,500; and third place wins $1,000.