Mondi: An Evening with PERGRAPHICA® - Design for a Sustainable Future

On September 15, around 60 creative minds came together in Vienna who see sustainability and high-quality design as a combination for the future. Every print project should convey a message, appeal to the senses, trigger emotions. But good print design today has to fulfill a much more important purpose: to help protect the planet. Experts in sustainability in design, print and paper presented their views on the subject and discussed with the participants what role they play as creatives in sustainable print projects.

Cora Akdoğan, creative director and co-managing director of Capitale, discussed in her keynote the key questions creatives should ask themselves when designing for a sustainable future. She urged designers to embrace their responsibility as part of the world. "Sustainability is a mindset of rethinking the tried and true and seeking lasting engagement," Akdoğan said. "The days when it is enough for designers to only deal with the end product are over. To enable sustainable design, creatives need to understand and think about the entire product lifecycle and associated processes - the responsibility doesn't stop with the delivery of the print data," she urged the participants.

Christian Döllner, Project Manager at the foil manufacturer LEONHARD KURZ, shed light on the sustainability aspect of print production finishing. After all, sustainable projects can also be finished in a sustainable manner. For example, paper finished with Kurz transfer materials remains recyclable: only an extremely thin metallized layer of the transfer film remains on the paper, which can be removed during the de-inking process. Döllner used a packaging project for the PUPA Milano brand to demonstrate the impressive combination of KURZ transfer materials and PERGRAPHICA®.

Paying attention to sustainability when it comes to paper is crucial for printing projects. Sandra Schmidt from Europapier and Sabine Matschedolnig from Mondi explained what PERGRAPHICA® has to offer in this regard: The entire portfolio is CO2-neutral by default, is manufactured in Austria and meets the strict international requirements of FSCTM and the EU Ecolabel. At the end of 2021, PERGRAPHICA® achieved Cradle to Cradle Certified® certification at bronze level, as did the entire branded uncoated fine paper portfolio from Austria and Slovakia. All these certifications contribute to Mondi's Action Plan 2030, which aims, among other things, to strengthen the circular economy. The goal is to make all packaging and paper solutions reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.