Coveris has received the Green Packaging Star Award 2025 for its SleeveFlexR Stretch solution, which the jury recognised in the category Environmentally Friendly Production Process. The distinction was presented during the Fachpack trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Delivering on the company’s No Waste vision, the European packaging manufacturer developed the recyclable sleeves to enter existing collection streams and to support circular packaging models.
SleeveFlexR Stretch is positioned as the first solution to enable a genuine sleeve to sleeve recycling loop. The lightweight, elastic sleeves are intended for applications across beverages, dairy, household and personal care products, as well as speciality and agrochemicals. Depending on the variant, they contain up to 75 per cent high-quality post-consumer recycled material and can be reprocessed using Coveris’ proprietary ReCover recycling technology.
The solution combines resource conservation with functionality. Being PE-based, the sleeves are applied without heat or adhesives, which facilitates easy removal and clean separation in established recycling streams. In its 75 per cent PCR version, SleeveFlexR Stretch reduces CO2 emissions, energy use and water consumption by around 50 per cent compared to conventional virgin-material alternatives. The sleeves also enable full-surface decoration that conceals the recycled content of bottles or containers, supporting an appealing presentation of the finished product on shelf.
Industry recognition
"The Green Packaging Star Award win highlights our innovative strength and our strong commitment to the circular economy," said Christian Kolarik, CEO of Coveris. "With our new sleeve solution, we have demonstrated that resource efficiency, recyclability and brand presence can be seamlessly combined. This achievement is the result of the dedicated efforts of our team led by Product Manager Thorsten Umek, whose expertise and passion were key to winning this award."
About the award
The Green Packaging Star Awards are presented annually by the Austrian trade magazine Kompack, in cooperation with the Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry. The awards aim to showcase pioneering developments and encourage a more sustainable approach to packaging.
Receiving the Green Packaging Star Award, from left to right: Johannes Bergmair, General Secretary World Packaging Organisation, Thorsten Umek, Product Sleeve Manager Coveris, Philipp Niehues, Business Development Director Coveris, Harald Eckert, editior
