Curtis Packaging announced today that they are the first 100% carbon neutral printing and packaging company in North America.

The luxury folding carton manufacturer is a leader in the industry for its environmental stewardship. During the last five years Curtis has been identifying, assessing, and reducing internal aspects that contribute to their carbon footprint. As a result, the company became the first printing and packaging company in the United States to be both FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified and use 100% renewable energy to power all of their operations.

“We are very proud to take our commitment with the environment a step further by taking responsibility for our carbon footprint and offsetting our emissions,” said Don Droppo, Jr., Curtis’ Senior Vice President of Marketing. “Working with The CarbonNeutral Company, headquartered in London, UK, the company’s remaining unavoidable CO₂ emissions will now be neutralized by investing in a portfolio of independently audited high quality projects. Curtis will be supporting the Mynydd-Y-Garnedd forestry project in Wales and the Rhine-Ruhr methane capture project in Germany.”

“Curtis Packaging really deserves congratulations for going ‘carbon neutral’ on top of using 100% renewable energy in their manufacturing operation in Newtown,” said Governor M. Jodi Rell. “They are proving that making a commitment to good energy policy and environmental stewardship makes good business sense.”

“Curtis Packaging is also setting a great example of the ‘OneThing’ spirit,” Governor Rell said. “The ‘OneThing’ campaign mission is to encourage each of us to contribute something, every day, to reduce consumption and preserve the environment. Curtis Packaging is actually doing a lot more than ‘OneThing’ a day, and I appreciate their contributions to Connecticut’s green future.”

Curtis, which has been in business since 1845, has always been a corporate leader in Connecticut. Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) president and CEO John R. Rathgeber praised Curtis, a CBIA member, for voluntarily committing to not only purchase clean energy but to also limit and offset its emissions. “Curtis has a long and distinguished history of commitment to the Newtown community and the state. This latest achievement will make them a model for other small to mid-sized manufacturers and other businesses to follow here in Connecticut and nationally,” said Rathgeber.

“It is great to see one of the leading packaging companies in the U.S. taking this issue seriously and working hard to achieve CarbonNeutral® status” said Mark Armitage, President, U.S. of The CarbonNeutral Company “We hope Curtis Packaging’s stance will encourage other businesses to follow suit and reduce their carbon emissions.”