Henkel wins FINAT Sustainability Award 2024 for adhesive innovation

Henkel Adhesive Technologies has been presented with the FINAT Sustainability Award 2024 in the “Optimisation of recycling” category. The company received the award at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Amsterdam. The award of FINAT, the international association for the European label industry, was presented in recognition of Henkel’s innovative activities in developing a sustainable wash-off adhesive that significantly improves the recycling process for PET bottles. 

The long-running FINAT Sustainability Awards honor outstanding sustainability initiatives in the label industry. A total of 28 entries were submitted for the 2024 edition of the awards, ranging from innovative adhesives to new recycling methods. Henkel received the award in the “Optimisation of recycling” category for its product Aquence PS 3017 RE, a water-based acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive that is specially designed for olefinic filmic labels used for PET bottles. The panel of judges for the FINAT Sustainability Awards highlighted benefits such as the low washing temperature for some selected label constructions, which was seen as a welcome addition in the market bringing positive energy impact, along with the fact that it can be used on PET trays and offers superior non water whitening effect for clear labels.

Unlike conventional adhesives, Aquence PS 3017 RE offers excellent wash-off efficiency at temperatures as low as 65 degrees Celsius, significantly reducing the amount of energy used in the recycling process. It also safeguards the purity and value of the recycled PET materials. The recyclability of Aquence PS 3017 RE has been certified by the cyclos-HTP institute. Besides meeting the requirements of the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the product also provides an answer to the rising demand for sustainable label solutions.

Since its successful market launch at the Labelexpo in 2023, Aquence PS 3017 RE has already attracted a great deal of interest from label manufacturers and brand owners alike. The solution was tested on Henkel Consumer Brands’ high-speed labeling systems at speeds of up to 300 labels per minute and qualified for well-known cleaning product brands. “We plan to step up our collaboration with label manufacturers to promote the adhesive’s use in additional applications involving polyolefinic (PO) labels on PET bottles and containers. We also aim to further optimize the product for other packaging solutions,” says Elodie Picard, Head of Sustainability Packaging at Henkel.