Building on research conducted in 2018 on the clear and positive link between high levels of psychological safety and a strong teamwork culture, Richard Smith, Professor of Strategic Management and Deputy Dean (Programmes) at the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, has now dug deeper by focusing on diversity. How does closing the gender gap within organisations in Asian countries impact overall company performance? Are employees more productive, or less, with a sense of belonging to the workplace? In this podcast, Professor Smith discusses the key findings of his research conducted in collaboration with consultancy group Great Place to Work Institute Singapore. The rigorous study, one of the largest in Asia to highlight gender differences, surveyed over 400,000 employees from more than 800 organisations located across eight countries in the Asia Pacific.

So you've always wanted to be an iceberg, to travel the world, bestowing fresh water and, just in general, being awesome? Here's how: 

The post #AntarcticLog: Being Berg  appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

“Many STEM professionals hold the misconception that engaging in science communication can hinder the progress of budding and established research careers. However, it is not necessary to choose between engaging in outreach and conducting research.

The post Science Communication: How it benefits a STEM research career appeared first on The Plainspoken Scientist.

On Tuesday, 9 July the full House Appropriations Committee marked up their Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior and Environment, and Energy and Water spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2025. These bills collectively set the spending amounts for U.S. federal science agencies, including NASA, NOAA, NSF, USGS, EPA, the Department of Energy. Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Congress established spending caps for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The Act allows only a 1% …

The post FY25 Appropriations overview part 1: House spending numbers mark weak support for science appeared first on The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy.

In this Bridge post, continued from our FY25 Appropriations Overview Part 1 blog, we’ll cover the House’s Interior-Environment, Energy-Water, and Labor-Health and Human Services (HHS) spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2025—detailing relevant funding levels and sharing committee report highlights that impact the Earth and space sciences.   House Interior-Environment Appropriations bill and accompanying report.   United States Geological Survey (USGS) FY2024 President’s Budget Request FY2025 AGU Request FY2025 House …

The post FY25 Appropriations overview part 2: House spending numbers mark weak support for science appeared first on The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy.

The Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA), the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and NürnbergMesse today announced that registration and housing are now open...

FPSA, IDFA, and NurenbergMesse announced that this year’s largest US food and beverage packaging and processing event - PROCESS EXPO, the International Dairy Show and Interbev - has exceeded 300,000 square feet for the show in September.

From increased regulation, to a growing emphasis on food safety, to changing workforce and customer demographics, food processors and their vendors and partners are facing a period of unprecedented change.

As the Packaging Strategies ranking of the largest beverage packaging companies demonstrates, the big just keep getting bigger. Since its merger with SAB Miller in late 2016, Anheuser-Busch InBev has become the undisputed king of the beverage world, leading the list for the second year in a row.

This year, we compiled an overall, more robust top food and beverage packaging companies list. The list may look different all in one, but there are the same placements near the top.

An initiative from three of America's biggest beverage companies, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Keurig Dr. Pepper, aims to improve the recycling and processing of plastic bottles.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has seen various food and beverage trends change drastically from pre-COVID. Consumers didn’t take to it well in March, but mid-summer they have seemed to settle into the “next normal.” Here are some of the most notable trends from this year, along with the Top 100 List on the following pages.

2020 was a year like no other. Yet despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, most top food and beverage brands remained stable. In fact, the food and beverage industry is one of the only consumer product sectors to grow in the year.

Despite the challenges, the combined revenue of the food and beverage market this year was $435.3 billion and is expected to grow to a staggering $857B by 2025.*

Many food and beverage companies have dialed in to consumer preferences, and incorporated healthier options, as well as sustainable products.

The global pharmaceutical packaging market is set to grow over 5% year-over-year in 2019, and bottles will remain highly sought after, followed by blisters, vials and ampoules.

For pharmaceutical manufacturers, measuring and controlling moisture content is critical to ensure product safety, quality and efficient production since the amount of moisture in deliverables can have diverse effects when converting feedstock into products such as tablets, capsules, gel or liquid-based products.

PA and PulPac created the Blister Pack Collective to limit the use of non-recyclable plastics in over-the-counter and prescription drug packaging through cross-industry collaboration.

The partnership aims to facilitate the industrialization of complex products such as coffee capsules and blister packaging.

As COVID-19 affected both manufacturers and worldwide shipping, automation has helped companies do more with less. 

Ries products are reusable, recyclable and made of earth-kind (and non-toxic) materials.

A glue-free label solution, Molded Fiber Labeling involves 100% mono-material packaging that can be fully recycled or composted.

Despite the steady drumbeat of “less is more” when it comes to packaging, Eldon Schaffer of TekniPlex Consumer Products makes a case for the continued use of container liners, citing several of their invaluable contributions.

Businesses are seeking innovative ways to reduce their environmental impact and invest in sustainability. A Gartner survey found that 87% of business leaders plan to increase their sustainability investment in the next two years. There is pressure from investors, supply chains, and consumers to make more sustainable decisions.

Now available in downsized diameters of 13.5-16mm, the tiny tubes expand Neopac’s award-winning line of high-barrier mono-material solutions, and amount to a significant advancement in sustainability-minded high-barrier packaging technology.

At its Booth W-19027, the company will showcase Vial Protect Pack II, a robust, multilayer vial protection/labeling solution for high-value or high-potency drug applications whose container breakage rates must be near-zero.

Acquisition expands the company's footprint in Asia-Pacific and strengthens its beauty and cosmetic packaging offering.

Businesses can order quantities as low as 5,000 pieces, providing an ideal solution for start-up operations, SMEs, and new product development trials.

All of Ultra Solo’s components – cap, pump engine, actuator and bottle – are polyethylene (PE). As such, the whole product boasts 100% recyclability.

The 250ml Domino bottle includes a 75-mm-wide front face and customizable side panels.

Available in sizes from one to 30 liters, Politainer comprises a polyethylene container held within a sturdy cardboard outer.

The refill system consists of a removable 75 ml refill pack made of recyclable PP that needs to be replaced approximately every three months.

The event is expected to attract more than 70,000 visitors and 2,000 exhibitors, making it an excellent opportunity to connect with industry leaders and explore the latest developments in the Middle East’s beauty industry.

The Better With Less – Design Challenge had an international jury including packaging design experts from various fields related to packaging, design, brand strategy and innovation. After the judging concluded and the finalists chosen, a roundtable panel discussed what they saw as well as the challenges facing the packaging community.

Sustainability is an important topic for brands and converters, and this applies to paper, film, plastic and any product on the market. Pressure-sensitive labels play a big part in sustainability. Although over the years there has been a reduction in paper use, companies are still looking for ways to better enable recycling.

The new labels are designed to attract attention and are easy to read on store shelves.

The refillable aluminum line pairs with Cleancult’s game-changing 100% recyclable paper-based refill cartons to remove 90% of plastic waste from cleaning rituals.

Lineup includes keynote speaker Francisco Garcia, COO & Co-Founder of E6PR and Co-Founder of ENTELEQUIA, the largest compostable packaging company in Mexico. 

Founded in Chicago in 1959 by the late Charles Colbert, the company has grown organically and through acquisition, and remains an independent, family-owned business.

Bubble cushioning, inflatable air pillows and bubble mailers supplied by Sealed Air all include recycled content.

In this year’s research by Industrial Physics, 47% of packaging professionals surveyed shared that they’ve had to delay innovation while they search for an external packaging and material testing expert. 

Acquisition expands the company's local footprint in Asia-Pacific and offers exciting new packaging solutions to customers worldwide.

Best practices at the highly automated Mountain View Foods plant in Denver preserve milk’s freshness and help Kroger develop innovative dairy-based products.

The gradual commercialization of Near Field Communication products show how companies like Thin Film Electronics (Thinfilm) are pushing the integration of electronic intelligence into everyday products such as packaging labels.

Earlier this month, Candy Industry Magazine hosted its 17th annual European Suppliers Roundtable in London.

Cookies, chips, snack cakes, crackers and so on no longer dominate snack time. Consumers are branching out into healthier snack, snacks as meal replacements and eating single servings of just about any food.

More than two decades ago, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, welcomed the packaging industry to the Las Vegas desert with a goal to convene end users and suppliers in the odd number years in between PACK EXPO International in Chicago...

Packaging innovations are helping to drive growth in the beverage market, according to the “Beverage Packaging and Innovation Trends” report published by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.