Finland-based Metsä Board, a leading European producer of paperboards, including folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraft liners, has announced it has opened registration for the Better with Less—Design Challenge packaging design competition.

Registration for the packaging design competition runs from Nov. 7, 2017, to March 31, 2018. Entries can be submitted at www.betterwithless.org/participate.

“Billions of consumer packages are consumed globally every day, and the amount is growing,” says Metsä Board in a press release. “The Better with Less—Design Challenge is challenging packaging designers to create ever more environmentally friendly, functional packaging solutions for everyday goods. The international competition jury includes renowned packaging design experts.”

The company adds, “The high amount of plastic used in packaging is an international concern, in part because globally the plastic waste inputs into the oceans amount annually to almost nine million tons.”

Organized by Metsä Board, the company says the international packaging design competition aims to find new packaging solutions for some of the world’s most frequently used and fastest growing types of consumer packages. These areas include cosmetics, dry food, e-commerce, takeaway meals, wellness and “wild card,” an area Metsä Board says can include “design packaging for consumer goods of your choosing.”

The competition will be judged by an international jury, including a number of renowned packaging design experts, says Metsä Board, including, Terri Goldstein, branding and packaging design professional; Peter Désilets, strategist and specialist in packaging sustainability aspects; Marianne Rosner Klimchuk, packaging design expert and chair at Communication Design Pathways Department of Fashion Institute of Technology; Lars G. Wallentin, packaging designer who has worked with worldwide known brands; and John B. Mahaffie, futurist with primary expertise in future packaging solutions.

Cyril Drouet, design and innovation director, Metsä Board, says, “Packaging design can have a big impact on the environment. We need to come up with new solutions and consider future generations—and think of ways we can create better consumer experiences that create less impact on the environment.”

Drouet, who also serves as competition jury chairman and member of the competition jury, adds, “With this competition, we aim to help advance innovative and sustainable packaging design in the world.”

The main prize for the Better with Less—Design Challenge is €$10,000.

The competition also is open to students. As an additional prize, Metsä Board says it will offer the opportunity of an internship for one student with its packaging services team in Shanghai.

The finalists and the winners will be announced in spring 2018.