Constellium: Honoring Special Employees with Special Materials
Creating A Custom Sustainable Award for Constellium and Helping Our Planet
In modern America, we interact with aluminum every day: from soda cans to airplanes to essential parts of the cars we drive, and Constellium is one of the global leaders making this possible. In February of 2020, Constellium contacted us with a strong interest in sustainable awards that would align with their mission as innovators in the recycling of aluminum for a more sustainable economy and world. Our Awardology awards ended up being the perfect option as eco-friendly awards which use recyclable aluminum, in addition to other recyclable materials, in the same resource-preserving cyclical system that Constellium proudly supports and advances.
At Bennett Awards, we are thrilled to hear about the progress Constellium is making with the recycling of existing aluminum. A 2020 report from the International Journal of Thermofluids clearly states, “Aluminum production is responsible for a large environmental impact… the industry is highly energy intensive and releases a large proportion of energy to the atmosphere.” This energy is released along with emissions of PFCs (perfluorocarbons) which are among the most powerful and longest-lasting of greenhouse gases- 7,380 times worse for climate change than carbon dioxide. In addition to this, the mining of bauxite for aluminum lays waste to huge biodiverse forests and the toxic waste it creates pollutes air, soil, and water. The list goes on.
Eco-Conscious Materials Help Constellium’s Awards Shine
What is clear is that making new aluminum material is notoriously harmful for the environment and it is undoubtedly time to take advantage of its extremely recyclable qualities. Indeed, while the amount of energy required to extract raw aluminum from ore is immense, recycling aluminum uses only five percent of this amount. Although the pandemic has temporarily caused supply-chain shortages with pre-recycled aluminum, we are eager to make this material an option for customers in the future, and perhaps the developments in recycled aluminum happening at Constellium will even contribute to this goal. In the meantime, we are proud that our Awardology recognition awards feature recyclable aluminum from a facility in North America, which also uses sustainable and eco-conscious packaging. Additionally, the inherently sustainable qualities of aluminum came into play in this custom award collaboration with Constellium, as the low weight of the aluminum material requires less energy and resources to be transported to us and to the recipients than other heavier materials.
The other premium lightweight material used in these custom awards was an eco-acrylic from the same North American facility, which is also recyclable. The awards themselves were based on the pre-existing "Offset Square Wall Plaque" design that can be seen on the Awardology website, but Constellium chose to customize it by creating a slightly thicker version. Additionally, the custom awards feature printing on both sides and recessed wall mount slot on the backside so they can be displayed either freestanding or hanging on a wall.
Constellium Gives Customized Thanks With Unique Custom Awards
Constellium’s recognition program includes their “THANK YOU awards,” which features five categories of awards: innovation, customer, operational excellence, health and safety, and sustainability. The variety of color options available with the customizable Awardology materials, including the eco-acrylic, meant that they could create cohesive coordinating trophies with a similar layout, but different items and colors to symbolize the different categories. The awards also feature custom copy printed on both sides, an extra custom design feature not typical of the original Awardology design. Ultimately, the awards came out looking sleek, with the brushed recyclable aluminum tying them all together, and the unique design elements for each of the categories allowing Constellium’s employees to truly feel seen and honored for their specific accomplishments and contributions.
Things came full circle for Constellium in meeting their company mission for this awards project- they were able to participate in a sustainable economy by using a sustainable version of the very material they have helped innovate. The aluminum incorporated into the design was attractively able to honor their accomplishments in creating a variety of products for the automotive, aerospace, packaging and other industries. The Account Director Perry Tow’s favorite moment in this eco-friendly customized award project was “the synergy created via the mission of our Awardology initiative with Constallium's overall company mission and award program goals”- Perry reflected that “it felt like a natural fit right away!”