World Water Day 2021: Inside the Pregis and Uzima Partnership

About two years ago, Pregis held a meeting that began as any other meeting might, discussing business and coordination between customers and Pregis sales representatives. That was until two of those sales representatives decided to get into a pool and race for charity. 

Both swam competitively in college, and all of a sudden, the spirited banter of who would win years later turned into something greater, as the event became a great way to raise money for charity. By the end of the night, the swimming competition raised funding to provide 4,000 people clean water through Uzima, a global organization focused on making clean water affordable and attainable through a line-up of innovative water filters. 

Through the partnership, which is now in its fourth year, Pregis donates a portion of each sale of its Inspyre brand hybrid packaging film to Uzima’s Clean Water Mission. Pregis recently surpassed 100,000 lives impacted with no sign of slowing. On World Water Day, Pregis is celebrating its efforts and looking toward the future.

Giving Back

With its Uzima collaboration, Pregis recognized an area in which it could do a significant amount of good. World Water Day is about recognizing the inequities that exist in access to clean water, and Pregis is committed to being a solution. With 844 million people lacking access to basic drinking water, there is serious work to be done to make water equitable for everyone around the world. 

Uzima’s water filters are designed to remove 99.99 percent of the parasites and bacteria that are to blame for waterborne diseases, which disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. 

With Pregis’ Inspyre brand — which includes HC Inspyre and Inspyre Paper, Pregis has designed a method for helping brand owners improve their unboxing experience while also providing a charitable donation in the process. The basic idea behind the project: become the first protective packaging company to take product sales and give back as part of a larger mission. By unlocking the power of Pregis, the Inspyre line helps the company work toward its 2K30 sustainability goals, one of which includes making a positive impact on 25 million lives.

Working Together

When it comes to the Uzima Clean Water Project, Pregis measures its impact in lives changed per filter. Studies have shown that each filter provides access to clean drinking water for 10 people, and every four rolls of Inspyre hybrid packaging film sold equal one water filter purchase.

Pregis’ suppliers are taking notice of this effort, too. Last year, Nova Chemicals, a plastics and chemical company, donated film resin to Pregis to assist with Inspyre production. It had been working with clean water efforts in Haiti and made a generous contribution to assist in Pregis’ ongoing project. This then created a closed-loop of giving, serving as a testament to the far-reaching impression Pregis has made in its efforts across the supply chain.

By 2025, research suggests that half of the world’s population will be living in areas where fresh water will be difficult to access. Water filtration and quality is a pressing issue that can’t be properly addressed without direct action, and at Pregis, we’re invested in being a part of the solution.

Looking Forward

When a company commits itself to charity, the efforts often echo throughout the whole organization — and that’s certainly the case with Pregis. Pregis sees its charitable efforts as simply part of its daily operations. 

In everything Pregis does, it aims to ignite a ripple effect to create as much positive change as possible. The Inspyre line of products continues to be a mechanism to realize this change, serving as a representation of Pregis’ company-wide efforts to instill the power of positive impact. As the collaboration with Uzima grows to great heights, there is optimism that the company’s goal of impacting as many lives as possible will only continue to be realized. 

A lot of progress has been made — but everyone at Pregis knows there’s still more work to do. That’s why we’re committed to doing whatever it takes to get it done.