Sustainable by Design: 8 Ways to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Awards & Deal Toys
Sustainability isn't defined by a single material. It's the result of thoughtful decisions made throughout the design, manufacturing, and delivery of an award.
From choosing recyclable materials and simplifying construction to reducing prototypes and consolidating shipments, small decisions can make a meaningful difference.
Here are eight practical ways to reduce the environmental impact of your next award or deal toy—without compromising on quality, craftsmanship, or design.
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1. Start with Materials That Have a Second Life
Material selection is one of the first—and most important—sustainability decisions you'll make.
While no material is perfect, many modern award materials can be responsibly sourced, recycled, or manufactured using recycled content. Thinking about an award's entire lifecycle from the outset helps reduce its long-term environmental impact.
Materials worth considering include:
· FSC-certified or responsibly sourced wood
· Recycled or recyclable acrylic
· Recycled aluminum
· Recyclable crystal glass
At Altrum, we've continued expanding our material offering to include recycled acrylic, recycled aluminum, recyclable crystal, and responsibly sourced wood—giving customers more sustainable options without limiting design possibilities.
Rather than asking, "What's the greenest material?", ask "Which material best balances aesthetics, durability, longevity, and environmental responsibility for this project?"
That shift in thinking almost always leads to better decisions.
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2. Simpler Construction Is Often More Sustainable
Beautiful design doesn't have to mean complicated construction.
Awards made from a single material are often easier to recycle than those permanently bonded from several different materials. A solid acrylic award, a carved timber piece, or a machined aluminum design can often have a clearer end-of-life pathway than products combining adhesives, metal, acrylic, resin, and embedded objects.
That doesn't mean mixed-material awards should be avoided. Some of the world's most memorable deal toys rely on sophisticated combinations of materials and manufacturing techniques.
However, if sustainability is a key objective, it's worth asking whether the same visual impact can be achieved with fewer materials and simpler construction.
Sometimes the simplest solution is also the most elegant.
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3. Design for Decades, Not Trends
The most sustainable award may simply be the one that never gets thrown away.
Awards and deal toys often remain on desks, bookshelves, and boardrooms for decades. Their purpose isn't temporary—they become part of a company's history and a recipient's personal story.
Timeless materials, thoughtful proportions, and quality craftsmanship are more likely to be appreciated long after current design trends have passed.
Creating an award that someone proudly displays for twenty years delivers far greater long-term value than one that is quickly replaced or discarded.
Durability isn't just about materials—it's about designing something worthy of keeping.
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4. Reduce Prototyping Where You Can
Sustainability begins long before manufacturing.
Highly custom projects often involve concept revisions, physical prototypes, sample shipments, design refinements, and multiple approval cycles. While this process is essential for many bespoke projects, each iteration requires additional materials, energy, packaging, and transport.
Where appropriate, consider whether an existing production-ready design can achieve the same objective.
For example, many organizations personalize an established award design rather than developing an entirely new product from scratch. At Altrum, our online collections allow customers to personalize professionally developed designs, helping reduce the need for repeated prototyping while still delivering a premium, customized result.
The result is often:
· Fewer physical prototypes
· Less material waste
· Shorter production timelines
· Lower transportation requirements
Not every project is suited to this approach, but when it is, it's a simple way to reduce environmental impact.
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5. Think Beyond the Award—Consider Logistics
Transportation is often one of the largest contributors to an award's environmental footprint after manufacturing.
Fortunately, it's also one of the easiest areas to improve.
Instead of shipping dozens of individual awards directly to recipients, consider delivering them to a single office for local distribution. Planning recognition programs earlier can also allow multiple projects to be manufactured and shipped together instead of separately.
Simple logistics decisions can reduce:
· Packaging
· Freight requirements
· Transportation emissions
· Shipping costs
Where individual shipments are required, it's worth asking your supplier what options exist to reduce their impact. For example, Altrum offers carbon-neutral ground shipping throughout North America, helping offset emissions associated with delivery.
Better planning often benefits both sustainability and your budget.
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6. Partner with a Manufacturer That Prioritizes Sustainability
The sustainability of an award extends well beyond its appearance.
The environmental practices of the manufacturer—from energy sources to material sourcing and packaging—can have a significant influence on the overall impact of your project.
When evaluating suppliers, consider asking:
· How are your facilities powered?
· Do you offer recycled or responsibly sourced materials?
· What steps have you taken to reduce packaging waste?
· Are carbon emissions being reduced or offset?
· What environmental initiatives are you actively investing in?
These questions help separate sustainability commitments from sustainability marketing.
At Altrum, sustainability is an ongoing commitment rather than a single initiative. Our Canadian manufacturing facility is powered by renewable hydroelectric energy, and we continue investing in manufacturing efficiencies, responsible sourcing, and lower-impact materials to reduce our environmental footprint over time.
No manufacturer has all the answers—but transparency and continuous improvement matter.
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7. Packaging Matters More Than You Think
Packaging is one of the simplest opportunities to reduce waste—and one of the most overlooked.
Thoughtful packaging design can:
· Reduce material usage
· Improve shipping efficiency
· Minimize unnecessary fillers
· Increase recyclability
· Better protect products during transport, reducing replacements
Altrum's reduced and recyclable packaging initiatives are designed with exactly these goals in mind—protecting premium products while minimizing unnecessary waste wherever possible.
Across hundreds or thousands of awards, even small packaging improvements can make a meaningful difference.
It's a reminder that sustainability isn't only about the product itself—it's about everything surrounding it.
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8. Ask Better Questions
Creating a more sustainable award doesn't require sacrificing creativity or quality.
It starts by asking better questions earlier in the project.
For example:
· Can this material be recycled?
· Could a simpler construction achieve the same design?
· Is an existing design suitable instead of creating a new prototype?
· Can multiple shipments be consolidated?
· How is the product packaged?
· What sustainability initiatives does the manufacturer have in place?
Small questions often lead to meaningful improvements.
A Simple Example
Imagine you're ordering 250 Years of Service awards.
Option A involves a completely bespoke design, multiple physical prototypes, several rounds of revisions, and individual shipments to offices around the country.
Option B uses a proven production-ready design, manufactured in a single production run and delivered to one central location using carbon-neutral ground shipping.
Both recognize your employees.
One simply requires fewer resources to achieve the same outcome.
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There is no single "sustainable award."
Instead, sustainability is achieved through hundreds of thoughtful decisions—from choosing appropriate materials and simplifying construction to reducing prototyping, improving logistics, minimizing packaging, and partnering with manufacturers committed to continuous environmental improvement.
Every project presents opportunities to make better choices.
At Altrum, we believe exceptional awards should celebrate achievement while reflecting the values of the organizations that present them. That's why we're continually investing in responsibly sourced materials, renewable energy, recycled and recyclable packaging, carbon-neutral shipping, and more efficient manufacturing processes.
Because great design should stand the test of time. And so should the decisions behind it. Learn more about Altrum sustainability commitment here